News Update
July 31, 2014
Lawmakers Want Good
TPP Deal For Agriculture
Nearly one-third of the U.S. House urged the White House to pursue a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement without countries that prove unwilling to fully open their markets to all U.S. agricultural products.
The TPP is a regional negotiation that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for nearly 40% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In a letter sent July 30 to President Obama, 140 members of the House, led by Ways and Means trade subcommittee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Ranking Member Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., indicated that congressional support for the TPP would be jeopardized if U.S. negotiators accept anything less than elimination of all trade barriers to U.S. agricultural goods. They pointed to Japan’s current offer, demanding special treatment for its agricultural sector, including exemption from tariff elimination for certain “sensitive” products, including pork. (Click here to read the letter.)
“If accepted,” the lawmakers said in the letter, “this unprecedented and objectionable offer would significantly limit access for U.S. farmers and ranchers to the Japanese market and, most likely, to other TPP countries as well.”
They also said that accepting such a deal — as well as a less-than-ambitious offer from Canada — would set a “damaging” precedent for, and compromise, U.S. negotiations with future TPP members and on future free-trade agreements, including one with the European Union.
The TPP was envisioned as a high-standard, 21st century trade agreement, so Japan and Canada must be held to the same high standards as other TPP partners, said the House members. “We owe our farmers and ranchers the best deal possible,” they concluded.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Cattle Producers Gather in Denver to
Help Establish Direction for Industry
More than 650 cattle producers are expected to gather at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver this week to help set direction for industry programs. The conference will run July 30-Aug 2.
The event includes meetings of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), American National CattleWomen (ANCW) and National Cattlemen’s Foundation. Among the purposes of the yearly conference is to create a framework for checkoff and policy efforts on behalf of U.S. cattle producers for the 2015 fiscal year, which for NCBA and the CBB begins Oct. 1.
Keynote speaker at Thursday’s opening general session is Steffan Tubbs, well-known Colorado reporter on KOA radio and co-host of a community affairs program on Colorado Public Television. Tubbs, who has nearly 25 years of news experience and has received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award four times, will talk about his soon-to-be-released documentary film called Droughtland, which focuses on the devastating conditions of the recent drought in Southeastern Colorado and what the drought has meant to a huge portion of the West.
Also during general session I, W.D. Farr Scholarships will be presented to two graduate students by the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. The $12,000 scholarships are presented to students who want to further their education in meat science and animal agriculture. General session I is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.
During general session II on Friday, Kevin Good of CattleFax will outline the state of the cattle industry, the factors that have gotten the industry where it is and what his organization expects to see in the future. The session is sponsored by Bayer Animal Health.
“We’re seeing unprecedented conditions in our industry, and the producers who understand all of the factors for how we got here will be best positioned for success in the future,” according to Bob McCan, a beef producer from Victoria, Texas, and NCBA president. “The working sessions at the summer conference will not only help provide that understanding, but will give participating producers a chance to play a leadership role in determining where we go from here.”
Joint Committees and Subcommittees will meet on Thursday and Friday to develop proposals for 2015 checkoff-funded research, education and promotion programs. Also on Friday NCBA policy committees will meet to determine priorities and discuss strategies for 2015. The NCBA Board will hold a session on Saturday, as will members of the CBB.
“Though the market has been good, our challenges remain sizeable,” says McCan. “It’s tremendous that we have so many leaders at the state and national levels who take time out of their schedules here to help chart our course.”
Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) in Texas Update
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) received confirmation of 14 new cases of Vesicular
Stomatitis (VS) in both horses and cows in south and central Texas. Twelve new premises are located in Bastrop County, one new premises is in Travis County and one new premise is located in Val Verde County. Two cases of VS have been detected in bovine in Bastrop County.
To date, 35 premises in nine Texas counties have been confirmed with VS. Affected counties include(d): Kinney, Hidalgo, San Patricio, Nueces, Jim Wells, Bastrop, Travis, Guadalupe and Val Verde counties.
Six premises have been released from quarantine: one in Kinney county, two in Nueces county, two in San Patricio county and one in Hidalgo county.
The newly identified infected premises are currently under quarantine by the TAHC.
Affected horses and cattle will be monitored by regulatory veterinarians while under quarantine. Premises are eligible for quarantine release 21 days after all lesions have healed. There is no known exposure to other horses or cattle around the state or at any equine/cattle events.
Several states have provided the TAHC with information on enhanced entry requirements they are imposing on Texas livestock (including horses) due to the recently announced VS cases in Texas. For information about these movement restrictions, contact the state or county of destination and/or visit here.
For more information about VS, see the TAHC’s brochure.
A USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) VS fact sheet is available here.
For current USDA-APHIS VS situation reports visit this site.
For more information, please view the full release here.
60th Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course Aug. 4-6
The 60th Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course is scheduled Aug. 4-6 on the campus of Texas A&M University. Multiple sessions throughout the three-day event will focus on beef cattle production, management, market outlook and the future of the industry.
The Cattleman’s College portion of the short course will feature workshops on introductory cattle production, retiring to the ranch, forage-management practices, nutrition and reproduction, recordkeeping, genetics, purebred cattle and landowner issues.
On Aug. 6, fence-building, cattle-working and carcass-quality demonstrations will be featured, as well as a business management workshop. A complete schedule can be found online at http://beefcattleshortcourse.com/content/uploads/2014/05/2014-BCSC-Final-Schedule.pdf. Follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #BCSC2014 and follow the media blog at http://agrilife.org/beefshortcourse/.
For media requests, contact Blair Fannin, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service communications specialist, at 979-845-2259, or b-fannin@tamu.edu.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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