News Update
September 20, 2012
Ruminating on the Future of Beef and Dairy Farming at Alltech's Global 500
As the dairy and beef industries evolve, Alltech is continually exploring the latest issues and trends, while providing producers with a clear vision for a profitable and sustainable future. Alltech's fifth annual Global 500, http://www.alltech.com/global500, Dec. 4-6, 2012, in Lexington, Ky., will feature industry experts who will address the changing future of the dairy and beef industries. In 2011, more than 700 beef and dairy producers from 32 countries attended, and the event is expected to attract more than 1,000 attendees this year.
"Global 500 has gone from a powerful event to an astounding event," said Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. "In a few short years we've managed to get some of the industry's most successful producers to attend and get involved in discussions that are paving the way to a future of opportunity and profitability."
Producers and industry leaders will have the opportunity to network, discuss and discover new opportunities and challenges for 2013.The program will feature presentations on branding, social media in agriculture and finding new opportunities in challenging times. Dairy producers will explore topics including breakthroughs in nutrition, strategies to manage feed costs, and emerging markets. Beef producers will delve into issues such as the future marketplace, consumer demands, meat quality, greenhouse gasses and feedyard management. In addition to an array of presentations, attendees will be invited to take part in discussion dinners, breakout sessions and a number of farm tours.
Capital Gains Tax Precludes Farmers from Passing Torch
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) urged Congress to reform the capital gains tax because of its detriment to young and beginning farmers. In a statement submitted to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees' joint hearing on tax reform, AFBF said the cumbersome tax makes it difficult for current farmers to pass the torch to a new generation of agriculturalists.
Capital gains taxes apply when land and buildings from a farm or ranch are transferred to a new or expanding farmer while the owner is still alive. This occurs most often when a farmer wants to expand his or her farm or ranch to take in a son or daughter, or when a retiring farmer sells his or her business to a beginning farmer.
"Since approximately 40% of farmland is owned by individuals age 65 or older, capital gains taxes provide an additional barrier to entry for young farmers and ranchers at a time when it is already difficult for them to get into the industry," said the AFBF statement. "Capital gains tax liabilities encourage farmers to hold onto their land rather than sell it, creating a barrier for new and expanding farms and ranches to use that land for agricultural purposes."
This added cost also increases the likelihood that farm and ranch land will be sold outside of agriculture for commercial uses to investors who are willing to pay more, causing agricultural land and open space to be lost forever.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Cow Herds Gain Value with Quality Genetics, MU Thompson Farm Field Day Visitors Told
Beef producers at the University of Missouri (MU) Thompson Farm field day were urged to look at the end product from their cow herds by Mike Kasten, who has been doing that for years in his farm herd near Millersville, Mo.
"What you produce ends up on somebody's plate," Kasten said. "Somebody is going to eat it."
He described "Quality Beef (QB) by the Numbers," a production-and-marketing program rolled out in August at the University of Missouri–Columbia.
"'Quality Beef' focuses on the end product," he said. The program will enroll producer herds, aiming to bring increased value back to the farm where the cattle were bred.
"Genetics make the difference, and you have total control of the genetics in your herd," Kasten told 135 people at the field day on the MU research farm in Grundy County.
The cattle breeding protocols were developed at Thompson Farm by David Patterson, MU beef reproduction specialist.
By selecting for genetics, producers can breed more Choice- and Prime-grade cattle that bring more money at market time.
The QB program offers members a way to track performance of their cattle through feedlot and packing plant. With carcass reports, breeders learn not only the yield and grade of their cattle, but also the economic value of their cattle and the premiums paid for high-quality beef.
Scott Brown, MU beef economist, showed charts of increasing prices paid for Prime beef, payback to producers for superior genetics. "Top Prime premiums can add $400 to $500 per head in value."
Increasingly, consumers are willing to pay for good eating experiences, Brown said. U.S consumers, as well as new buyers around the world, want high-quality beef.
For more information and the full release, click here.
FSIS to Redesign E. coli Testing Program
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) plans to redesign its E. coli O157:H7 verification testing program for beef trimmings.
FSIS said the goal is to make the program more risk-based and to enable FSIS to calculate on-going statistical prevalence estimates for E. coli O157:H7 in raw beef trimmings. The notice, which appeared in the Federal Register, also discusses the agency's plans to perform a beef carcass baseline.
FSIS is seeking public comment on its plans, which were developed in response to a 2011 audit by the USDA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) of FSIS's protocol for N-60 sampling of beef trimmings for E. coli O157:H7. The notice also announces changes that FSIS made to its beef trimmings program to increase both the collection rate and the likelihood that FSIS will find positive samples.
Groups Urge Suspension of U.S., Russia Livestock Trade
Animal welfare groups are demanding a suspension in livestock trade between the United States and Russia after cattle died during shipment by sea, or had to be euthanized after arriving in Russia.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Compassion in World Farming (CWF) urged the Russian Federation to suspend cattle imports by sea. The groups said more than 1,000 out of 3,400 breeding dairy cattle from a U.S. shipment died en route to Russia or had to be euthanized because they were in extremely poor condition upon arrival.
Out of 3,314 animals that arrived on board of the Pearl of Para vessel, 59 animals died during transportation from Novorossiysk, 160 animals died during the quarantine period on the farms of destination, 180 animals were immediately slaughtered and 665 animals are planned for emergency slaughter due to extreme cachexia, according to a report by Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor).
The animal welfare groups said that another 195 cows were refused at port and remained on the vessel to be returned to the U.S. The organizations said that another shipment of U.S. cattle left in early September and is due to arrive in the Russian Federation soon.
"How the United States could send yet another shipment of pregnant cattle, when they haven't even answered for the deaths of over a 1,000 animals from the last shipment, is unfathomable. This is a cruel and unnecessary trade and we are calling on the Russian Federation to suspend all trade of cattle by sea with the United States," said Leah Garces, USA director for CWF.
Graydon Bobo Recognized for Years of Service to the Livestock Marketing Industry
Graydon Bobo, longtime manager at Wilkes County Stockyard, was honored by the Georgia Beef Board (GBB) Monday Sept.17th, in Macon, Ga. Bobo, a past Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) director, past president of the Georgia LMA and current treasurer of the Georgia LMA, was honored for serving as a director on the GBB since 1991.
Harvey Lemmon, chairman of the GBB, presented Bobo with a plaque and thanked him for his 21 years of service. John Kissee, LMA regional executive officer, thanked Bobo for his many hours of wise counsel and advice to the Beef Board representing the livestock marketing industry. Phil Harvey, LMA director and fellow GBB director, was also present at the meeting. Bobo and his wife, Pat, are assisting the new owners of the Wilkes County Stockyard LLC into a smooth transition to operating the market in Washington, Ga.
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