News Update
March 7, 2016
Meeting Global Beef Challenges
“Creating sustainable food systems is the greatest challenge of our time — our green revolution,” says JBS leader Cameron Bruett, who has sat at the head of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
Bruett says to feed a world population of nine billion people by 2050, everyone in the protein supply chain must do more with less.
“If you look at a lot of the marketing and advertising in agriculture, you would think that sustainability is a niche industry, that it is organic, that it is natural, that it is grass-fed, that it is local,” he explains. “And what it actually is, is responsibly meeting the needs of today, so that the next generation has an opportunity to responsibly meet their needs tomorrow.”
According to Burett, something everyone can do is talk more about the good things they are doing in agriculture, so our loyal consumers can feel even better about buying our products.
Watch the full interview on this week’s episode of The Angus Report. You can watch the news program at 7:30 a.m. CST Monday and 1:30 p.m. CST each Saturday on RFD-TV.
NASS Suspends July, August Cattle Reports
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is suspending the July Cattle report which was slated for release on July 22, and the U.S. and Canadian Cattle report scheduled for August 23.
The Cattle report issued in July contains inventory numbers of all cattle and calves in the United States. The U.S. and Canadian Cattle report is a joint effort of Statistics Canada and NASS to report the number of cattle and calves by class and calf crop for both countries within one publication.
NASS published the January Cattle report on Jan. 29, 2016, and will publish the U.S. and Canadian Cattle report, which uses data from the January Cattle report, on March 8, 2016.
Before deciding to suspend these reports, the NASS reviewed estimating programs against mission- and user-based criteria, as well as the amount of time remaining in the fiscal year to meet budget and program requirements, while maintaining the strongest data in service to U.S. agriculture.
The decision to suspend this report was not made lightly, but was necessary, given the available fiscal and program resources. The NASS will continue to review federal agricultural statistical programs using the same criteria to ensure we provide timely, accurate and useful statistics.
Preventing Enterotoxemia in Young Calves
“The best way to prevent acute toxic gut infections in young calves caused by Clostridium perfringens is to vaccinate the dam,” says Robert Callan, chief of staff at the large animal hospital at the Colorado State University (CSU) James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
“Then the antibodies will be in the GI (gastrointestinal) tract as soon as the newborn calf nurses, to neutralize the toxin. When we vaccinate calves at birth, it takes 10 to 14 days to develop peak antibody levels and strong immunity, and maybe longer, since two doses of vaccine are often necessary,” he says.
Vaccinating the calves can be beneficial, however, in herds that experience the worst problems in older calves.
Read more in the Angus Media article online.
Opportunities with Small Acreages
Small acreages offer a variety of ways to generate income, ranging from raising fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry to enhancing your property for outdoor recreation or agritourism. A University of Missouri (MU) Extension conference, April 2 in Saint Joseph, will explore opportunities to put small acreages to work.
The third annual Small Acreage and Land Entrepreneurs (SALE) Conference gives small-acreage owners the opportunity to learn and network on a variety of topics, and to visit with area businesses and agencies of interest to this group, said Randa Doty, MU Extension agricultural business specialist and one of the conference organizers.
The SALE Conference will feature a variety of sessions in four concurrent tracks. Sessions are scheduled to last 30 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions and are timed to allow attendees to move from track to track.
For more information, please view the full release online.
Grassfed Exchange Conference
Once considered a niche in the food industry, grass-fed meats are an increasingly popular choice as consumer demand continues to grow and more people join the movement. Along those lines, the purpose of this year’s event is to continue to help producers, processors, distributors and the ever expanding number of consumers grow their knowledge of the grass-fed industry.
Typically reserved for those in grassland farming and ranching, this year’s Grassfed Exchange Conference, April 27-29 in Perry, Ga., is designed to also provide a wealth of education and information to consumers, cooks and chefs; and to allow for networking between the producers and the consumer. Organizers will demonstrate the ways people can integrate grass-fed meats into their diets and further explain the industry’s impact and influence on overall human health.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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