Cargill grills buyers about beef

Cargill grills buyers about beef

The company launches a Web site to end consumers’ beef confusion.

BY PHYLLIS JACOBS GRIEKSPOOR
The Wichita Eagle

Have you ever stood in front of the beef case wondering what you’re looking at, or doubting your ability to cook one of the dozens of selections you might make?

A survey commissioned by Sterling Silver Premium Beef found that less than 25 percent of all beef consumers feel extremely confident that they know what to look for when they buy fresh beef.

The results surprised Wichita-based Cargill Meat Solutions, the owner of the Sterling Silver brand, especially in light of the Beef Made Easy program initiated more than two years ago by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board. The program added labeling on how to cook various cuts of beef.

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Missing’ report on CJD found in files

Missing’ report on CJD found in files

United Press International

CARDIFF, Wales, June 5 (UPI) — Two copies of a report on meat tainted with mad-cow disease at Welsh schools turned up in government archives after officials said all had been lost.

The ITV program “Wales This Week” used the Freedom of Information Act to find one copy in the archives of the National Assembly’s agriculture division. The other was in the files of the Carmarthenshire County Council, the Western Mail reported.

Three people died of Creuzer-Jacob disease between 1999 and 2002. All had apparently been infected years earlier from eating meat served at their schools.

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Maine purchasing policy addresses antibiotics in livestock

Maine purchasing policy addresses antibiotics in livestock

By GLENN ADAMS
Associated Press Writer
Richmond Times-Dispatch

AUGUSTA, Maine – Concerns about the human health implications of treating cattle, pigs and poultry with antibiotics to promote growth are prompting Maine to adopt what supporters call the first state meat purchasing preference policy of its kind in the nation.

The policy will tell meat producers that the state prefers to buy products from animals that have not been given antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes. It also encourages Maine school districts to engage in contracts with suppliers whose products meet that preference.

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Canada beef industry targets Asia after crisis

Canada beef industry targets Asia after crisis

Metronews.ca

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Talks aimed at opening Asian markets closed to Canadian beef since mad cow disease was detected three years ago should get a kick-start from Thailand’s decision to lift its ban, an industry official said on Monday.

“It’s significant by precedent. It will improve the environment in which the negotiations are taking place with Indonesia and in the early stages of Malaysia,” Canada Beef Export Federation President Ted Haney said.

Ottawa said on Saturday Thailand will allow the import of Canadian beef from cattle under 30 months of age.

Thailand closed its border to the products in July 2003, two months after Canada discovered its first native-born case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.

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Know what force protection conditions mean

Know what force protection conditions mean

by Carrie Williams Defense Commissary Agency
Wright-Patterson AFB Skywrighter

Just in time for summer grilling, and just in time for the health-conscious shopper, the Wright-Patterson commissary is rolling out a new line of U. S. Department of Agriculture choice natural beef products under the American range beef program. The selection includes such items as tenderloin, 90-percent lean ground beef, and T-bone, porterhouse and ribeye steaks.

Military shoppers are demanding more organic and natural products for their families, and the Wright-Patterson Commissary is stepping up to the plate.

“Today’s consumer is more concerned with healthy eating than ever before,” said Patrick Nixon, chief executive officer and acting director of the Defense Commissary Agency. “Natural beef can be a great option for commissary shoppers who don’t want additives and preservatives in the food they serve to their families. This program also ties in with ‘It’s Your Choice, Make it Healthy,’ the agency’s initiative to be the nutritional leader for military families.”

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US not close to resuming beef exports to Seoul-USDA

US not close to resuming beef exports to Seoul-USDA

KTIC.com

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) – The United States does not expect to resume beef exports to South Korea anytime soon, an Agriculture Department spokesman said on Monday, with a lot of work to be completed before the ban will be lifted. South Korea’s agriculture minister said earlier on Monday Seoul could push back its plan to resume U.S. beef exports from later this week to next month because U.S. beef processing facilities did not meet standards suggested by the South Korean government. “We had not planned on anything for this week” despite the reports, said Ed Loyd, a USDA spokesman.

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New Kind Of Mutation Could Explain Numerous Phenotypic Variations In Various Species

New Kind Of Mutation Could Explain Numerous Phenotypic Variations In Various Species

Sciencedaily.com

Thanks to a recent study on the genetic factors that promote muscular hypertrophy among Texel sheep, Prof. Michel Georges’ team at the University of Liège has discovered a new kind of mutation that could be at the origin of many phenotypes in various species, among which humans, including genetic predispositions to certain hereditary diseases. This discovery is of significant interest to the international scientific community. The results are published in this week’s edition of the American journal Nature Genetics.

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Neb. Cattle Producers See Red Due To Drought, Other Issues

Neb. Cattle Producers See Red Due To Drought, Other Issues

Cattlenetwork.com

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)–For the first five months of 2006, Nebraska’s cattle-on-feed numbers have been running at record pace.

Unfortunately, profit potential has been running in the opposite direction for beef production, the biggest annual generator of revenue in the state’s agricultural economy, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

As feedlots have gotten more crowded, the red ink has gotten deep.

“We’re probably seeing the reddest feeding returns right here that we’ve seen in at least a couple of years,” Jeff Stolle, based at the Nebraska Cattlemen office in Lincoln, said recently, according to the newspaper.

Monthly reports from the Lincoln office of the USDA Agricultural Statistics Service tell part of the story.

The May total of 2.32 million head beats anything on the books for the month all the way back to the start of similar reports in 1994. The same applies to April and January.

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Alfalfa producers should consider a marketing plan

Alfalfa producers should consider a marketing plan

By Kylene Orebaugh
High Plains Journal

There is a great looking stand of alfalfa out in the field. The weather worked in your favor–for once it seems. Now it’s almost time to swath and bale the first cutting. A producer’s mind wonders what to do with this ideal crop before it’s in the barn or on the highway, sold, and headed to feed livestock.

But how do you get it sold? How do alfalfa producers market their alfalfa hay?

It’s not an easy task, but it is one that can be tackled pretty easily with a little forethought and maybe even a marketing plan.

First, one must start with quality. The quality of alfalfa one intends to grow or ends up with due to Mother Nature, ultimately depends on the target market.

Oklahoma State University professor and economist, Clement Ward said the target market is a very important thing to know.

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