News Update
April 24, 2013
Heavy Cattle
Everyone in the beef chain seems to agree we need more of it.
That’s the simple explanation for a trend that shows hot carcass weights (HCW) have increased 200 pounds (lb.) in four decades. For all the opportunities that presents, there are many challenges.
John Stika, president of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), talked about both at last month’s Harlan Ritchie Beef Symposium during the Midwest American Society of Animal Science meetings in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The production side is looking for something bigger to cover their increased costs,” he said, “but the retail and foodservice sides are looking for [more units of] something much smaller that’s easier to manage from a portion-control standpoint and a unit-cost standpoint.”
Increasing HCW is like adding many more finished cattle. Stika noted CattleFax estimates show such increases from last November into March have made up for 256,000 head of cattle.
As the nation’s cow herd keeps falling back, increasing HCW is good news overall for beef marketers.
“They would rather have big beef to sell than no beef at all,” Stika said.
CAB data and supporting records from the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) show that the market is getting more high-quality beef in that mix, too.
Carcasses accepted for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand this year have a 7-lb. heavier HCW than average.
“If they gain better, they eat better, they’re healthier,” Stika said. “Their carcass weights tend to be up and their grades tend to coincide with that.”
Data on more than 2 million head in the NBQA records indicate cattle with a marbling score of Modest or higher were 14 lb. heavier than average.
That’s not a new trend, Stika said. “But it’s a hot topic right now because we’ve seen a more rapid increase in carcass weight than what we’ve historically been used to.”
From 2008 to 2012, the Angus-influenced or A-stamped cattle increased 34 lb. to last year’s 846 lb.
Economics and genetic improvement are the main drivers.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Checkoff Launches New Consumer Advertising Campaign
The new “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner,” consumer advertising campaign is premiering this month, bringing the recognizable tagline to older millennials and Gen-Xers. The new campaign, funded by the beef checkoff, will feature sizzling beef recipes, juicy details about essential nutrients and the voice of one of Hollywood’s most promising new talents.
“This campaign builds upon the core benefits that only beef offers — its great taste and 10 essential nutrients. While most folks just look at beef for its sizzle or great flavor, it’s made up of more than that. Its nutrients are what make it the most powerful protein and what makes beef above all else,” says Cevin Jones, chair of the checkoff’s Domestic Consumer Preference Committee and producer from Eden, Idaho. “It doesn’t hurt that the voice delivering the message on the other side of the radio epitomizes health and sizzle, too.”
New Voice for a New Target
The new “Above All Else” campaign aims to reach the next generation of beef eaters — the older millennial and Gen-Xer, aged 25 to 44 — who care about food and nutrition.
While keeping many brand mainstays, such as Aaron Copeland’s “Rodeo” music, the new beef campaign is switching up the voice behind the famous words, “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” Sparking a new interest for the older millennial and Gen X target, Garrett Hedlund’s voice will take a starring role in the campaign’s radio spots. Garrett personally represents healthful living, and his strong, warm voice is perfect for promoting new understanding about beef.
“I’m proud to represent America’s farmers and ranchers,” Hedlund said. “I grew up on my father’s cattle operation, so I’m right at home as the new voice of beef.”
Born in Roseau, Minn., Garrett spent his early years on a cattle operation. He was just 18 when he landed a role in the epic film Troy (2004) playing opposite Brad Pitt. Following his debut in Troy, Garrett went on to Friday Night Lights (2004) and Tron Legacy (2010). His latest roles include Country Strong (2011), in which he plays a rising young country star opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as On the Road, in theaters now.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Can Combining Mortality Composting
from Two Separate Farms Constitute a CAFO?
During a recent Michigan State University Extension program, a Michigan farmer shared that he owns a swine operation with animals on two different farms, located several miles apart. The farmer hauls his dead animals from one farm to the other where he recently installed a rotary drum composter for mortality handling. Individually, neither farm is considered a large concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) nor are they currently permitted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Each has its own land base for spreading manure and its own nutrient management plan.
