News Update
August 29, 2014
Statement from NCBA President Regarding APHIS Proposed Rule to Allow Importation of Beef from Region in Argentina
The USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register Aug. 29 to allow the importation of beef from a region in Argentina. National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) President Bob McCan, cattleman from Victoria, Texas, issued the following statement:
“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is deeply concerned by today’s announcement by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to add the Patagonia areas of Argentina to the list of regions considered free of Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) and to subsequently allow the importation of live cattle and fresh or frozen beef into the United States from this region. Our extreme concern is only further magnified by the associated proposed rule to allow chilled or frozen beef to be imported from the region of Northern Argentina. Northern Argentina is a region that is not recognized as being free of Foot-and-Mouth Disease by APHIS. We strongly believe that these recent actions by APHIS present a significant risk to the health and well-being of the nation’s cattle herd through the possible introduction of FMD virus.
“FMD is an extremely contagious viral disease of cloven-hooved animals and many wildlife species. This disease is considered to be one of the most economically devastating livestock diseases in the world and an outbreak of FMD could ultimately threaten the entire U.S. economy, as well jeopardize our national food security.
“APHIS conducted their risk analysis based on a series of site visits to Argentina to determine the FMD risk status of these regions. NCBA’s repeated requests for written reports for these APHIS site visits to Argentina have gone unanswered. Finally, we were informed by APHIS that written reports are not required for APHIS site reviews. This lack of documentation and an obvious lack of management controls for the site-review process calls into question the integrity and quality assurance for the entire risk analysis. Valid science-based decisions are not possible in this flawed system.
“It is evident that APHIS has charged blindly forward in making this announcement, ignoring the findings of a third-party scientific review identifying major weaknesses in the methodology of the risk analysis that formed the foundation for the APHIS decision-making process. The third-party scientific review uncovered deficiencies in the APHIS hazard analysis and the exposure assessment, as well as an overly subjective qualitative format for the risk analysis.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Ranchers Weigh Options on Replacement Heifers
Amid Historic High Prices
When it comes to replacement heifers in beef cattle operations, producers are faced with a dilemma: Raise them, buy them or sell them and “take the money and run,” said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist.
It’s becoming an all too familiar situation among Texas ranchers, said Stan Bevers, an AgriLife Extension economist at Vernon, who recently presented a study at the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course.
“We looked at what the market is right now for replacement heifers,” he said. “We were targeting heavy-bred heifers, and they were anywhere from $1,650 to $2,300 a head. The second number was what it was costing the rancher to raise them themselves.
“One operation we tracked were heifers weaned in 2010 and 2011, what those heifers were and what their accumulated expenses were over the two years to the point where they were heavy bred. Their expenses totaled $1,100 to $1,400 a head. That ranch was pretty efficient and did a good job of reducing their expenses.”
Bevers said since this ranch was located in Oklahoma, one would need to add $300-$400 per head to that for Texas ranchers and regional market prices to develop replacement heifers.
“That comes out to $1,400-$1,800 to develop replacement heifers in Texas,” Bevers said.
If you look at the current market price, it shows it’s cheaper to “raise them yourself if you are a pretty efficient, cost-reducing type operator.”
“The final number we looked at is if I have to pay much over market cost for them or if I choose to raise a heifer on my own, what is she going to return me over her life?” he said. “We started with a two-year-old heifer that’s going to be having her first calf and added eight years to that. That means we’ve gone out 10 years into the future, so now she is 10 years old, and we came up with what I can pay for her, which was $2,301 a head.”
Bevers said that leaves three numbers to consider.
“We know the market is $1,650 to $2,300, and it takes $1,400 to $1,500 to raise her, and now she is worth $2,300 in my herd economically.
“What do you do with those numbers? Well, if nothing else, it illustrates how complex this decision is right now,” he said. “It’s not right or wrong. It’s based on what type of operation you have and your costs. You finally have to decide to pull the trigger and say ‘This is what we are going to have to do.’ ”
Bevers threw in a fourth number — what feedlots are paying for commercial heifers destined for the beef market. Right now, it’s about $1.93 to $2.03 per pound, he said.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Interior, USDA Partnership Protects and
Restores Important Central Arizona Watershed
Interior Deputy Secretary Michael Connor and Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert BAJD tonnie joined state, local and private partners Aug. 27 to mark the signing of a new joint watershed restoration agreement for C.C. Cragin Reservoir in Central Arizona. The agreement is a pilot project of the Western Watershed Enhancement Partnership, aimed at reducing the risks of costly wildfires and their impact on western watersheds as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.
“This agreement reflects our commitment to work with state and local partners in restoring and improving the health and resiliency of priority watersheds in Central Arizona,” Connor said. “Restoration activities and proactive planning help minimize the impacts of the hotter and longer wildfire seasons on western reservoirs, and other critical infrastructure, and help water managers avoid costly repairs in the future.”
“USDA and the Obama administration are working with partners across the country to restore the health of our forests and watersheds across public and private lands,” Bonnie said. “Given longer fire seasons and increased fuel loads in our forests, increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration is critical to reducing the threat of catastrophic fire and protecting watersheds.”
This new partnership joins the Salt River Project, National Forest Foundation, City of Payson, Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Forest Service in collaborative efforts to assess and implement treatments that protect the municipal water supply and minimize wildfire and flood risks. Potential projects include forest thinning; prescribed fire; tree planting; riparian vegetation improvements; stream, spring and channel restoration; and other forest and watershed health improvements on National Forest System lands within the area.
The partners will develop a collaborative five-year action plan specifying the treatment zones and planned restoration and protection activities, as well as accomplishment goals and funding commitments.
For more information, please view the full release here.
Training to Lessen the Risky Business of Beef Production
The program, “Reducing Risk in Beef Production,” will be held Sept. 11 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Carthage, 110 S. Sycamore St.
The multi-county program is hosted by AgriLife Extension in Harrison, Shelby and Panola counties, said Randy Reeves, AgriLife Extension agent in Harrison County.
“Beef production has always been a risky business,” Reeves said. “Today, with drought, high replacement costs and expensive fertilizer, it’s more risky than ever.”
Increased risk is often accompanied with increased opportunity, he said, and with informed management, beef production can still be a profitable venture.
The program will start at 9 a.m. and end at about 2 p.m. Registration is $20, payable at the door, and will include lunch and refreshments.
Presentation topics and speakers will include:
- “Managing Financial Risk,” by Legacy Ag Credit representatives Kristy Marjason and Yancy Murray, from Longview and Gilmer, respectively.
- “Rainfall Index and Cattle Price Floor Insurance Program for Cattle and Forage,” Jen Livsey, with Texas Farm Credit, Robstown.
- “Winter Pasture Planning and Management,” Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist, Overton.
- “Producing the Ideal Calf,” Jason Cleere, AgriLife Extension beef specialist, College Station.
For meal planning, attendees are urged to RSVP by calling one of the participating AgriLife Extension offices by Sept. 8. The phone numbers are: Harrison County, 903-935-8413; Panola County, 903-693-0380; and Shelby County, 936-598-7744.
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