News Update
July 8, 2008

Candidate Résumés Due Aug. 15

American Angus Association members who have expressed an interest in seeking a position on the Board of Directors should submit their biographies and a photo to Angus Journal Associate Editor Crystal Albers at calbers@angusjournal.com by Aug. 15. All bios and photos submitted by the deadline will be published in the October Angus Journal, prior to the election at the Annual Convention of Delegates in November.

If you have any questions, call Albers at 816-383-5215.

USDA Releases CRP Land in Flood Regions for Grazing


U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Ed Schafer announced July 7 that he is releasing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for livestock grazing in counties recently designated as Presidential Disaster Areas because of flooding. The release permits grazing only in counties designated as primary and contiguous disaster areas and only because of flooding.

“We have a crisis situation in the Midwest and other parts of the country that calls for drastic action,” Schafer said. “Major flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries came at one of the worst times for agriculture. Floodwaters inundated thousands of acres that cannot be salvaged for production this growing season, and it happened at a time of record crop, food and fuel prices. Our CRP land is vital to the balance we promote at USDA between production and preservation. I commit this resource knowing that we must redouble our conservation effort at every future opportunity,” Schafer said.


To be approved, CRP participants must write their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, obtain a modified conservation plan and receive county office approval before beginning to graze. Participants will experience a 25% reduction in their CRP rental payments.

The states with counties that will permit livestock grazing include: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The counties within each state are listed at www.usda.gov.

— Release provided by USDA.

FDA to Prohibit Antimicrobials in Food-Producing Animals

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to prohibit the extra-label use of cephalosporin antimicrobial drugs in cattle, swine, chickens, turkeys and other food-producing animals, Meatingplace.com reported

According to the article, FDA reported it has gathered evidence showing that the extra-label use of the antimicrobial in food-producing animals is linked to the emergence of drug resistance and compromises human therapies.

USDA Issues Advance Direct Payments

 America’s farmers will receive up to $1.15 billion in 2008 advance direct payments beginning July 7.

“We pledged to make the Direct and Counter-cyclical payment Program (DCP) available to producers as quickly as possible. Sign-up began June 25 and today we are distributing payments to those producers who elected to receive a 22% advance payment at enrollment,” Secretary Ed Schafer said.

To receive direct payments, an individual or entity must be a producer on a farm with base acres enrolled in the DCP. Producers may elect to receive a 22% advance payment when they enroll in the DCP. For more information on the program, visit a local USDA Service Center or www.fsa.usda.gov.


— Release provided by USDA.

— compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.