Additive Used in U.S. Meat Production May Be Too Dangerous Even for Codex

Additive Used in U.S. Meat Production May Be Too Dangerous Even for Codex

NaturalNews

The latest session of the U.N. Codex Alimentarius ended without final adoption of a maximum residue level for ractopamine, a feed additive widely used in pork and beef production. The commission agreed to review additional information on the drug to be submitted by China, a country that has outlawed its use. Although this is very good news for meat eaters, the U.S. delegation to Codex expressed disappointment in the commission’s decision to delay adoption of a minimum residue level for ractopamine, and urged that the review of information from China be completed by the Codex meeting in July, 2010.

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NM Ranch Is First Ranch Approved Under IMI Global’s VerifiedGreen

NM Ranch Is First Ranch Approved Under IMI Global’s VerifiedGreen

The Westerner

Integrated Management Information, Inc. Integrated Management Information, Inc. (IMI Global) (OTCBB: INMG), a leading provider of verification solutions in the agricultural/livestock industry, today announced that the nation’s first cattle were sold at auction under the Company’s new VerifiedGreen™ program (See More Information), an innovative verification system that caters to ranchers, retailers and consumers who are committed to reducing their carbon footprint.

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Tough times, but value of beef should win out

Tough times, but value of beef should win out

Dick Hagen

The Land

“Beef is still a good value. And when consumers start generating some more dollars for family living they’ll reach out for their protein food products that they know are vital to good health, even though they may cost a bit more. And that’s where the beef industry is right now compared to the other protein products in the marketplace.”

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Dangerous Cows

Dangerous Cows

Denise Grady

New York Times

The image of cows as placid, gentle creatures is a city slicker’s fantasy, judging from an article published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports that about 20 people a year are killed by cows in the United States. In some cases, the cows actually attack humans—ramming them, knocking them down, goring them, trampling them and kicking them in the head—resulting in fatal injuries to the head and chest.

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Mini cows becoming big trend in Kansas

Mini cows becoming big trend in Kansas

KSNW-TV

A new phenomenon is happening at many Kansas ranches. Miniature cows are becoming a favorite, because they’re cheaper to raise in this economy than a full-sized cattle.

"The way cattle are handled has a lot to do with the tenderness of the meat," said Pat Wendling, a rancher near Halstead.

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Area ranchers take plunge into international export market

Area ranchers take plunge into international export market

JAMES A. JONES JR

Bradenton Herald

Renee Strickland grew up on horseback, surrounded by cattle at the massive Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County where her father was manager for many years.

She always knew she wanted to be in the cattle business, but she cautions, “When you’re in the cattle business, you better be in some other business, too. It’s sporadic.”

With her husband, Jim Strickland, she operates a ranch two miles down a dirt road off Rutland Road. She also has a title business, and most recently added a livestock export business to her juggling act.

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Endless market for top quality hay

Endless market for top quality hay

Ezra Ginsburg

Portage Daily Graphic

It would be an overstatement to say that hay farmers in the Central Plains are smiling all the way to the bank these days, but not by much.

That is because a bumper crop in some parts of the region coupled with a supply shortage of hay in Western Canada and across Manitoba have created more than a few golden opportunities.

It remains to be seen if those opportunities will pay dividends to local farmers.

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Neosporosis and Leptospirosis

Neosporosis and Leptospirosis

Dr. Bob Larson

Angus Journal

Last month I wrote about two viruses that can cause abortions in cattle — infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). This month I want to write about two other causes of abortions — neosporosis and leptospirosis.

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Cattle farmers beefed up about National Animal Identification System

Cattle farmers beefed up about National Animal Identification System

WDBJ

There are almost 3,000 cattle markets in Virginia, where cows are bought and sold way before the milk or meat reaches the grocery store or even the butcher.

Since 2002, there’ve been rumblings about a National Animal Identification System to track each cow as they move from farm to farm.  However, some people have beef about being herded in that direction

Cattle farmers can voluntarily identify and register each cow with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s a program called  National Animal Identification System, or NAIS.

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Practical Farmers plan field day on Friday

Practical Farmers plan field day on Friday

DesMoines Register

Practical Farmers of Iowa will gather from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday at Tom and Irene Frantzen’s farm near New Hampton for a tour and discussion.

Snacks will be provided by Organic Valley/Organic Prairie CROPP Cooperative. Field day topics include: the carbon sequestration program through the Iowa Farm Bureau, including a windbreak for reforestation; equipment for weed control in organic, narrow 22-inch soybean rows; raising grain-fed choice organic beef; cost of production comparison between grass- and grain-fed beef; and whole farm systems.

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Rural heartland less affected by recession

Rural heartland less affected by recession

Drovers.com

Carl Rupp and his neighbors around Torrington, Wyo. follow the old rancher’s creed: "Keep your money in your pocket."

Rupp has farmed his whole life. He lives in Goshen County, a rural spot along the Nebraska line where cattle outnumber humans 16 to 1 and you can still see the ruts cut by wagons that hauled pioneers along the Oregon Trail. "We’re very conservative," said Rupp, 62. "We don’t go out too far on a limb."

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Grady Lee: The history of the chuckwagon

Grady Lee: The history of the chuckwagon

GRADY LEE

The News Messenger

Cattle drives from Texas began as early as the 1840s, when Texans drove cattle to New Orleans and Shreveport, La., to be loaded on ships carrying the cattle to eastern markets. The prime years of the cattle drives did not begin until after the Civil War when Texans returned home to find millions of longhorn cattle roaming wild across the state, before the closing of the ranges, in the late 1870s, with the invention of barbed wire.

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Food, Inc. takes an alarmist look at what we eat

Food, Inc. takes an alarmist look at what we eat

Kenneth Burns

Isthmus Daily Page

Food, Inc. reminds me of someone I knew in college. At the dining hall, just as I’d be cutting into a piece of poultry, she’d ask, "Do you want to learn how that chicken died?" I’d answer: Yes, but maybe not while I’m eating it.

Her point, of course, was that the moment of eating is exactly the right time to contemplate our food system’s problems. That’s also the point of Food, Inc., an exposé of the business practices and government policies that shape how our food is produced, distributed and marketed.

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Ranchers selling stock early to cope

Ranchers selling stock early to cope

Fanny S. Chirinos

Area livestock auction houses have been unusually busy. Ranchers are having a hard time keeping their herds as ponds dry up and prices increase for hay, alfalfa and other supplements.

Live Oak County rancher Rosalee Coleman considers herself lucky compared to most. Three small rains fell at opportune times earlier this year to keep the grass on her ranch growing.

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Beef study tour heads to South America in February

Beef study tour heads to South America in February

Montana State University

People who want to learn about beef cattle production systems in Argentina and Brazil can sign up through Sept. 30 for the 2010 Beef Study Tour to South America. The Feb. 2-15 tour is sponsored by the Montana Beef Quality Assurance program and BEEF magazine.

"In today’s global marketplace, cattlemen need to know what the competition is up to and how they’re doing it," said Clint Peck of Billings, BQA director."We’ve developed an itinerary that’ll give beef producers around the U.S. the best possible look at beef systems in these two agricultural powerhouses."

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