News Update

March 30, 2016

Creating a Culture

In an industry that values tradition, there is certainly a place for progressive thinking and continual improvement in all areas of the cattle community. The national Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program’s goal is to raise consumer confidence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry.

“It’s about creating a culture for quality management,” says Dan Thomson, Jones professor of epidemiology and production medicine at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Nobody cares more about the cattle industry than the people in the beef industry.”

The beauty of BQA is that it isn’t a mandatory program; it is an education program and shows just how many progressive cattlemen there are, says Tracey Walsh, director of industry relations for South Dakota BQA. BQA helps ensure consumers that their beef was raised in the best possible way, and it has evolved from just addressing injection-site lesions.

Read more in the full Angus Media news article online.

— Adapted from an article by Kasey Brown, Angus Media.

Rabobank Releases Q1 Beef Quarterly Report

South America’s beef exporters are set to increase exports by an estimated 11% in 2016. This increase is supported by favorable currency values, improved access to importing countries and increased availability of beef.

While Brazilian consumers are seeing their purchasing power decline, local beef prices remain high. On the supply side, cattle producers have been encouraged to maintain cows in their herd rather than sending them to slaughter — a result of high calf prices driven by low calf availability.

Other regional highlights from the Beef Quarterly Q1 2016:

Despite a slowing economy, official Chinese imports of beef continue to increase. China’s official beef imports surged by 60% year-over-year in 2015, reaching 473,000 tons.
Supplies are drying up, as Australian beef production is expected to remain low in the first half of 2016.
The USDA’s outlook report released on Feb. 25 forecast that U.S. imports of beef and veal will drop by 24% to 900,000 tons.

For more information, please view the Rabobank release online.

— Adapted from a release by Angus Gidley-Baird, Rabobank.

Make Every Day Sale Day

Energy is high during sale season. Whether you are looking for that next herd sire or selling a group of females, there’s nothing quite like sale day. You’ve studied the sale book, made your predictions and anxiously await the final bids.

Oh, and did you know this can all be done from your computer?

AngusAuctions.com broadcasts live production sales and hosts online-only auctions nearly every day throughout the busy sale season. Registered-Angus cattle will be sold from across the country and reflect some of the breed’s top genetic lines.

The website is a collaborative partnership between Angus Media and DV Auction — combining two of the most recognized and dependable names in the livestock marketing world. Together, they’ve established the largest collection of online buyers in the industry.

For more information, please view the full Angus Media news article online.

— Adapted from an article by Jena McRell, Angus Media.

Animal Ag Continues to Add Meat to National Economy

The animals that feed us are also feeding our economy, according to a new soy-checkoff-funded study. The analysis shows animal ag, U.S. soy’s top end user, increased gross national product by $123 billion in economic output, improved household earnings by over $21 billion and added 645,629 jobs from 2004-2014.

According to the Economic Analysis of Animal Agriculture, during 2014 alone, U.S. animal agriculture’s support of the national economy included: $440.7 billion in economic output; 2,363,477 jobs; $76.7 billion in earnings; and $19.6 billion in income taxes. Those figures all increased from 2013.

During 2014, U.S. animal agriculture consumed an estimated 27.9 million tons of soybean meal or the meal from about 1.2 billion bushels of U.S. soybeans.

For more information, please view the full release online.

— Adapted from a release by Kayla Hedrick, Osborn Barr.

Ballinger’s Biennial Agri-Plex Ag Day April 5

The Agri-Plex Ag Day conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is set for 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. April 5 at the Ballinger Community Center in Ballinger.

Garrett Cline, AgriLife Extension agent in Runnels County, said the long-running biennial program traditionally centers on agricultural and consumer topics of interest to west Texans.

Cline said this year’s event will again feature concurrent producer and consumer programs and the Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association annual meeting. It also will feature the naming of the Farm Family of the Year and Agri-business of the Year and awarding of the Pat Lee Memorial youth scholarships.

For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.

— Adapted from a release by Steve Byrns, Texas AgriLife Communications.

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

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