News Update

January 6, 2017

Why beef quality grades are improving

Prices have eased, but a 10-year uptrend in beef quality from U.S. grain-fed cattle remains in place. That’s partly because lower quality beef has sold at a widening discount to average quality, says a beef cattle specialist with the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand.

Paul Dykstra recently published the white paper, “Why quality grades are improving,” which examines the trend, its causes and implications. The last decade has been transformative, he says.

“Angus cattle have risen to dominate the U.S. beef supply chain because their owners and managers exploited the breed’s ability to marble,” Dykstra says. “That’s independent of other economically important traits related to maternal and growth performance.”

The market demanded more highly marbled beef, and producers responded through genetics, management and marketing strategies.

Read more in the Angus Media news article online.

— Adapted from an article by Steve Suther, Certified Angus Beef LLC.

BIF Updates Guidelines

The ninth edition of Uniform Guidelines for Beef Improvement Programs represents a legacy of work that spans more than 50 years of cooperation among the various segments of the beef cattle industry. The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) board of directors approved changes to the ninth edition during its fall 2016 board meeting.

The updated guidelines are now posted to the BIF website — www.beefimprovement.org.

Updates included corrections to the age of dam range in days and recommendations for Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) observation collection and reporting. The age of dam updates can be found on Page 21. These updates were made after BIF board member, Lauren Hyde, proposed a classification chart that more accurately reflects age of dam in days as it relates to age in years for use in performance calculations.

For more information, view the BIF news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Angie Stump Denton, Beef Improvement Federation.

SMART Farm

On Jan. 5 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the largest consumer electronics show in the world, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance^® (USFRA) introduced a new communications concept, called SMART Farm, aimed at bridging the gap between the acceptance of innovation that’s a part of consumers’ everyday lives with the science and technology happening on today’s farms and ranches.

Today’s SMART Farms use data and technology to help farmers and ranchers become more efficient, nimble and more equipped to protect the planet’s resources while producing food. While at CES, USFRA and its partners will showcase a few examples of these innovations that, for example, result in better care for animals, fewer trips across the field and more precise application of water and crop inputs like fertilizer and pesticides.

For more information, view the USFRA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

Hannah Thompson-Weeman Promoted
to Vice President of Communications

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is pleased to announce the promotion of Hannah Thompson-Weeman to vice president of communications, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

In this position, Thompson-Weeman will assume a greater management role over the communications outreach strategies for the Alliance, as well as the Alliance’s issues management initiatives and other program efforts.

Thompson-Weeman joined the Alliance in December 2014 as director of communications and quickly took on the challenge of overseeing the Alliance’s media and communications efforts, including writing blogs for numerous trade publications, along with engaging members through committees and speaking at numerous stakeholder conferences.

For more information, view the news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Casey Whitaker, Animal Agriculture Alliance.

2017 Cattle Raisers Convention

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) announced that the 140th annual Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo, the biggest ranching industry event in Texas and Oklahoma, is scheduled for March 31-April 2 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum president, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and the former chief economist of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, will be the keynote speaker at the opening general session.

Holtz-Eakin will discuss how the new Presidential administration will likely act on policy priorities such as international trade, domestic energy, immigration and healthcare. His remarks will focus on how these positions may impact ranchers in the future.

Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax, will discuss the cattle markets and provide guidance on what ranchers can expect from livestock supplies, consumer demand and cattle prices.

Information sessions will feature experts on critical ranching topics such as eminent domain, international trade and export markets, differing perspectives on antimicrobial resistance, the 2017 state legislative session and a look ahead to what we can expect from weather patterns for the balance of 2017.

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

— Adapted from a release by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

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

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