Schafer Issues Warning to Obama Administration
Gary Truitt
Hoosier AG Today
Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, with only a few months left as head of USDA, took the opportunity to talk candidly with farm broadcasters in Kansas City on Wednesday. He challenged the Obama administration to not make significant changes in US farm policy, “I urge Senator Obama to build on what has been accomplished not tear it down.”
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Short list for Ag Secretary
Several names floated as possible Obama candidate
Chris Clayton
Tri State Livestock News
OMAHA (DTN) – Speculation about possible cabinet secretaries began before voters went to the polls and several names came up for Agriculture Secretary in President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet.
Major names being mentioned, often more than once, include the following.
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Farmers Face New Political Landscape
Lynne Finnerty
Alabama Farm Breau
The debates and the rallies are over. The campaign ads — positive and negative, but mostly negative — are finally off the air. The appeals for campaign donations are … well, those haven’t ended yet. But Election Day has come and gone and now it’s time to assess how agriculture might fare in the new political environment.
President-elect Barack Obama won a “decisive and historic” election, says Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau Federation president. Now, he says, the administration and Congress will need to get to work to address a long list of issues, including the economy, energy, immigration, trade and implementation of the farm bill.
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The advantages of target breeding weight on beef industry.
Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, Animal Science, University of Nebraska
Substantial research has been conducted contributing to the traditional guidelines of developing heifers to 60 to 65% of mature body weight at time of breeding. In general, studies evaluating different postweaning rates of gain or target weights have used either different amounts of feed, or different types of feeds varying in energy and/or protein content to obtain differences in rates of growth.
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When Two Worlds Collide
Jennifer Kiko
Angus Journal
From the time he was a young cook, John Doherty believed the quality of his work would speak for itself.
As executive chef at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, Doherty has cooked for more presidents, royalty and heads-of-state than any other chef in the country. The Bull and Bear Steakhouse, the hotel’s signature restaurant, is on of a few serving exclusively Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand Prime.
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Cattle Diseases: Vibrio
E. J. Richey, DVM
University of Florida
Vibrio, short for vibriosis, is a venereal disease that causes reproductive problems in cattle. The disease is caused by Campylobacter fetus, a bacterium formerly called Vibrio fetus, hence the name vibriosis.The reproductive problems are manifested in the cow and are characterized by infertility, early embryonic death, and, in some cases, abortion.
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USDA Reneges on Promise to Keep NAIS Voluntary
cattlenetwork.com
Washington, D.C. – In a formal letter issued Monday, Nov. 10, 2008, R-CALF USA has requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services (APHIS-VS) immediate retract Memorandum No. 575.19 issued on Sept. 22, 2008, on the grounds that the memo “constitutes an unlawful, final regulatory action initiated and implemented without public notice or opportunity for comment, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.”
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NAIS… APHIS transitions from farm numbers to pin numbers
Leesa Zalesky
Western AG Reporter
You’ll read later in this article some comprehensive language explaining the move by APHIS to transition from the traditionally used farm numbers to premises identification numbers generated under the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) for regulated animal health programs. Participants in regulated animal health programs have always been assigned a premises identification number, whether we realized it or not. For that matter, all participants in any federally subsidized ag program (like CRP or crop subsidies) have been assigned premises identification numbers; we’re just accustomed to hearing them referred to as a farm number.
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What Happens To Feedlot PIs
cattlenetwork.com
Taylor et al looked at a pen of PI animals that arrived from one ranch. All of these animals were railed or died prior to reaching harvest weight. “Their study might indicate few survive to harvest,” says Loneragan. “However, all the PI animals were penned together and, presumably, provided a pretty good challenge for each other. We think that in these cases some will survive to harvest, and based on the percent that arrive, percentage that die and percentage that are railed, about 50 percent will survive to harvest.”
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AngusSource Names Carcass Challenge Winners
Cattle Today
One group came from Nebraska, the other from Oklahoma. One rancher retained ownership, the other sold outright. But the two sets of cattle fed at separate feedlots in different states have a few shared qualities.
They both took home first-place regional finishes in the third quarter of the AngusSource® Carcass Challenge (ASCC). The contest recognizes genetic-, source-, and age-verified calves that excel in carcass quality. During the July-to-September time frame, winners were named in the North Central and Southeastern regions.
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US urges Taiwan to fully open its beef market
The Earth Times
A top US envoy in Taiwan Wednesday urged the island to fully allow imports of US beef products if the two sides are to further increase their trade relationship. “Resuming imports of all US beef and beef products would further invigorate this important trading relationship,” said Stephen Young, director of American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei.
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COOL Forms Available Online
Blanco County News
Blanco County Farm Bureau S-T Adrian Schulze is urging local livestock producers to do their part when it comes to adhering with the new country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law that went into effect September 30.
COOL is a USDA marketing program mandated by the Farm Bill which requires retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of beef (including veal), goat meat, lamb, pork, poultry, fish and other perishable agricultural commodities.
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Opportunities Abroad
USMEF Staff
Angus Journal
As export results for the first half of 2008 clearly indicate, Russia is emerging as one of the top destinations for U.S. beef. Closed to U.S. beef from late 2003 through almost all of 2007, Russia has quickly become the third-largest destination for U.S. beef variety meats and all the seventh-largest market for overall exports of U.S. beef.
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Calf Scours Simplified
cattlenetwork.com
Virtually stacks of material have been written about calf scours and yet it remains as one of the major problems for beef calves. Enough is now known that we should be able to prevent or at least control the great majority of scours outbreak problems. Let’s apply and use what we know.
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Economy weighing in on beef cattle markets
Texas A&M
It’s a mixed bag when trying to predict the future of the calf and feeder cattle markets, but there may be some good news heading into 2009, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service economist.
“We may see (cattle) prices better than 2008 simply because of where we are in supplies,” said Dr. David Anderson, who spoke recently at the 37th Annual South Central Texas Cow-Calf Clinic.
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