The farmer knew that his mortality management plan, which includes combining mortality, was in compliance with the Bodies of Dead Animals Act in Michigan. However, the MDEQ informed the farmer that since he was moving the dead animals from one farm to the other farm, his mortality management plan resulted in the commingling of production area waste. Because nutrients of one farm are being transferred to another, the two farms are considered ‘one’ large CAFO. He was advised that he needed to apply for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, but the farmer wondered if he was given correct information and asked, “Is this correct?”
“Yes,” is the answer to the farmer’s question. Under current rules and regulations, when dead animals are composted together at one farm, the animal capacity and land base of both farms may together constitute a large CAFO. This swine operation, on two farms, would need to apply for a CAFO NPDES permit if the combined capacity was greater than 2,500 swine each weighing 55 pounds or more.
The Bodies of Dead Animals Act 239 of 1982 (BODA) reads that “composting methods shall be used to compost only the normal natural daily mortality associated with an animal production unit under common ownership or management.” Historically, this has allowed mortality from different farms under common production management and ownership to be composted at a shared facility located at one farm. The law is intended to allow for the economical, effective and safe management of a farm’s mortality.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Livestock Producers Should Expect Bright Future
More efficient land use, a stalled demand for corn ethanol and increased demand for meat in developing countries should help boost the livestock industry in coming years, according to a Purdue University agricultural economist.
Farzad Taheripour, a research assistant professor of agricultural economics, used Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and USDA data, paired with Purdue’s Global Trade Analysis Project model, to guide analysis of global economic issues.
“Due to consumer taste preferences, global growth in income and population, the livestock industry will grow, particularly toward poultry and pork,” Taheripour said. “The demand for poultry and pork will increase significantly.”
Taheripour said less land is being used for feed crops these days, but increased efficiency makes each acre more productive. More feed from those acres should help livestock producers manage their production costs.
Corn ethanol demand has also hit a wall. Over the past decade, diverting grains from food and feed to fuel has increased feed prices for livestock producers, Taheripour said, but the ethanol industry in the United States has now reached the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandated level. This may mean little growth in corn use for ethanol in coming years.
An ethanol production byproduct, dried distillers’ grains, has been used for livestock feed, helping to somewhat mitigate feed price increases. However, this offset was not large enough to keep feed prices from rising sharply. In coming years, any new growth in corn production could go toward livestock producers, which will likely help them with feed prices.
Taheripour said livestock producers would also face increased demand for meat in countries such as China and India, which have booming populations and are becoming wealthier. Those countries are expected to demand more pork and chicken since those products are cheaper than beef.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Planting Progress Slow Due to Cool, Wet Weather
Cool, wet conditions again delayed planting progress across most of the country, according to a report released April 22 by the USDA. With only 4% of total corn acres planted by April 21, progress lags far behind this time last year when 26% of U.S. corn acres were already in the ground, and now trails the five-year average for this point by 12 percentage points. Last week, planting progress was only five percentage points off the five-year average.
“It is still early in the planting season and slow progress at this point should not cause alarm,” said National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Martin Barbre, a grower in Illinois. “In 2012, we saw how quickly rapid planting progress can wither away under a hot, dry summer sky. The precipitation may be keeping farmers out of the fields for now, but it is providing much needed moisture in many cases. In 2011, I had nothing planted and 3,000 acres under water on May 3, and I still raised a good crop. So, I know that there is plenty of time left to get a good crop in the ground.”
Progress lagged behind the five-year average in all of the top 18 corn-producing states except North Carolina, which saw rapid planting progress last week and is now five percentage points ahead of the five-year average. The most significant delays have been seen in Illinois, where planting progress lags 23 percentage points behind the five-year average and 55 percentage points behind 2012 planting progress at this time. Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee have also seen planting delays that put progress 14 percentage points behind the five-year average.
For more information and the full release, click here.
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