News Update
November 17, 2016
Creating a Culture for
a Successful Business
Every business has a culture. Every farm and ranch operation has a business culture — an evolving set of collective beliefs, values and attitudes that influence management decisions and all business functions, from production to accounting. Howard Putnam, former CEO for Southwest Airlines, believes every organization or business that starts with passion has a better chance of achieving sustainability.
“Innovation helps fuel the passion, but you have to develop the culture to support it,” advised Putnam during the 2016 Angus Convention hosted by the American Angus Association in Indianapolis, Ind. The businessman and author of The Winds of Turbulence delivered the keynote address Nov. 6 for the convention’s Angus University General Session, emphasizing the importance of developing a culture that makes employees and customers feel important.
Continue reading the Angus Media news article online.
Thanksgiving Dinner Ticks Down to Less Than $5 Per Person
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF’s) 31st annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.87, a 24¢ decrease from last year’s average of $50.11.
The big ticket item — a 16-pound (lb.) turkey — came in at a total of $22.74 this year. That’s roughly $1.42 per lb., a decrease of 2¢ per lb., or a total of 30¢ per whole turkey, compared to 2015.
“Consumers will pay less than $5 per person for a classic Thanksgiving dinner this year,” AFBF Director of Market Intelligence John Newton said. “We have seen farm prices for many foods — including turkeys — fall from the higher levels of recent years. This translates into lower retail prices for a number of items as we prepare for Thanksgiving and confirms that U.S. consumers benefit from an abundant, high-quality and affordable food supply.”
The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.
For more information, view the Farm Bureau news release online.
Peterson Names Agriculture Committee
Democratic Staff Director
House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson announced Nov. 16 that Anne Simmons will serve as Democratic Staff Director for the House Agriculture Committee.
“Anne brings both a thorough understanding of Capitol Hill and an in-depth knowledge of Agriculture Committee issues to this position,” Peterson said. “She has long been a trusted advisor to Agriculture Committee leaders and will serve an important leadership role in upcoming farm bill reauthorization discussions.”
Simmons currently serves as the Committee’s Senior Policy Advisor. She has been on the Agriculture Committee staff since 1993, serving under former Ranking Member Charlie Stenholm (Texas) and former Chairman Kika de la Garza (Texas). Prior to joining the Committee, Simmons was on the staff of then-Congressman Tim Johnson (South Dakota). Simmons was raised on a corn, soybean and livestock farm near Spencer, Iowa, and graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Play in the Dirt, Kids
Along America’s Angus Trails is rejoicing that science is finally catching up to one of his favorite subjects: research is increasingly showing that children who play in the dirt and muck on the ranch are much more immune to disease than those raised in a germ-free cocoon by ultra-fastidious new age, city-dweller parents.
The nation’s anti-microbe mission has been accompanied by an explosion in the prevalence of chronic, non-infectious diseases and disorders. Diabetes, allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune diseases, autism, obesity and certain types of cancers, are at all-time highs.
The incidence of many of these disorders is doubling every 10 years, and they are starting to appear sooner in life, even in childhood. While these diseases all have an inherited genetic component, recent studies find a direct link between the presence and absence of certain bacteria and all of the chronic diseases mentioned.
Continue reading in the Angus Media news article online.
Beef Industry’s Best, Brightest to
Share Insights at Cattlemen’s College
Leading authorities in the cattle industry will be sharing their experience and knowledge in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2017, offering cattlemen and women practical information that can be turned into profit-building ideas at the 24th annual Cattlemen’s College®. The event, which kicks off the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, is sponsored by Zoetis and coordinated by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).
Keynote speaker at the Cattlemen’s College Opening General Session will be Cameron Bruett, head of corporate affairs at JBS USA. Bruett will address expectations of transparency in today’s beef industry among consumers and customers, and the related farm and ranch management practices that have resulted — and will need to take place — in today’s highly competitive protein marketplace.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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