U.S. Beef Plants Opting Out of Japan Sales

U.S. Beef Plants Opting Out of Japan Sales

By JOSH FUNK
Bismarck Tribune

OMAHA, Neb. – When Japan banned U.S. beef in 2003 because of mad cow fears, the industry braced for a big financial hit, with job losses spilling into Midwest feedlots, supply companies and retail businesses.

So when the Japanese agreed to lift the ban _ contingent on Japanese checks of U.S. beef plants _ it was easy to assume that the inspectors would be welcomed everywhere with open arms.

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Hot Cattle

Hot Cattle

Associated Press / KOLN

With triple-digit temperatures expected throughout the rest of the week, livestock producers will be scrambling to beat the heat.

Very hot, humid weather isn’t just uncomfortable; it’s dangerous for livestock.

The heat can cause a rise in cattle body temperature that is fatal if not regulated.

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Sales ring tells sad drought story

Sales ring tells sad drought story

By TONY SPILDE
Bismarck Tribune

A hot, heavy wind blew through the dusty parking lot at Kist Livestock on Wednesday afternoon, like the panting of an animal that has its foot on your throat. That, sadly, was the situation facing many of the ranchers in attendance.

The prolonged drought here forced many stockmen to sell their cattle far earlier than normal because they don’t have enough grass or hay to feed them. Last year at this time, 456 animals were checked in to be sold. On Wednesday, the count was more than 1,800. They started the sale three hours earlier than normal to accommodate the dramatic increase in livestock.

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Pregnant Alberta cow died from BSE, officials confirm

Pregnant Alberta cow died from BSE, officials confirm

Toronto Star

OTTAWA—A four-year-old Alberta cow died of mad cow disease, government officials have confirmed.

The Edmonton-area farm where the cow died remains under quarantine as officials investigate whether the cow had any calves.

The case marks the seventh Canadian cow to die of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. It also marks the second case discovered in the span of a week. A cow in Manitoba was confirmed last week as Canada’s sixth BSE death.

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Group sues to prevent new grazing rules

Group sues to prevent new grazing rules

MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press Writer
Harve Daily News (MT)

WASHINGTON — A conservationist group is asking a federal court to block new grazing regulations that it contends would give ranchers more water rights and control over public lands. The Bureau of Land Management announced the final rules Wednesday, and they are to go into effect next month. First proposed in December 2003, the regulations would increase collaboration between the agency and ranchers whose livestock graze on 160 million acres of the nation’s public lands. The rules would allow livestock owners to share costs and ownership of range improvements, for example, and would give some ranchers additional water rights. The rules would also lessen some public input on decisions affecting public rangelands to make the permitting process more efficient. “Under the new regulations, BLM is allowing ranchers to dictate terms of grazing while excluding the public,” said Laird Lucas, lead attorney for the Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project, the group filing the lawsuit in Boise’s U.S. District Court. “The result will be widespread harm to fish and wildlife due to overgrazing.” Bobby McEnaney, a legislative advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said his group and other organizations are planning to file an additional lawsuit to stop the rules from going into effect.

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Senator clarifies National Animal Identification System

Senator clarifies National Animal Identification System

Rushviller Republican
Bob Jackman
State Senator, District 42

Currently, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement a system that will help track animals in order to locate the source of a significant disease outbreak. I have been contacted by several constituents over the past few months regarding this program and it seems there is a great deal of incorrect information in the public and people are unsure of the program and what they are supposed to do. These discrepancies prompted me to write this; hopefully, I can help people understand why the program is necessary and what they have to do.

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US to join Canadian mad cow investigation

US to join Canadian mad cow investigation

By Marcy Nicholson
Yahoo News

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed on Thursday that an Alberta dairy cow had tested positive for mad cow disease, an announcement that raised enough concern in Washington for it to send an expert to join the investigation.

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BeefTalk: Keep Your Bull at Home

BeefTalk: Keep Your Bull at Home

By Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist
NDSU Extension Service
Beeftalk.com

There is nothing more serious in the cattle business than buying a bull. Much time is spent evaluating available information, such as performance data and pedigree, to assure that the right bull is brought home.

Not everyone will use the right information (a personal bias), but when the gavel strikes the podium, the bull has a new owner and home. The process essentially has bonded the bull to the new operation. There is always the need to look over the fence as the bull settles into the new surroundings.

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Champions Selected At the 2006 Charolais Junior National

Champions Selected At the 2006 Charolais Junior National

Cattlenetwork.com

Charolais enthusiasts gathered the week of June 26-30 in Springfield, Missouri for the American-International Junior Charolais Association National Junior Shows and Leadership Conference. It was a record setting week with numbers of over 400 head of cattle and nearly 300 participants. Dan Hoge of Kewanee, Illinois, evaluated the Owned Heifers on June 30 before selecting his champions.

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COURT CALENDAR SET IN BEEF DISPUTE

COURT CALENDAR SET IN BEEF DISPUTE

UNITED STATES: The federal court has scheduled briefs and arguments in the ongoing dispute over beef and cattle imports from Canada.

Meatnews.com

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has established a schedule regarding the recent appeal by the beef ranchers group, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), of an April 2006 decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull denying the organization’s request for a permanent injunction against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Final Rule that allows imports of cattle under 30 months of age and beef products from cattle younger than 30 months of age into the United States from Canada, a country affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

The court dates are:

* R-CALF USA’s opening brief is due Sept. 21, 2006

* USDA’s response brief is due Oct. 23, 2006

* R-CALF USA’s reply is due 14 days after service of USDA’s brief

• At this date, no time has been set for oral argument

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