Third-Party Verified Preconditioning Programs Pay

Third-Party Verified Preconditioning Programs Pay

Cattlenetwork.com

A recent study conducted by Iowa State University showed buyers are willing to pay more for cattle preconditioned through a program that is backed by a third party. The study found a $2.75 difference in the premium given for calves preconditioned through third-party-verified programs versus those with unverified claims.

Dr. John Lawrence, professor of economics, Iowa State University Extension, conducted this study to get to the root of a pricing problem. He says the issue is that buyers cannot easily determine the quality of cattle. And, it is to the sellers’ advantage to overstate the condition of their animals. “Our purpose was to look at the value in the amount and the source of the preconditioning information sellers attach to calves,” Dr. Lawrence says. “We know that buyers are willing to pay extra for management practices required for preconditioning, but we wanted to know if they are willing to pay even more for claims that are certified by a third party.”

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Thaler Land & Livestock Co. Named National Environmental Stewardship Award Winner

Thaler Land & Livestock Co. Named National Environmental Stewardship Award Winner

NCBA

NASHVILLE (February 1, 2007) – Thaler Land & Livestock Company is the 2006 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) National Winner, officially announced tonight at a reception during the 2007 Cattle Industry Convention. Sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Dow AgroSciences and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the annual ESAP awards honor cattle producers whose stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to environmental conservation.

In spring 2006, the Thaler family was chosen as one of seven regional winners, representing the NCBA’s Region V. They were nominated by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

“Over the years, the Thaler family has been an ambassador of stewardship, reaching out to educate schoolchildren, community groups, government employees, fellow producers, anyone that will listen,” noted the ESAP Selection Committee. “They have an open-door ranch, where spreading the message about stewardship is a number one priority.”

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Cattlemen Applaud Canada’s Elimination of Bluetongue Testing

Cattlemen Applaud Canada’s Elimination of Bluetongue Testing

NCBA News

NASHVILLE (Feb. 3, 2007) – Reducing obsolete restrictions and government red tape is a critical goal for U.S. cattlemen that market live cattle internationally. That’s why the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) praised Friday’s decision by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to eliminate all bluetongue-related import restrictions on all U.S. cattle entering Canada.

“NCBA has fought long and hard on this issue, because our members felt strongly that these restrictions were costly and unnecessary,” said Terry Stokes, NCBA chief executive officer. “It’s gratifying to see these efforts pay off.”

CFIA also reduced testing requirements for anaplasmosis, based on advances in diagnostic testing for the disease.

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Enzi, Senators Say ‘Whoa’ To USDA Beef Import Rule

Enzi, Senators Say ‘Whoa’ To USDA Beef Import Rule

Cattlenetwork.com

Washington, D.C. – The United States Department of Agriculture should hold up on its proposed plan to expand beef imports from Canada, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and John Thune, R-S.D.

Permitting the importation of live Canadian cattle born after March 1, 1999 and beef from animals of any age, would harm American producers economically and further endanger the U.S. market with the threat of mad cow disease.

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Sec. Johanns Briefs Cattlemen on Farm Bill, Trade, Animal ID

Sec. Johanns Briefs Cattlemen on Farm Bill, Trade, Animal ID

NCBA NEws

NASHVILLE (Feb. 2, 2007) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns gave the keynote address Friday at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in Nashville. The convention is hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, American National CattleWomen, the National Cattlemen’s Foundation and Cattle-Fax. A capacity crowd of cattle producers from across the nation heard Johanns outline USDA’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals, which were released earlier this week.

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Why Test for Persistently Infected BVD?

Why Test for Persistently Infected BVD?

Dr Glen Selk, Oklahoma State University

Three years ago, the very well managed University commercial cow herd at Cal-State, Fresno started to have a high mortality rate (over 10%) of pre-weaned calves. Cattle raised in the herd had been vaccinated twice at weaning time and given an annual booster for the respiratory diseases such as BVD and IBR. Upon diagnostic testing, a high incidence of “persistently infected” (PI) BVD cattle were found.

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Livestock Marketeers Honor Jim Birdwell and Willard Wolf

Livestock Marketeers Honor Jim Birdwell and Willard Wolf

Cattle Today

The Livestock Marketeers — an informal fraternity of livestock fieldmen, auctioneers, sale managers and related livestock business leaders — held their 42th annual banquet in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO, on Jan. 13, 2007.

This year’s honorees for the Livestock Marketeers “Hall of Fame” are auctioneer Jim Birdwell, Fletcher, OK, and livestock marketer and former American Hereford Association field representative Willard Wolf, Valleyford, WA.

