News Update
October 1, 2012
Beef Promotion Operating Committee Cuts $2.9 Million
from Proposals to Meet Budget Constraints
The Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) will invest about $40.3 million into programs of beef promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications in Fiscal Year 2013, if today's recommendation of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee is approved by USDA, following review by the full Beef Board.
In action concluding its two-day meeting in Denver this week, the Operating Committee - including 10 members of the Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils - approved checkoff funding for a total of 42 "Authorization Requests," or proposals for checkoff funding in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2012. The committee also will request full Board approval of a budget amendment to reflect recategorization of the FY2013 budget in accordance with the programs approved.
"We really had a tremendous task before us," said Beef Board and Operating Committee Chairman Wesley Grau, a cattleman from New Mexico. "We had to find ways to cut nearly $3 million from the proposals presented to us for checkoff funding in the coming year."
Among the cuts in program proposals was a $300,000 cut from consumer advertising; $100,000 from nutrition research; a $275,000 proposal for programming about the beef industry on America's Heartland on PBS; a $100,000 cut from the national Beef Quality Assurance program; and a total of more than $811,000 in cuts from various foreign-marketing proposals.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Beef and the School Lunch Program
There has been a lot of discussion in the beef community about the new school lunch program requirements. The checkoff hopes to answer any questions you have.
Recently, the USDA updated its meal patterns and nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to align them with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is required by law. The new meal patterns are also based on recommendations issued by leading public health experts from the Food and Nutrition Board, part of the Institute of Medicine.
Prior to the 2012-2013 school year, schools were given the flexibility to follow two different meal planning options - either a "Traditional Food-Based Approach" or an "Enhanced Food-Based Approach." Under the new requirements, all schools will follow a single food-based menu-planning approach, which uses narrower age/grade groups for menu planning and offers meals that meet specific calorie ranges for each grade/group. There will be a three-year administrative review to see how these new requirements are working.
These changes provide more choices and flexibility for schools, including the availability of more fruits and vegetables. These new meal patterns will be implemented starting with the 2012-2013 school year. The intent of these updated requirements is to provide nutrient-rich meals (high in nutrients, low in calories) that better meet the dietary needs of school children and protect their health. This is good news for nutrient-rich foods like beef. In fact, in the final rule, USDA recognizes that "offering a meat/meat alternate as part of the school lunch supplies protein, B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc and magnesium to the diet of children and also teaches them to recognize the components of a healthy plate."
Important to note: Beef continues to be an important part of a healthy diet for kids and essential component of healthy school meals.
The amount of meat/meat alternate required as part of the new school lunch plans are almost identical to previous requirements. To read more, click here.
Germany Introduces Revised Antibiotic Laws
The use of antibiotics in animal production is to be reduced significantly in Germany. A new nationwide database is expected to help exchange information between authorities, allowing stricter control than previously.
Under new regulations, owners must document the use of antibiotics.
"The key point of the drug law is to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry effectively. This reform will not miss the target," said Federal Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner in Berlin. "The states and the federal government of Germany must pull together and do our utmost to stop the excessive use of veterinary drugs. This is only possible if we tackle the root - and more importantly in those companies where it is necessary."
The core of the new law is an antibiotic minimization concept. It allows the monitoring authorities to assess the frequency of treatment with antibiotics in a company and compare it with other companies.
On this basis, the farmers are required to adhere to appropriate tests and measures in conjunction with the veterinarian and the authorities. The aim is to reduce the use of antibiotics to a minimum.
Wurdack Research Center Offers Strategies for Forage and Herd Management Oct. 5 Field Day
Recent rains have improved several pastures around the state, but finding enough quality forage and hay will still be a challenge for many producers.
Research and extension faculty from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri will offer 10 interactive presentations at Wurdack Research Center's annual field day, Friday, Oct. 5, to help producers improve their pastures, stretch hay supplies and take advantage of technological advancements to boost profits.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. Tours start at 9 a.m. Free lunch will be provided after morning tours. During lunch, Mike Kasten, director of the University of Missouri's Quality Beef by the Numbers program, will explain how beef cow-calf operators can improve profitability by adopting applied reproductive and genetic technologies to meet increasing domestic and global demand for high-quality beef.
