News Update
October 12, 2016
Riverbend’s One-at-a-Time Quality Focus Earns National Honors
Unless you’re building an ark, little good can come from 45 inches of rain in 20 days.
That’s what happened when Hurricane Floyd hit Snow Hill, N.C., in fall 1999.
For cattleman Steve Harrison, the results were life changing. As the flood waters rose, half of the family’s cow herd — the one he’d returned to the farm to manage — was lost.
When people asked about his plans in the aftermath, he simply answered, “I can’t go back to working in the hog barns.”
So Harrison headed west.
At the same time, more than 2,000 miles away from that coastal farming community, Frank and Belinda VanderSloot and crew at Riverbend Ranch prepared for their first production sale in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Although he grew up hand-milking a cow to help provide for the family, VanderSloot was a businessman who was just getting into the registered-cattle business.
Today it is among one of the largest Angus operations in the country. VanderSloot says he didn’t choose the breed.
“That was a decision made by the people. That’s where the demand is. People want what Angus brings to the table,” he says.
Continue reading the Angus Media news article online.
Cargill will Launch 100% Traceable Beef Brand
Cargill Meats is preparing to launch its Pasture Crafted Beef brand, which will be grass-fed, grain-finished, “guaranteed tender and traceable to birth on sustainably operated ranches,” for sale in the United States. Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, Cargill’s vice president and managing director of Cargill’s North American McDonald’s business, discussed the forthcoming product line at the Global Conference for Sustainable Beef.
“Cargill is working hard to understand what consumers are looking for in their proteins. And we’re working to adjust our business to make sure that we are able to provide the products that people want and the information that they want about that product,” Johnson-Hoffman said.
The Pasture Crafted brand is “designed for the socially conscious beef consumer who can’t afford to go all the way to organic,” Cargill explained on its website.
For more information, view the full article at www.meatingplace.com.
North Dakota Stockmen’s Set Policy
Private property rights took center stage at the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s (NDSA) policy-development sessions at the organization’s recent convention in Minot, N.D., just like they had at its founding meeting 87 years before.
This year, the disruptive and sometimes violent protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline generated much of the conversation throughout the three-day convention, as well as a policy resolution denouncing both the illegal activities accompanying many of the protest activities and the federal government’s unprecedented intervention that brought a 20-mile area west of Lake Oahe — much of which is on private land — to a halt.
The issue is close to home for many NDSA members who own the land or live near where the pipeline is being laid, said newly elected NDSA President Warren Zenker of Gackle, N.D. “Their ranches and their lives are being upset,” he explained. “For months now, they have had to contend with trespassers, fences being cut, hay and supplies being stolen and roads being blocked.”
To continue reading, view the NDSA news release online.
— Adapted from a release by the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.
USDA Celebrates Progress for Nutrition
On Oct. 11, the USDA joins youth, parents, schools, communities and partners across the country in honoring National School Lunch Week 2016, as proclaimed by President Obama, a time to reflect on the positive steps our nation has taken to make nutrition a priority in every U.S. school. This also coincides with the month-long celebration of Farm to School Month, which recognizes efforts to bring local foods into schools and onto students’ trays.
“This is a time to reflect on the important role of the National School Lunch Program and Farm to School initiatives in improving the health of children across the country, as well as creating new opportunities for farmers and ranchers to provide schools with fresh, nutritious food,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
For more information, view the USDA news release online.
Drought Workshop to be Hosted at NMSU
If you’re a farmer or rancher, you may want to attend the one-day drought outlook and impacts workshop Oct. 25 at New Mexico State University (NMSU). The workshop is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Wooton Hall at 2995 Knox Street on the Las Cruces campus.
Attendees will learn about the drought outlook for the upcoming winter season. Experts from the National Drought Mitigation Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NMSU, University of Arizona and the USDA Southwest Climate Hub will give presentations. Presentations will highlight the potential impact of droughts on agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding rangelands in New Mexico and West Texas.
“No matter how small or large someone’s operation is — this workshop is for people who are interested in planning for drought,” said Caiti Steele, USDA Southwest Climate Hub deputy director.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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