News Update
September 8, 2017
In the Cattle Markets
USDA released its crop report Aug. 10 with some real surprises for the trade. What was bad for the crop side was good for livestock producers.
Starting with corn, the report indicated a crop of 14.2 billion bushels (bu.), tied for the second largest on record (2014), behind only 2015’s 15.1-billion-bu. crop. The estimated average yield was 169.5 bu. per acre. While yields were estimated to be below last year’s in the central and western Corn Belt, yields were higher across the South and Northeast. Record-high yields were estimated in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York. The drought-hit states of North and South Dakota indicated yields 37 bu. and 21 bu. below last year, respectively.
Objective yield estimates in this report included the number of ears per acre in selected fields. About 28,000 ears per acre were estimated. When ear count is combined with estimated production, the implied ear weight was almost 0.35 lb. per ear, which would be the third largest on record, behind only 2004 and 2016.
Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Website Offers Critical Mosquito,
Disease Information after Hurricane Harvey
Visitors to the Mosquito Safari website at http://mosquitosafari.tamu.edu will find comprehensive information on common mosquitoes, the diseases they carry and instructions for controlling the pest, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologists.
They said the information is critical in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, whose initial rains forced mosquitoes from their habitats into human areas, and whose residual standing waters have created new environments for mosquito breeding.
“The best thing people can do to fight this pest is to arm themselves with knowledge,” said AgriLife Extension entomologist Mike Merchant, Dallas. “Mosquito Safari gives people the best available scientific information for dealing with these pests, which is especially important following the state’s recent weather events.”
The newly redesigned website identifies the seven types of mosquitoes considered by entomologists to pose the biggest public health concerns. It reviews the diseases they carry by offering in-depth descriptions, video and infographics on effects and symptoms. An interactive “backyard safari” also allows users to explore the places mosquitoes inhabit around the home.
In the face of recent and expected mosquito population surges, Mosquito Safari’s most important offering is mosquito control methods, Merchant said.
Read the full news release online.
Secretary Perdue Statement on
President Trump’s Tax Reform Agenda
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue Sept. 6 reiterated his strong support for President Trump’s tax reform agenda, as the president outlined on the 6th in North Dakota. Perdue issued the following statement:
“Farming is a complicated operation, so to place more burdens on the people of agriculture through the tax code has never made any sense. Most agricultural enterprises are small businesses, and the costs and time required simply to comply with the tax code are impediments to what these folks really ought to be doing, and that’s growing and producing food to feed the United States and the world.
“It’s an old, not-so-funny joke that farmers live poor and die rich because of the value of the land they own. It isn’t right that a family’s hard work will be punished by the death tax, through which many farms have to be broken up or sold off just to pay the tax bill. I urge Congress to take up the tax reform agenda to give American agriculture the best chance to succeed. That would be in line with our new motto here at USDA — ‘Do right and feed everyone.’ ”
NDSA Delegation Welcomed President Trump Yesterday
On Sept. 6, a delegation from the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) was on hand to welcome President Donald Trump on his visit to North Dakota to discuss tax relief and reform. NDSA executive vice president Julie Ellingson, a fourth-generation Morton County cattle rancher, was acknowledged in the president’s remarks.
Trump said, “Today with us is Julie Ellingson, a fourth-generation rancher and a mother of five from [St. Anthony.] Where’s Julie? I like Julie. Like many family ranchers, Julie worries about the death tax shutting down her family business and keeping her from passing it on to her children. It’s a devastating tax. Julie, we are not going to allow the death tax — or the inheritance tax or whatever you want to call it — to crush the American dream. We’re not going to let it happen.”
The NDSA has long-standing policy, which was renewed again last year, on the estate tax. The resolution calls for the permanent elimination of the estate tax, but retention of the stepped-up basis.
Learn more in the full NDSA news release online.
R-CALF USA Hosts Seminar
The Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association (CICA) and the Southern Colorado Livestock Association (SCLA) will meet Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, at Otero Junior College, Student Center Banquet Room, 2001 San Juan Ave., La Junta, Colo. SCLA members will have a business meeting prior to the main event, at 2 p.m. in the conference room (same building) to plan for the annual banquet and ball. At 2:30 p.m. there will be a meet and greet for CICA members and guests. Coffee, tea and goodies provided. The marketing seminar will start promptly at 3 p.m.
This seminar is not about when and how to sell your cattle. It is intended to answer several questions posed by our members: How can we get our message out there? How do we get heard in Denver? What’s most effective in advocating for policy changes? How do we reach consumers? What is the best use of our time and dollars in promotion and advertising? Speakers will each share from their vast, successful experience.
For more information, visit the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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