News Update
December 19, 2012
Order Gifts that Sizzle This Holiday Season
A few names left on the Christmas list? Don’t despair, there is still time to order Gifts that Sizzle. Offered by the American Angus Auxiliary and Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®), the gift boxes include CAB beef patties, filet mignon, strip steaks or a variety of other cuts — something to please everyone.
“Whether it is a holiday gift or customer appreciation, this is a great example of people who know they are giving a superior gift while helping youth,” says Auxiliary President Cortney Hill-Dukehart Cates, Modoc, Ind.
The Auxiliary partners solely with Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) to offer customers the best product available. With every purchase, CAB donates a percentage of the profit toward the American Angus Auxiliary educational outreach and scholarship programs.
“This is a win-win for all of us, from an educational standpoint, enhancing scholarship and educational programs while promoting a high-quality product,” Hill-Dukehart Cates says.
New this year, a holiday gift box is available for purchase that contains four 8-ounce (oz.) filet of sirloins, four twice baked potatoes and a delicious chocolate-caramel brownie torte, all for the special price of $79 per box.
For the fastest delivery time, purchase Gifts that Sizzle online. Gift boxes can also be purchased by calling 1-888-534-2009. Standard orders will be shipped frozen and delivered within three business days. Rush orders will be delivered in one business day, with available dates shown when the order is placed. Delivery is available throughout the entire United States and Puerto Rico.
Victory for Public Land Ranchers in Arizona Lawsuit
The Public Lands Council (PLC), Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association (ACGA) and several individual Arizona ranchers announced victory in a recent case where a radical anti-grazing environmental group challenged in court the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) decision to continue livestock grazing on eight Arizona grazing allotments. The challenge was originally filed with the Arizona U.S. District Court by Western Watersheds Project (WWP) in August 2011. Represented by Mountain States Legal Foundation, PLC, ACGA and two ranchers filed as intervenors in support of USFS and asked the court to grant summary judgment on the eight decisions, which allowed grazing to continue under the “categorical exclusion” parameters of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in favor of USFS and the defendant intervenors, granting summary judgment on seven of the eight grazing allotments in question, including the Casner Park/Kelly Seep, Pine Creek, Seven C-Bar, Twin Tanks, Chino Valley, Cosnino and V-Bar allotments. On the eighth allotment, the Angell, he ruled that USFS’ documentation of the impacts of grazing was insufficient, and asked the parties to submit proposed forms of judgment by early January.
According to PLC Executive Director Dustin Van Liew, the judge’s ruling on the seven allotments is a major win for the livestock grazing industry, which depends on efficiencies granted under NEPA’s “categorical exclusion” provisions and subsequent appropriations language for timely reauthorization of grazing. In the absence of these provisions, excessive regulatory red tape and unnecessary analysis would increase the opportunity for litigation by predatory special interest groups, with no added benefit to range health, he said.
“Under ‘categorical exclusion’ provisions and the protections offered through appropriations language, land management agencies are able to reauthorize grazing that is simply continuing under existing conditions, and rightfully so,” said Van Liew. “Continuing grazing on western lands that, in many cases, have been grazed for more than a century does not constitute a ‘major federal action’ or fall under the agency’s ‘extraordinary-circumstances’ definition that would require full NEPA review.”
ACGA Executive Vice President Patrick Bray said the decision will benefit not just the ranchers in his state, but will potentially have positive west-wide implications.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Green Plains BlendStar Ethanol Terminal Unloads First Unit Train
Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRE) announced that BlendStar LLC, its wholly-owned subsidiary, has completed construction and has begun operations at its 96-car unit train terminal in Birmingham, Ala. The new terminal is served by the BNSF Railway and has a throughput capacity of 300 million gallons of ethanol annually.
“We are pleased to announce the start-up of operations at the Birmingham terminal, which will provide more efficient distribution of ethanol to underserved markets in the southeastern U.S.,” said Todd Becker, president and CEO of Green Plains. “We have unloaded the first unit train of ethanol and expect the terminal to be at full capacity in January 2013. This facility expands our geographic footprint consistent with our strategy to expand our downstream distribution capabilities.”
The Birmingham terminal currently has 160,000 barrels of storage and a four-lane covered truckrack, both with expansion capabilities. For more information and the full release, click here.
Last Chance for a 2012 Farm Bill
The U.S. farm bill is a multi-billion dollar piece of legislation that governs numerous federal programs related to food and agriculture. Funding authorized by the Farm Bill has a substantial national impact through programs in nutrition ($772 billion), crop insurance ($91 billion), commodities ($63 billion), conservation ($64 billion) and other areas. This year, the farm bill is once again due for renewal.
Reauthorization became a priority when programs under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 began to expire on Sept. 30, 2012. The Senate responded swiftly by approving its version of the new Farm Bill in June (S. 3240), and the House Agriculture Committee followed suit in July (H.R. 6083). However, House leaders have refused to put either version of the bill to a vote, citing the need for additional spending cuts. While not unexpected, a stalled farm bill is especially frustrating this time because, believe it or not, the majority of Republicans and Democrats largely agree on the changes to be made.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Goats Provide Healthy, Economical Weed Control
Goats are natural brush control agents, according to Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, assistant professor and state extension small ruminant specialist with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension and Research.
The veterinarian spoke at the recent Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville. University of Missouri (MU) Extension and the Missouri Livestock Symposium Committee organize the annual event.
Landowners are seeing the value of small ruminants for many reasons. According to the 2007 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) census, the number of goats in the United States increased by 24% from 2002 to 2007, making this the fastest-growing segment of the livestock industry.
Clifford-Rathert, a graduate of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a three-year study on the value of goats in controlling noxious weeds and invasive exotic plant species while improving wildlife habitat. She uses four breeds at multiple sites: an organic farm at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, the USDA’s Elsberry Plant Materials Center in Lincoln County, and Crowder College in southwestern Missouri. She also plans to examine the effect goats have on weed control in orchards, vineyards, around chicken houses and in lagoon lots.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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