News Update
December 3, 2014
Join Us for Angus Night on the Mountain
Spruce Mountain Ranch, Larkspur, Colo., and the Angus Foundation will once again partner to host Angus Night on the Mountain Jan. 14, 2015, during the National Western Stock Show (NWSS).
Angus Night on the Mountain, hosted and underwritten by Tom and Lois Ames, is an entertaining evening in a stunning location just a short drive south of Denver, Colo. Now in its fourth year, the event is a NWSS highlight that boasts fundraising activities that greatly benefit the future of the Angus breed, including the 2015 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) and its host state Oklahoma.
Free and open to the public, Spruce Mountain Ranch will provide bus transportation to and from the ranch. Buses will pick up attendees on a first-come, first-served basis in two locations beginning at 5 p.m.: at the NWSS following the Angus Bull Sale, and at the Marriott City Center NWSS Angus headquarters hotel. Following dinner, the 2015 NJAS and Angus Foundation will auction a limited number of packages to benefit Angus youth, education and research programs.
Packages available for auction are:
Confirmed packages and descriptions can be found online at www.angusfoundation.org. In addition, Spruce Mountain Ranch will also offer several featured lots of their Angus genetics. One lucky participant will also win a raffle drawing for a CD collection of cowboy poems donated by Baxter Black, nationally known comedian and entertainer.
For more information, please view the full release here.
More than 200 Groups Urge Congress
to Continue Supporting COOL
Dec. 2, 207 groups representing a broad segment of the U.S. economy, including farm, ranch, consumer and manufacturing groups, joined in a letter that urges U.S. Senate leaders to continue supporting the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law that is currently under attack by the governments of Canada and Mexico at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The group’s letter specifically urges Congress not to weaken, suspend or rescind COOL in the upcoming legislation to provide funding for the federal government in fiscal year (FY) 2015.
The group’s letter follows on the heels of a bipartisan letter sent by 32 Senators that likewise urged Senate leaders not to weaken or suspend COOL in the FY 2015 appropriations process.
Canada and Mexico challenged the U.S. COOL law at the WTO alleging that livestock from their respective countries were being treated less favorably than domestic livestock under the new requirement that muscle cuts of meat be labeled so consumers will know where the animal from which the meat was derived was born, where it was raised and where it was harvested.
In October, the WTO agreed with Canada and Mexico and concluded that some U.S. meatpackers were either opting not to purchase foreign livestock or they were discounting foreign livestock because they would have to be segregated in order to label their resulting meat properly.
“These packers that are vehemently opposed to COOL are achieving a self-fulfilling prophecy by refusing to buy and by imposing discounts on foreign livestock for the purpose of according Canada and Mexico with evidence to use at the WTO to undermine COOL,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
Bullard said the packers would not be able to do this if the U.S. cattle market were not so concentrated, because in a competitive market, another buyer would be available to purchase livestock the big four packers were shunning. This is not likely to occur in the U.S. market where just four meatpackers control about 85% of the fed cattle market.
Last week the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) appealed the WTO ruling and a decision on the appeal is not expected until well into 2015.
For more information, please view the full release here.
USDA Announces New Support to Help Schools Purchase More Food from Local Farmers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Dec. 2 more than $5 million in grants for 82 projects spanning 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands that support the USDA’s efforts to connect school cafeterias with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School Program. The program helps schools purchase more food from local farmers and ranchers in their communities, expanding access to healthy local food for school children and supporting local economies. According to USDA’s first-ever Farm to School Census released earlier this year, school districts participating in farm to school programs purchased and served more than $385 million in local food in school year 2011-2012, with more than half of participating schools planning to increase their purchases of local food in the future.
“USDA is proud to support communities across the country as they plan and implement innovative farm to school projects,” said Vilsack. “These inspiring collaborations provide students with healthy, fresh food, while supporting healthy local economies. Through farm to school projects, community partners are coming together to ensure a bright future for students, and for local farmers and ranchers.”
Secretary Vilsack made this announcement at Common Market, a pioneering food hub in Philadelphia that connects wholesale customers to farmers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Together, Common Market and the other selected projects will serve more than 4,800 schools and 2.8 million students, nearly 51% of whom live in rural communities.
For a complete list of FY15 Farm to School grant recipients, please visit: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/f2s/FY_2015_Grant_Award_Summaries.pdf
USDA’s Farm to School Grants help schools respond to the growing demand for locally sourced foods and increase market opportunities for producers and food businesses, including food processors, manufacturers and distributors. Grants will also be used to support agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms and cooking classes. USDA Farm to School Conference and Event Grants support regional, state and national conferences; events and/or trainings that have a specific emphasis on developing supply-chain relationships by connecting local producers to school food buyers; and events and trainings that provide technical assistance or other programming in the area of local procurement, food safety, culinary education and integration of agriculture-based curriculum.
For more information, please view the full release here.
CattleFax Webinar Helps Producers in High-price Environment
Cow-calf producers are at a fork in the road, according to CattleFax, the global leader in beef industry research, analysis and information. The current expansion environment has produced record profitability and exposed the segment to more financial and production risk than any other time in recent history. CattleFax will address this challenge during its next Trends+ Cow-Calf Webinar at 5:30 p.m. MST, Jan. 21, 2015.
Calf prices are nearly $100 per hundredweight (cwt.) higher than last year at this time, and bred cow values have increased nearly $1,000 per head in the last year. The dynamic market shift occurring in 2014 has motivated cow-calf expansion and created indecision at the same time.
During the one-hour session, CattleFax analysts Mike Murphy and Lance Zimmerman will discuss how producers can navigate marketing decisions and business plans for the next five to 10 years. To participate in the webinar and access program details, producers and industry leaders simply need to register online at www.cattlefax.com/meetings.aspx.
Elanco Animal Health is sponsoring the webinar — making it free for all cattle and beef producers to benefit from CattleFax’s analysis and perspective on factors influencing the cow-calf, stocker and backgrounding businesses.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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