News Update
May 22, 2013
Beef Improvement Federation
Meeting Still on Track
With the recent devastation in Oklahoma due to the tornadoes of last week, many individuals participating in the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Meeting are wondering if plans have been changed for the annual event.
“None of the conference areas were affected,” said Megan Rolf, a professor at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and a BIF symposium coordinator. “We’re completely on schedule, with no changes for the conference at this point.”
Themed “Where Profit and Progress Intersect,” this year’s program will bring together industry professionals, producers and researchers to discuss current issues facing the beef industry. Among those issues, speakers will tackle the crossbreeding vs. straight-breeding debate, as well as using genetic tools to address environmental challenges and cow herd efficiency.
Due to disaster relief personnel moving to the area to aid residents, booking rooms early is encouraged.
“The blocks have all been released at the hotels at this point,” Rolf stated. However, if individuals looking to make reservations call soon, rooms may still be available in the Marriott block. To inquire about rooms call Jamie Harris, not reservations, at 405-605-7643.
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The May edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA emailed yesterday to online subscribers. The concept for the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA grew from an American Angus Association task force directed at further enhancing the commercial program efforts of the Association and its subsidiaries, as well as the Angus Journal staff’s desire to increase the frequency of the Angus Beef Bulletin® to bring readers more timely news and information.
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House Ag Committee Begins Hearing
Process in Advance of CFTC Reauthorization
The House Agriculture Committee began a series of hearings in advance of writing legislation to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The agency’s statutory authorization expires at the end of the fiscal year. Members of the committee heard perspectives from the futures and swaps market, including the two largest derivatives exchanges, a futures commission merchant whose customers are farmers and ranchers, and industry trade associations who represent hundreds of companies.
“Today (May 21) was a first step in the process of gaining a greater understanding of the regulatory challenges that members of the derivatives marketplace face. We learned there is still work to be done to ensure regulations are implemented in a sensible manner that gives businesses certainty, maintains the integrity of the marketplace, and guarantees our global competitiveness. The committee will continue to hold hearings in the coming weeks to hear perspectives from end users, futures customers and the CFTC, so members have a complete picture of how the agency is working and what improvements need to be made,” said Chairman Frank Lucas.
DuPont Leader Encourages Next Generation
to Get Involved in Global Food Security
Yesterday, DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler urged leaders from across government, business and nonprofit organizations to invest in today’s youth to solve the greatest challenge of tomorrow’s generation — feeding 9 billion people. Schickler spoke at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Symposium and shared stories of outstanding students who have made a commitment to feeding a growing world population.
“My parents’ generation put a man on the moon; my generation put a computer in every pocket. Feeding the world will be the great challenge of generations to come,” Schickler said. “It is a challenge that will need to engage the best minds in information technology to food processing, international trade to water and land resources, political reform to culinary sciences. Together, I know we can feed the world.”
This year’s symposium, for the first time, included university students nominated by leaders in food and agriculture to represent the future scientists, engineers, policy makers, and more who are critical to increasing food production worldwide. Schickler shared several students’ stories of how they will combat world hunger in their lifetime at the conference.
DuPont has committed to engage more than 2 million young people in food and agriculture educational opportunities by 2020 as one of the company’s food goals unveiled in 2012. A fast-growing world population coupled with increasing urbanization and protein demands are driving the need for more talented young people to consider careers in agriculture.
April Hired Workers Down More Than 2%,
Wage Rates Increase More Than 4%
Workers hired directly by farm operators numbered 732,000 for the reference week of April 7-13, down 2% from the April 2012 reference week, according to a farm labor report released May 21 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). There were 596,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the nation’s farms and ranches during the week of Jan. 6-12, up 4% from the Jan. 2012 reference week.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $11.91 per hour during the April 2013 reference week, up 4% from a year earlier. Livestock workers earned $11.46, up 51¢. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $11.10 per hour, was up 48¢ from a year earlier. Hired laborers worked an average of 40.3 hours during the April 2013 reference week, compared with 39.2 hours a year earlier.
For the April 2013 reference week, the largest percentage increases in the number of hired workers from a year earlier occurred in the Cornbelt II (Iowa and Missouri) and Northeast I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) regions. In Cornbelt II, continuing strong demand from livestock operations led to an overall increase in workers, despite unfavorable field conditions, during the reference week.
The largest percentage decreases in the number of hired workers from a year earlier occurred in the Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia) and Mountain I (Idaho, Montana and Wyoming) regions. In the Appalachian II region, livestock worker demand dropped. In Mountain I, relatively cool and wet conditions had the same effect. In general, worker numbers were below 2012 levels for many states that saw unseasonably bad weather during the April reference week.
Average wage rates for all hired workers were above the previous year rates in the majority of regions. The largest increases occurred in the Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas) and Appalachian II regions. In both regions, higher proportions of high wage and salaried workers accompanied contractions in worker numbers over the 2012 reference week.
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