News Update

February 9, 2016

Bull Season Expectations

With lower trends in feeder and fat markets, what do breeders anticipate for the ongoing bull sale season? Doug Slattery, chief operating officer for 44 Farms, is optimistic for the season and believes Angus bulls are the answer to lower prices.

“The market’s not quite as high, and the feeder and the fat market is off a little bit from what it was last year, but the strength of the Angus breed is going to compensate for that. People that are buying bulls are buying Angus bulls, and we look for a great spring bull season,” Slattery said.

Slattery adds, “I think adding quality to your calves in this little bit of a challenging market is adding quality and value. Those are going to be very important this year, and I think buyers are going to be looking for soundness, and they’re going to be looking for pounds, and they’re going to be looking for carcass traits.”

Watch this week’s full episode of The Angus Report online. You can also catch the show at 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday and 7:30 a.m. CST each Monday morning on RFD-TV.

— Adapted from The Angus Report.

Shifting Tides of Global Beef Trade

The U.S. beef industry faces an increasingly competitive global beef market, according to Rabobank’s Don Close. Close, who is the vice president of food and agribusiness research for the organization, addressed attendees during a Learning Lounge session at the 2016 Cattle Industry Convention & National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show Jan. 28. He noted that producers and processors in the United States and around the world are watching to see whether consumption will maintain pace with potential production growth.

“The answer is far from straightforward,” Close stated.

For the U.S. beef industry to remain competitive in the future, Close said Rabobank offers three recommendations: focus on enhancing U.S. export opportunities; producing beef that meets emerging consumer preferences; and implementing programs such as a voluntary, industry-driven cattle and beef traceability program.

— Adapted from an article by Kindra Gordon for Angus Media.

$1.35 Million to Farm Management Resources

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced Feb. 9 the availability of $1.35 million for the Farm Business Management and Benchmarking (FBMB) program.

The FBMB Competitive Grants Program provides funds to improve the farm management knowledge and skills of agricultural producers and establish and maintain a national, publicly available farm financial management database to support improved farm management.

This year’s applications should address the maintenance and expansion of farm financial management databases; the establishment or expansion of collaborative farm management and producer partnerships; advancing data gathering; the development or expansion of cooperation and data sharing; the provision of training, assistance and software to farm management associations; the improvement of profitability and competitiveness of small- and medium-sized farms; and/or the improvement of producers’ abilities to manage operations.

Applications are due April 11. Please see the request for applications for specific program requirements.

For more information, access the USDA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the USDA Office of Communications.

Developing New Antimicrobial Drugs for Food Animals

Incentives and disincentives to researching and developing new antimicrobial drugs and non-antibiotic alternatives for use in food-producing animals will be the focus of a workshop March 17-18, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Farm Foundation, NFP and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) are collaborating to present the workshop, which will be at ERS offices at Patriots Plaza III, 355 E Street SW, Washington, D.C.

The March 17-18 workshop will examine factors involved in creating incentives for research and development of new antimicrobial drugs and alternatives to antibiotics. These include: the market for animal pharmaceuticals, how to bring an alternative product to market, regulatory protocols required to bring products to market, regulations on use of antibiotics in food production, and the overlap between human and animal antibiotic use and development.

There is no charge to participate in the workshop but registration is requested and can be completed online.

For more information, please view the complete news release.

— Adapted from a release by Farm Foundation NFP.

MU Fence Law Program, Feb. 16

University of Missouri (MU) Extension is offering a program on Missouri fence laws at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at the MU Extension Center in Callaway County, 5803 County Road 302, Fulton.

“Missouri continues to have a very complicated fence law, in large part due to the fact that two separate laws cover the state depending on the county that your land is in,” says Joe Koenen, MU Extension agricultural business specialist.

“If you own land, you need to know the law and how it impacts you, whether you own livestock or not,” he says. “Another problem is that both laws are subject to interpretation and can be a little different, depending on the county you’re in.”

For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.

— Adapted from a release by Linda Geist, University of Missouri Extension.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Journal.

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