News Update

May 12, 2017

China Reopens for U.S. Beef

On May 11, the Trump Administration announced that one of the 10 initial actions of the U.S.-China Economic Cooperation 100-Day Plan includes restoration of U.S. beef access to China. We have waited 13 years for this development, and now we are one step closer to seeing U.S. beef in China.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Craig Uden today issued the following statement regarding the announcement from the White House that an agreement has been reached that will restore U.S. beef access to China:

“After being locked out of the world’s largest market for 13 years, we strongly welcome the announcement that an agreement has been made to restore U.S. beef exports to China. It’s impossible to overstate how beneficial this will be for America’s cattle producers, and the Trump Administration deserves a lot of credit for getting this achieved.

We look forward to providing nearly 1.4 billion new customers in China with the same safe and delicious U.S. beef that we feed our families. I look forward to the day when we can serve President Trump and President Xi a dry-aged American-made New York strip in Beijing.”

— Adapted from a release by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Tips for Working with the BLM and Forest Service

In today’s advocate-centric ag community, the phrase, “If we don’t tell our story, who will?” is one social media post away from becoming cliché. John Reese, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) range conservationist, says that philosophy rings true for BLM and Forest Service personnel.

“We need to encourage our brothers, our sisters, our kids to go get educated and go to work for [the government, BLM or Forest Service]. If they don’t work for the NRCS or the BLM or the Forest Service, then who does?” he posed.

With forthright scorn in his voice, Reese answered his own question: “Some kid from back East, who grew up hugging trees, and now he wants to tell you how you should run your cows.”

Reese offered cattlemen five tips for improved relations with local BLM and Forest Service offices. To read them, access the Angus Media news article online.

— Adapted from an article by Paige Nelson, Angus Media.

Secretary Perdue Announces Creation of Undersecretary for Trade

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue May 11 announced the creation of an undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs in the USDA, a recognition of the ever-increasing importance of international trade to American agriculture.

Perdue made the announcement standing by barges filled with agricultural products along the banks of the Ohio River. As part of a reorganization of USDA, Perdue also announced the standing up of a newly-named Farm Production and Conservation mission area to have a customer focus and meet USDA constituents in the field. Finally, Perdue announced that the department’s Rural Development agencies would be elevated to report directly to the secretary of agriculture in recognition of the need to help promote rural prosperity.

For more information, view the USDA news release online.

— Adapted from a release by USDA.

Your Best Management

Rosie Knold, assistant department head and associate professor of animal science at SDSU, was a recent guest on Angus Talk, a weekly radio program on Rural Radio, Channel 147. Tune in at 10 a.m. CDT each Saturday morning on SiriusXM Radio.

Q: What topics are covered in the “Best Management Practices for Cow Calf Production” iBook?
A: We have major categories in nutrition, reproduction, health, marketing, breeding and genetics, grazing and pasture management, and then also a general management section where we try to integrate a number of these topics into production systems.
Q: And the content is all rooted in research, correct?
A: Absolutely. Our authors are faculty members and Extension field specialists who have been directly involved in much of the research that's cited. In addition to that, they did significant review of other research to incorporate the most applicable information for producers.

Read more from the Angus Talk interview online.

— Adapted from an Angus Talk radio interview.

Texas Tech University Announces Two Major Gifts

The food safety experts in the Texas Tech University Department of Animal and Food Sciences have earned a reputation worldwide for their expertise in developing safe practices to the food industry and helping developing nations to enhance and secure their food supply.

The department houses the International Center for Food Industry and Excellence (ICFIE), a collaborative effort between the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources and the College of Human Sciences to emphasize food safety, value-added processing, nutrition and outreach, and education. Texas Tech’s food safety laboratories are unmatched anywhere else in the world and the research developed there has made a difference in the quality and safety of food in all corners of the globe.

That reach just stretched a little farther. Texas Tech announced on Wednesday (May 10) two significant philanthropic investments from Cargill and Teys Australia to support research in meat science.

Read the full Texas Tech news release online.

— Adapted from a release by Chris Cook, Texas Tech University.

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

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