News Update
March 11, 2013
American Angus Association Relocates 2014 Annual Meeting
The American Angus Association is pleased to announce that its 2014 Annual Meeting will be a stand-alone event in Kansas City. The number of cattlemen who rely on Angus genetics continues to grow, year after year. With that, so does interest in Association programs and services.
“We believe hosting the 2014 Annual Meeting in Kansas City will give us a chance to reach out to new areas of our membership and provide them with the education they need to be profitable in the cattle business,” says Bryce Schumann, Association CEO.
The Association Board of Directors voted during its February 2013 meeting to begin planning for the Angus event in Kansas City. Tentative dates are set for Nov. 5-Nov. 7, 2014, at the KCI Exposition Center — just 30 minutes from the Association headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.
“Our main focus is to offer educational, business and social opportunities to our members and other users of Angus genetics,” Schumann says. “We are developing an event that will truly stand out in the industry and serve all attendees well.”
Preliminary event planning includes educational seminars and workshops, keynote speakers, and sessions to conduct Association business. Also being discussed is an extensive trade show featuring allied industry partners.
The Angus breed has hosted its Annual Meeting of Delegates in Louisville, Ky., since 1975. While the event has benefitted by being held in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), the Association deems a change is appropriate for 2014. The Association will continue many current traditions, such as the awards banquet and receptions.
“By conducting the Annual Meeting in a more central location, we hope more Angus breeders will be able to make the trip and celebrate the business breed with us,” says Shelia Stannard, Association director of activities and events.
Angus events remain unchanged for 2013 and are scheduled for Nov. 16-19, along with NAILE livestock competitions. More information regarding the 2014 Angus Annual Meeting will be posted on the Association website as it is available.
NCBA Statement on USDA’s Proposed Amendment to
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Rule
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George, a cattleman from Cody Wyo., issued the following statement regarding the USDA proposed amendment to the mandatory country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) rule:
“NCBA has maintained that there is no regulatory fix that can be put in place to bring the current COOL rule into compliance with our World Trade Organization (WTO) obligation or that will satisfy our top two trading partners; Mexico and Canada. With the amended rule, the USDA has proven that to be true. The proposed amendments will only further hinder our trading relationships with our partners, raise the cost of beef for consumers and result in retaliatory tariffs being placed on our export products. The requirement that all products sold at retail be labeled with information noting the birth, raising and slaughter will place additional recordkeeping burdens on processors and retailers, contrary to the administration’s assertion. Moreover, this [amendment] combined with the elimination of the ability to commingle muscle cuts, will only further add to the costs of processing non-U.S. born, raised and slaughtered products. The end result will be hesitancy to process imported product and increased instances of less-favorable treatment of foreign product, giving our trading partners a stronger case at the WTO.”
NFU Pleased By Rule to Keep COOL
National Farmers Union (NFU) hailed the proposed changes to country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules released today by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“The proposed rule changes released by OMB are an excellent response to decisions by the World Trade Organization that called for changes to our COOL implementation,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “By requiring further clarity in labels and stronger recordkeeping, the set of rules released today are a win-win for farmers, ranchers and consumers.”
Under the proposed rule, origin designations for animals slaughtered in the United States would be required to specify the production steps of birth, raising and slaughter of the animal. In addition, this proposed rule would eliminate the allowance for any commingling of muscle-cut covered commodities of different origins. These changes will provide consumers with more specific information about muscle-cut covered commodities.
“The proposed rule is consistent with the legal analysis commissioned by NFU and other producer and consumer allies,” said Johnson. “Our members have worked tirelessly on this issue and will continue to support providing consumers with information on where their food comes from. NFU will offer supportive comments and I urge our members and the general public to do the same.”
In February, NFU and other groups released a legal analysis that details the available options for successful U.S. compliance of the WTO’s ruling on COOL. The analysis concluded that an effective way of complying with the WTO decision is to provide more information and more accurate details to consumers. It would not require producers or processors to collect additional information; nor will it increase food cost to our consumers as OMB has determined the changes are not economically significant.
Notice of the proposed rule will be posted in the March 11, 2013, Federal Register. Comments must be received by April 11, 2013, and should be submitted electronically at www.regulations.com, or to Julie Henderson, Director; USDA, AMS, LPS, COOL Division; 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 2620-S; Washington, DC 20250; telephone number 202-720-4486; or fax 202-260-4486.
Cattleman’s Cow-Calf Clinic set March 28 in Athens
The lead speaker at an upcoming cattleman’s clinic warned that producers sometimes feel like they’ve been browbeaten out of the business after his presentations on rebuilding cow-calf herds.
Stan Bevers, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agricultural economist, will speak at the Cattleman’s Cow-Calf Clinic, set March 28 at the Henderson County Fair Park Complex, 3356 Highway 31, Athens, Texas.
“But I’m optimistic,” he said. “If I own the cows and if they have calves for me, I’ll be able to sell those calves for a lot of money; more so than we’ve ever sold them before in our lives. We’ve just got to be cautious.”
Registration for the clinic will begin at 3 p.m. and cost $15. It will include a barbecue meal and 1.5 continuing-education units for holders of Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicator’s licenses. To register, contact the AgriLife Extension office for Henderson County at 903-675-6130. A map to the fair complex can be found at www.hendersoncountyfairpark.com/.
“Registration at the door is fine,” said Rick Hirsch, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resource agent of Henderson County. “We only ask they preregister so that we can have a head count for the meal. They can still wait and pay at the door if they preregister.”
The program will begin at 3:30 p.m. and wrap up by about 8 p.m., he said.
For more information and the full release, click here.
Beef Producers Seminar set for March 14 in Novelty, Mo.
University of Missouri (MU) Extension agricultural economist Ron Plain will discuss current trends in beef production, trade, domestic supplies and demand factors at the 2013 Beef Producers Seminar Thursday, March 14, at the MU Greenley Research Center.
Kelly Nelson, MU Extension research agronomist at Greenley Center, will join Plain. Nelson will focus on cover crops for forage production.
A complimentary meal courtesy of the Knox County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Knox County Farm Bureau, and the Missouri Corn Grower’s Association will be served at 6 p.m. The program begins at 6:45 p.m.
The MU Greenley Research Center is on Highway 156 just east of Novelty, Mo. For more information, contact Zac Erwin, MU Extension livestock specialist, at 573-767-5273, or Karisha Devlin, MU Extension business specialist, at 660-397-2179, or email the Lewis County MU Extension Center at lewisco@missouri.edu.
Marketing in New Era Workshop at Neb. Panhandle Research and Extension Center March 20
University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Extension will host a Marketing in a New Era (MINE) workshop March 20 at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center.
The workshop will take place from 1-4 p.m. in Room 109A at the Center.
The Marketing in a New Era program is an electronic agricultural-commodity marketing-simulation game designed to educate producers and develop their skills in marketing. Users will learn how market fluctuations, crop insurance, target prices, decision dates, pricing tools, and strategies work together to secure a profit.
Extension Educators Brian Strauch and Jessica Johnson will work with participants to develop simple budgets, discuss challenges and opportunities in the markets, create a market plan and execute their plan in a variety of simulated years. After the simulations, there will be a debriefing session and a discussion.
Registration is limited to 20 participants. To register call Deidra McCarthy at 308-632-1260.
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