Jim Birdwell

Auctioneer Jim Birdwell grew up in Southwestern Oklahoma, on a small livestock operation near Fletcher. After graduating from Fletcher High School in 1963, Birdwell entered Oklahoma State University majoring in agriculture education. He was a member of OSU’s junior and senior livestock judging teams, earning awards as High Individual in beef cattle judging at the American Royal and High Individual in sheep judging at Fort Worth.

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Finding Choice, Prime grade cattle becoming more difficult

Finding Choice, Prime grade cattle becoming more difficult

By Jeff DeYoung, Lee Agri-Media

Farm and Ranch Guide

LEWIS, Iowa – Finding cattle that grade Choice and Prime is becoming more difficult, according to an executive with Certified Angus Beef (CAB).

Larry Corah, CAB vice president, told producers at the recent 4-State Beef Conference demand for premium beef is highand supply continues to drop.

“There is a tremendous demand for quality beef. We could sell more, but we can’t find the product,” he said. “Last year we sold a half-billion pounds of Certified Angus Beef, and if we could find the cattle, we could double that within 12 to 18 months.”

According to USDA figures, just more than 60 percent of cattle graded Choice in 1996. That figure dropped to about 57 percent in 2005.

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Cattle groups elect leadership

Cattle groups elect leadership

By Holly Martin

High Plains Journal

Cattlemen from across the United States elected new leaders of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Cattlemen’s Beef Board during their board meetings here today.

Kansas cattlemen Ken Stielow is the new chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. Vice chairman is Dave Bateman, Illinios, and Secretary/Treasurer is Neil Kayser, Washington. Other members elected to the CBB Executive Committee are Laurie Bryant; Virginia Coehlo, California; Dana Hauck, Kansas; Don Hullman, Kansas; Tom Jones, Arkansas; Charles Miller, Kentucky; Mark Reichers, Wisconsin; and Sugie Sartwelle, Texas.

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Cattle rancher wins conservation award

Cattle rancher wins conservation award

Chico Enterprise-Record

Darrell Wood of Pete’s Creek Partnership, one of the founding ranches of Panorama Meats, Inc. — an Angus grass-fed beef company based in Vina — has received one of three 2006 National Wetlands Conservation Awards from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wood received the award for his management of the Pete’s Creek wetland and riparian restoration project on 1,262 acres of the partnership’s ranch, located in Lassen County just north of Susanville.

The land was also certified as organic grazing land for panorama grass-fed beef cattle in July 2006.

Wood is a fifth-generation California cattle rancher whose family has been grazing cattle on this land almost continually since the 1930s.

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Beef cattle expansion ‘snuffed out’ for time being

Beef cattle expansion ‘snuffed out’ for time being

By Jeff DeYoung, Lee Agri-Media

Farm and Ranch Guide

LEWIS, Iowa – If recent data is any indication, any build-up in the nation’s cow herd is over.

Cow and heifer slaughter have been up in recent months, John Lawrence, Iowa State University Extension livestock marketing economist, told producers at the recent 4-State Beef Conference.

Beef cow slaughter was up 17.9 percent from a year ago, although Lawrence says very few cows were sent to town in 2005 because the industry was in the expansion phase of the cattle cycle.

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Cattle Health: BVD Prevalence Study Completed

Cattle Health: BVD Prevalence Study Completed

Cattlenetwork.com

Researchers at OSU College of Veterinary Medicine have recently completed a study designed to determine how common BVD Persistent Infected (PI) individuals are in Oklahoma cow herds. The study involved testing all of the 2006 calf crops from 30 herds in Southern Oklahoma with the ear notch test. Herds included in the study ranged in size from 14 cows to over 500 cows. The study showed that 16.7% of the ranches had at least one PI calf in the 2006 calf crop with some ranches having as many as 10 or 12.

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Beef war game on!

Beef war game on!

High Plains Journal

The long suffering beef checkoff is back on the table and the foes of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) may have finally maneuvered a place at the trough. In an industry of strong willed people, this is the classic fight where no one has given up and no agenda has been surrendered.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) commissioned a survey of beef producers to document their views on the 20-year-old program to see if cattlemen favored a change of direction in philosophy and how the mandatory payment is spent. The results have been widely disseminated, including in this publication. The perceptions and percentages have merit, but the real issue is power. Here are the players:

–NCBA, based in Denver, which willed the $1 per head producer funded research, promotion and advertising program into existence over 20 years ago and has a strong relationship with the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and USDA. The checkoff generates $45 million per year that is spent under the discretion of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Only certain entities may contract with the Beef Board, primary among them is NCBA.

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