Kasten is a cattle producer and has focused on improving his herd for more than 30 years. He'll share his personal experience with AI, total performance evaluation and total carcass evaluation.
"This technology can benefit any size producer," Kasten said. "The beauty of the market is that producers can get paid on individual animal basis for individual market value."
For more information and registration, click here.
Grazing Conference Will Offer Timely Information
This summer's high temperatures and dry weather were tough on many forage and animal producers. University and USDA specialists will discuss the drought and other timely topics during the 13th Kentucky Grazing Conference Oct. 30 at the University of Kentucky (UK) Research and Education Center in Princeton.
The conference, hosted by the UK College of Agriculture, will begin at 8:30 a.m. CDT. Forage and animal specialists from UK, University of Tennessee and the USDA will present on the following topics: novel endophyte tall fescue, winter annuals for grazing, pastures for horses, cost of pasture compared to hay, grassfed beef from a global perspective, and strategies to manage the effects of the drought.
Additionally, Brent White from Lyon County will discuss the forages on his farm. White is the Kentucky and National forage spokesman.
In the afternoon, contestants from across the state will compete to be the next Kentucky Forage Spokesman. County agriculture and natural resource extension agents usually nominate contestants, but those interested in competing can also contact Garry Lacefield, UK forage specialist, at 270-365-7541, ext. 202. Contestants must be a Kentucky forage/livestock producer and give a presentation about their forage-based, livestock program. The winner will represent the state at the national competition at the 2013 American Forage and Grassland Council's annual meeting in January. Kentucky producers have won more national contests than any other state.
Registration is the day of the conference. The registration fee is $15 and $5 for students.
Certified Crop Advisor credits will be available.
The conference is sponsored by the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council and the UK College of Agriculture.
CFIA Expands XL Food Beef Recall Again Over Weekend
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Saturday, Sept. 29, added more beef products to its public warning over possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination in products produced at the XL Food Inc. plant in Alta., Canada.
The CFIA is warning the public, distributors and food service establishments not to consume, sell or serve the beef products. The additional products are associated with the same XL Foods manufacturing dates of Aug. 24, 27, 28, 29 and Sept. 5, 2012, as the previously recalled ground beef products.
The trace out from XL to secondary and tertiary distributors, manufacturers and retailers could result in a large number of affected products over a wide range of codes and dates, the agency noted.
The list ranges from ground beef to roasts and steaks, and includes products from retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, Costco Wholesale Corp., and smaller chains.
On Friday, Sept., 28, 2012, USDA extended its public health alert about beef from the plant to include stores in 30 states, and the CFIA temporarily suspended the company's operating license.
Soil Nutrients from Livestock Manure are Valuable,
Use Them Wisely
Soil nutrient levels are frequently at high levels near livestock housing facilities, while nutrient levels are lower farther from the barn. In these instances, livestock producers are not using their manure nutrients as effectively as they could considering fertilizer prices have risen over the last decade and are a major expense in crop and forage production.
Farmers who have fields with low soil nutrient levels should make the effort to apply manure on fields that need those nutrients. Overloading soil nutrients is an inefficient use of resources and reduces profitability. Fertilizer costs can be prohibitive and farmers should handle manure nutrients as a valuable resource.
If soil nutrient levels are low, farmers should develop strategies to best utilize manure nutrients to improve fertility and productivity. Building nutrient levels to moderate or mid-range offers a greater chance to increase yield potential. Soils with moderate-nutrient levels have higher yield potential than soils with low nutrient levels. Simply applying more fertilizer on low-nutrient soils doesn't translate into yields rivaling those with moderate- to high-nutrient levels. This is the reason that Michigan State University soil test recommendations on low-nutrient soils call for applying more fertilizer than the crop will use that year, to build soil nutrient levels into the moderate range.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.