News Update
September 10,
National Angus Conference &
Tour Visits New York
Traveling the winding roads of rural New York, more than 220 Angus breeders from 27 states and Canada visited farms and historical attractions during the 2013 National Angus Conference and Tour (NAC&T) Aug. 27-30. The event was sponsored by Purina® Mills.
“I don’t think people were expecting what they saw,” says Phil Trowbridge, American Angus Association president and tour host. “When they arrived, I think they realized how much agriculture is in the state, and how big, beautiful and vast New York really is.”
Trowbridge says New York was an ideal setting for the NAC&T because of the region’s nearly 130-year history with Angus cattle, and also the invested interest in agriculture shown by communities scattered among the rural areas. The rolling Catskills and the twisting Hudson River set the stage for the NAC&T themed “Angus Along the Hudson.” A stop at Garret Farms, Hillsdale, N.Y., began the official cattle tour. From there, the group spent the afternoon at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockdale, Mass., and concluded with dinner at Trowbridge Farms, Ghent, N.Y.
“I enjoy coming out to the NAC&T to converse with other Angus producers, see old friends and make new friends,” says fifth-time attendee Myron Kennedy, Brookeville, Md. “It is interesting to see different geographic regions, and learn about each respective operation and what practices work for them.”
Other stops on the tour included breakfast at Heathcote Farm, Amenia, N.Y., and lunch at Walbridge Farms, Millbrook, N.Y. From there, tour goers had the option to visit the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt or the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. The tour concluded at Rally Farms, Millbrook, N.Y.
For more information, please view the full release here.
NFU Board Passes Resolution on Farm Bill, COOL and the RFS
The National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution Sept. 7 indicating the obligation of Congress to provide certainty for our nation’s family farmers, ranchers and consumers by passing a five-year farm bill and by continuing to support country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“Through this resolution, the NFU Board has once again given a clear message to Congress — it is time to complete the 2013 Farm Bill,” said Johnson. “Family farmers and ranchers will not settle for an extension of the current law; we have too much at stake. Farmers want a farm bill that saves taxpayers money and that looks to the future — not the past.”
Passing a comprehensive, five-year farm bill; protecting the COOL law; and maintaining the current structure of the RFS were highlighted as crucial to our nation’s food supply, rural communities, the overall health of the economy, and energy security.
“Our interests are at risk yet again because the farm bill expires on Sept. 30,” the resolution stated. “Both chambers of Congress have each passed a version of the farm bill, but now the House must move swiftly to appoint conferees and begin the formal conference process with the Senate.”
“Along with providing a comprehensive, five-year farm bill, Congress and the administration must protect the existing COOL law for meat, seafood, poultry and other agricultural products,” the resolution continued. “In an increasingly economically-interconnected world, COOL provides important, commonsense information to American consumers about their food.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Agriculture Secretary Announces Electric System Improvements in Eight States
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced funding for projects in eight states, including Virginia, to improve electric service for about 10,000 rural residents. Rural Utilities Service Administrator John Padalino made the announcement on the Secretary’s behalf in Norfolk, Va., during the 2013 regional meeting of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The loan guarantees are made available through the USDA rural utilities program and include more than $11 million in smart-grid project funding.
“These investments will continue to ensure safe, reliable and affordable service for rural residents, farmers, and commercial and industrial consumers,” Padalino said. “This funding, which is part of the Obama administration’s vision for a new rural energy economy, includes investments in smart-grid technologies that modernize our nation’s electric system and improve its operation.”
For example, the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative will use USDA funding to build 327 miles of line and invest more than $1.1 million in smart grid technologies across 14 counties.
For more information, please view the full release here.
How Fast Can America’s Beef Cow Herd Be Rebuilt?
Though 2013 is likely another year of beef cow herd liquidation, the improvement in conditions in the second half of the year may provide a period of stabilization that often occurs in the first year of herd expansion.
“As long as drought conditions continue to moderate the situation, beef cow herd growth of 2% is possible in 2014 with an additional 2% to 3% in 2015,” said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock marketing specialist.
More rapid growth is unlikely when all factors are considered. Among several implications, Peel believes, is an approximately 7% decrease in total cattle slaughter in 2014.
Historically, the cattle cycles observed by the beef industry have been largely self-regulating cycles of inventory driven by internal factors such as calf price levels, beef cattle biology and the availability and quality of forage resources.
However, much of the beef cow herd liquidation that has occurred since 2001 — including the aborted herd expansion of 2004 and 2005 — were the result of external factors, including input market shocks that reduced cow-calf profitability, a national and global recession that tempered cattle prices and severe drought in important cattle-producing states.
“The last 3.4 million head decline in the beef cow herd was not due to typical cattle cycle factors,” Peel said. “External factors have masked and overwhelmed cyclical tendencies and don’t necessarily mean the cattle cycle is gone or irrelevant, although some people have said so.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Make Farming with Arthritis Easier
Arthritis, one of the most common chronic disease conditions in the United States, has a profound impact on farmers by reducing mobility, physical strength and the ability to complete routine tasks. Farming with arthritis means daily changes in joint pain and mobility, which can affect completion of even the most basic farm chores.
During Kansas Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 15-21, Kerri Ebert, coordinator of the Kansas AgrAbility Project, reminds farmers to focus on their health and safety.
Arthritis diagnosis, treatment and care should be directed by health care professionals, Ebert said, but simplifying chores and using assistive solutions can help reduce joint stress. Kansas AgrAbility helps farmers identify and prioritize chore and equipment modifications to safely accommodate arthritis. Modifying tasks and equipment won’t reverse joint damage, but they can help prevent further damage.
For more information, please view the full release here.
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