News Update
Aug. 18, 2009

‘I Am Angus’ Begins Airing on AgDay and U.S. Farm Report this weekend
A new documentary series about the beef industry will begin airing this weekend on television and satellite networks across the country.

The announcement was made today by the American Angus Association®, the nation’s largest beef organization, and Farm Journal Television, which produces AgDay and U.S. Farm Report, the longest-running television programs that focus on agriculture and rural America.

The segments, titled “I Am Angus,” tell the personal stories of cattle producers from across the country.

“We’re excited to be working with Farm Journal Television in this endeavor,” Bryce Schumann, Association CEO, says. “Both AgDay and U.S. Farm Report have a long-standing tradition of broadcasting excellence. We feel privileged to provide them with quality content about beef producers and other beef industry segments.”

AgDay and U.S. Farm Report are broadcast by more than 150 TV stations nationwide and on RFD-TV. Each weekday morning AgDay reaches more than 200,000 households. More than 500,000 households across the country view U.S. Farm Report each weekend.

“We’re looking forward to featuring many of the people involved in the Angus breed, and the opportunity to tell their stories to our audience,” says Wes Mills, executive producer of Farm Journal Television. “Our audience will enjoy the stories and beautiful visuals that these segments have to offer.”

For more information, please visit www.angus.org, or contact Eric Grant at 816-383-5100.

For a list of stations that air AgDay and U.S. Farm Report, please visit www.agday.com and www.usfarmreport.com.

— Provided by the American Angus Association.

Project Will Study Beef Flavor Enhancement
A research project funded by the beef checkoff will try to ascertain how fat is deposited both inside and outside muscle tissue. Scientists at Texas A&M University, the University of Idaho and Texas Tech University submitted the proposal, titled “Regulation of Marbling Development in Beef Cattle by Specific Fatty Acids.”

The project will illustrate how to put more taste fat, or marbling, inside the muscle, while depositing less waste fat around the outside of beef cuts. It also will determine if concentrations of proven healthful fatty acids can be increased.

— Information provided by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB).

NPPC Asks USDA To Save Pork Industry
Asking for help to save the U.S. pork industry and thousands of jobs, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Monday urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to lend assistance to U.S. pork producers to help them weather a nearly 2-year-old economic crisis.

In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, NPPC requested $250 million in financial assistance and other actions that should help producers, who since September 2007 have lost an average of more than $21 on each hog marketed. It asked the agency to:

• Purchase immediately an additional $50 million of pork for various federal food programs — other than ones in USDA’s Section 32 program — using fiscal 2009 funds. Fiscal 2009 ends Sept. 30. The funds would not come from USDA’s Section 32 program. (USDA annually buys pork for food programs; it bought $62.6 million worth in 2008, for example.)
• Urge Congress to lift a spending cap on the Section 32 program, and use $50 million of $300 million available to purchase pork for the program, which uses customs receipts to buy non-price-supported commodities for school lunch and other food programs.
• Buy on Oct. 1 a minimum of $50 million of pork, using fiscal 2010 funds. Fiscal 2010 begins Oct. 1. The purchase would be in addition to USDA’s annual buy.
• Use $100 million of the $1 billion appropriated for addressing the H1N1 virus for the swine industry. This would include $70 million for swine disease surveillance, $10 million for diagnostics and H1N1 vaccine development and $20 million for industry support.
• Work with the U.S. Trade Representative to open export markets to U.S. pork. Several countries, including China, continue to impose unwarranted bans on U.S. pork because of the H1N1 flu.
• Study the economic impact on the livestock industry of an expansion of corn-ethanol production and usage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed raising the cap on blending ethanol into gasoline to 15% from its current 10%.

“U.S. pork producers are in desperate straits right now, and they need a little help from USDA,” NPPC President Don Butler said. “The request NPPC has made today not only will help pork producers and Americans who benefit from government feeding programs but tens of thousands of mostly rural jobs supported by the U.S. pork industry.”

Governors from nine states Aug. 7 also asked the federal government to help U.S. pork producers, urging USDA to make a supplemental $50 million purchase of pork and to lift the Section 32 spending cap to make additional pork buys.

— Release provided by NPPC.

Slump Continues for Beef, Pork Exports
The lingering global economic slump and low prices for domestic beef and pork products in key export markets contributed to declines in both U.S. beef and pork exports in June, while lamb exports continue to enjoy a strong year, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

“The H1N1 influenza virus has been an important factor for U.S. pork exports,” said Jon Caspers, USMEF chairman and a pork producer from Swaledale, Iowa. “We have had market access issues in two of our top six pork export markets (China and Russia), which makes it all the more important to maintain a strong presence in our other key markets.”

To ensure that U.S. red meat products maintain a high profile in key markets, USMEF is employing a variety of tactics to support beef and pork exports.

“In challenging economic conditions like these, there is no one silver bullet that will drive exports, so we are looking at a whole spectrum of marketing and education programs that can be tailored to the specific market,” said Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO.

Beef (combined muscle cuts and variety meat) exports have fared slightly better than pork, declining 2% in volume and 6% in value for the first half of 2009, reaching 435,260 metric tons (959.6 million pounds) valued at almost $1.5 billion. For the month, beef export volumes slipped 13% and the value fell 16%.

The success of beef muscle cuts vs. variety meat is the opposite of pork: beef muscle cut exports have increased 4% over the first half of 2009 to 284,388 metric tons (almost 627 million lb.) valued at $1.2 billion — a 1% increase over 2008.

And for the month of June, beef muscle cuts increased 2.5% in volume while the value slipped just over 4%. This was the largest monthly beef muscle cut export volume since last October.

Of the leading U.S. beef (muscle cuts plus variety meat) export markets, Japan has been the biggest bright spot, increasing 9.6% in volume and 9.7% in value during June vs. one year ago. For the first six months of the year, beef export volume to Japan is up 17% to 40,316 metric tons (88.9 million lb.) valued at $209.4 million — an 18% hike. Japan is the No. 3 market for U.S. beef in terms of value, and No. 4 in volume.

The top destination for U.S. beef, Mexico, continues to struggle with its economic recovery. Total beef exports to Mexico were down 27% in volume in June and are off 22% for the first half of 2009, reaching 155,439 metric tons (342.7 million lb.) valued at $498 million for the first six months.

The No. 2 export market for U.S. beef, Canada, saw volumes slip 5% in June while export values fell 12% compared to a year ago. For the year, export volume is down 10% to 71,303 metric tons (157.2 million lb.) valued at $309.8 million, a 15% dip.

Complete June export statistics for pork, beef and lamb can be found online on USMEF’s statistics page.

— Provided by USMEF.

USDA Study Finds Rural Communities Benefit from Greater Broadband Internet Access
A new USDA economic analysis has found that rural communities with greater broadband Internet access had greater economic growth than areas with less access. The study, “Broadband Internet’s Value for Rural America” by economists at USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), compared counties that had broadband access relatively early — by 2000 — with similarly situated counties that had little or no broadband access. Employment growth was higher and non-farm private earnings greater in counties with a longer history of broadband availability.

USDA Provides $17M for Critical Access Hospital in Rural Kansas
USDA Rural Development Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager today announced the award of a $17 million Community Facilities guaranteed loan to Community Memorial Healthcare Inc. of Marysville, Kan., to construct a 25-bed critical access hospital.

Rural Development funds will be used to build a 63,780-square-foot hospital to replace the current facility built in 1958. The new facility will be finished in Spring 2011 and is expected to help encourage doctors to remain in rural areas.

The loan funds are part of USDA Rural Development’s annual budget and are not funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

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