News Update
February 14, 2018
Arby’s Still Going Big with Beef
Jim Taylor can’t imagine a world without beef. For without beef, there would be no cattle. There would be no cowboys or cowboy movies; no Marlon Brando or Elvis in leather jackets. There would be no steak houses. Certainly, there would be no Arby’s.
That’s a scary thought for Taylor, who is the chief marketing officer for Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc., the Georgia-based company whose advertisements claim, “We have the meats!” Taylor expressed his gratitude for beef and beef producers when he addressed a Cattlemen’s College® session Jan. 31 during the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix, Ariz.
Taylor said the restaurant business shares some of the same challenges as beef producers, such as rising input costs, unfriendly legislation and even disagreeable weather. He also said that, like many cattle operations, Arby’s marketing success has resulted from differentiating itself from the competition.
It began in 1964 when brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel saw opportunity in a fast-food business based on something other than burgers. The founders founded the restaurant chain on big, meaty roast beef sandwiches.
Read the full Angus Journal summary online.
Emissions Reporting Relief Bill a Breath of Fresh Air for Ag
The Feb. 3 introduction of S. 2421, the Fair Agriculture Reporting Method (FARM) Act is a welcome relief to farmers and ranchers who will soon need to file unnecessary, low-level continuous air emissions reports under federal Superfund and emergency response laws.
“Congress enacted Superfund and emergency response laws to provide the tools needed to quickly respond to hazardous waste emergencies. Emissions from animals raised on farms and ranches were never intended to be swept into these reporting requirements,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said. “We urge Congress to act swiftly to pass this legislation before the reporting requirement overwhelms our first responders and burdens farmers and ranchers with needless reporting obligations and the risk of activist lawsuits.”
The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Fischer (R-NE) and Donnelly (D-IN), would clarify that routine emissions from farm animals and their manure are not reportable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA requires facilities to report releases of hazardous substances that exceed certain threshold quantities within a 24-hour period. Both the Bush and Obama administrations supported a rule exempting most farms from the need to report ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions, but activist groups successfully blocked the rule last year at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
For more information, read the Farm Bureau news release online.
2018 Farm Bill Meetings
The 2018 Farm Bill is awaiting debate in Congress. These meetings, a joint effort between Kansas State University (K-State) and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), will provide an overview of the current debate, discuss current economic conditions in agriculture that will frame the debate, and then look at Title I programs, dairy, nutrition and conservation programs, as well as proposed crop insurance changes. Speakers are Mykel Taylor and Art Barnaby from K-State, and Brad Lubben from UNL.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with sessions from 9:00 a.m. until noon, and following lunch from 1:00-2:30 p.m.
The cost is $20 if preregistered five days before the date of each meeting, or $30 after the deadline or at the door.
More information can be found at the Angus Journal’s Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
Illinois Cattle Feeders Meeting set for March 9 in Dixon
Illinois cattlemen and cattlewomen will have the opportunity to hear from several experts at the 2018 Illinois Cattle Feeders Meeting planned for Mar. 9 at Sauk Valley Community College outside Dixon. The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“This meeting is a must-attend for Illinois cattle producers. Firsthand access to this kind of knowledge in the cattle industry is rare,” says Travis Meteer, University of Illinois (U of I) Beef Extension Educator.
Speaker Allison Cooke, director of governmental affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, will discuss agricultural policy issues. She will give an update on CERCLA, the electronic logging device regulations for truckers and other issues pertinent to Illinois cattlemen.
Ted Funk, U of I professor emeritus, will discuss manure handling best management practices and give an update on the Illinois Livestock Management Facilities Act. Funk will also be able to answer questions regarding building citing and environmental regulations.
Josh McCann, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at U of I, will share new research concerning transitioning diets for cattle.
For more information please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.