News Update
April 22, 2016
Women Connected
Hosted at CAB Headquarters
More than 35 women from 17 states gathered at the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand’s Education and Culinary Center April 2-4 in Wooster, Ohio, to network, learn and celebrate their love for the Angus breed during the American Angus Auxiliary’s third biennial Women Connected conference.
“The main goal of Women Connected is to provide an opportunity for participants to network with other Angus women with a common bond,” said Women Connected Chair Anne Lampe, Scott City, Kan. “In bringing these women together, we hope to educate them, help them engage with one another and empower them to meet their goals.”
The “Brand Champion Chopped Competition” was the main event on April 3, where participants were assigned teams and given a mystery basket of ingredients — including CAB® as the main course.
To continue reading, view the Angus news release online.
Highest Quality Beef Ever
All agree the real driver of beef demand is its unique flavor, and marbling drives flavor. This key component of quality grade has grown in the last few years, to where the U.S. beef industry is probably producing the best eating experience in its history. That bodes well for beef demand.
Sure, some old timers argue that the early days of cattle feeding (mid-1950s to late ’60s) produced equally “rich” beef, but even they admit the 1970s saw a rapid erosion in quality — and beef demand.
Anyway, that’s in the past and today’s trends are top of mind. Under our current grading system in 2015, the industry fed-beef average of 74.2% Choice and Prime carcasses was the highest ever achieved, and not by just a little bit.
As we compare changes in the percentage of Choice and Prime beef in the mix, rather than cite a percentage of a percentage, we’ll use “percentage points;” last year’s number was 4.6 points higher than 2014. The first eight years of this century saw only a continued flat trend from decades past, 55% Choice and Prime.
Read more in the complete Angus Media article online.
Profitability and Price Discovery Outlook
Most attendees of an economic outlook presentation expect to hear about supply and demand. Those attending the annual Kansas State University (K-State) Cattlemen’s Day in March were not disappointed. Glynn Tonsor, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at K-State is a staple of the program and presented the profitability outlook.
Supplies are historically tight, though herd expansion is well under way, Tonsor reported. Demand has been positive from 2010 to 2015 but concerns about its strength have grown since September 2015. Beef production is slated to increase through 2017 in both number of cattle processed and in pounds of dressed weight, he said, citing Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) data.
Prices are projected to come down in 2016 and 2017, he said, noting $2 per pound calves in the third quarter of 2016 and down further in the fourth quarter of 2016.
For more information, access the Angus Media news article online.
Labor Visa Backlogs Threaten 2016 Crops
Agency delays in processing visas for workers who tend and harvest America’s food crops are fast approaching crisis proportions, all but guaranteeing that crops will rot in the field on many farms this year, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall said April 21.
Communications with state Farm Bureaus across the nation have revealed worker shortages in more than 20 states.
“Many farmer members have called us and state Farm Bureaus asking for help,” Duvall said. “They face serious hurdles in getting visas for workers in time to tend and harvest this year’s crops. Paperwork delays have created a backlog of 30 days or more in processing H-2A applications at both the Department of Labor and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
Farmers depend on the H-2A agricultural visa program to fill gaps in the nation’s ag labor system, but, Duvall said, the program is far from perfect. Processing and procedural delays, such as the government’s use of U.S. mail instead of electronic communications, are leading to losses from unharvested crops.
For more information, please view the Farm Bureau news release online.
K-State Crowned National Champion
Meat Animal Evaluation Team
The K-State Meat Animal Evaluation Team won national champion honors in the 2016 Meat Animal Evaluation Contest in Lincoln, Neb. The team was recognized April 15 in Lincoln following the three-day competition.
Eight of K-State’s 17 team members placed in the top 10 overall. Collectively, the team brought home K-State’s first national title in the contest’s 53-year history. The team is coached by assistant professor Travis O’Quinn, and instructor Chris Mullinix, and assisted by graduate student Austin Langemeier, all in K-State’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry.
The competition includes live market animal carcass predictions and pricing, breeding animal evaluation and meats judging competition and truly serves as a capstone judging experience for students with its incorporation of so many industry applicable concepts.
For more information, please view the full K-State news release online.
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