USDA fines National Beef $32,500 civil penalty

USDA fines National Beef $32,500 civil penalty

KMAN

Federal regulators have fined National Beef Packing Co. a $32,500 civil penalty as part of a consent agreement stemming from the company’s practices with livestock sellers.

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Hard to define, easy to taste

Hard to define, easy to taste

Certified Angus Beef

Eating satisfaction rules when it comes to making beef lovers happy.

That was clear in early results from the 2011 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA), but defining that satisfaction seemed harder to pinpoint.

“If producers get the right signal, and they are pretty good managers, they can hit the target,” said Keith Belk, Colorado State University meat scientist. “But they have to have the right signal.”

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Sorting out beef production data

Sorting out beef production data

Derrell S. Peel

FarmTalk

Cattle producers and market analysts alike are trying to sort out seemingly conflicted data on beef production to understand what to expect in the coming weeks. Year to date cattle slaughter is down 4.8 percent but feedlot marketings this year are down only slightly.

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Fescue Toxicosis in Cattle

Fescue Toxicosis in Cattle

Dr. Susan Muller Esneault

Critterology

Tall fescue (Festuca elatior or F. arundinace) is among the most common cool season pasture grasses grown in North America and in other countries having a temperate climate. Almost all of the pasture planted before 1980 is infected with Neotyphodium coenophialum, a microscopic fungus or endophyte.

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Don’t move the gate

Don’t move the gate

The Cattle Business Weekly

If you found yourself exhausted, frustrated and contemplating changing your livestock facilities after working cattle this branding season Dr. Tom Noffsinger has a few ideas to throw your way.

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EPA Proposes Dust Standard

EPA Proposes Dust Standard

Beef Today

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed its long awaited dust standard that sparked controversy within the agricultural community.

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Can wheat straw be used in beef cattle rations?

Can wheat straw be used in beef cattle rations?

eXtension.com

Yes. Wheat straw is greatly underutilized as a feedstuff, particularly in beef cow rations. It can be used as the primary forage in dry cow rations and at low levels in lactating rations. For example, wheat straw can make up two-thirds of the ration when combined with a high-quality forage such as alfalfa hay for dry cows. It can constitute as much as one-third of the ration with quality hay for lactating cows.

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Russian Farmers Are Buying Up American Cattle

Russian Farmers Are Buying Up American Cattle

David Kessel

Business Insider

The first waves of a new American migration has arrived in Russia, breaking on such shores as the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and trickling into intimate local communities. They come in swelling numbers from all over the U.S. – Virginia, Texas, Oregon – and fill a growing niche in the economy.

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Unpaid bills mounting at new beef-processing plant in SD

Unpaid bills mounting at new beef-processing plant in SD

InForum

Unpaid bills and contractor complaints are piling up at a $110 million beef-processing plant in northeastern South Dakota that is scheduled to open this year.

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Reining in the rumor about EPA ‘drones’

Reining in the rumor about EPA ‘drones’

David A. Fahrenthold,

Washington Post

 It was a blood-boiler of a story, a menacing tale of government gone too far: The Environmental Protection Agency was spying on Midwestern farmers with the same aerial “drones” used to kill terrorists overseas.

This month, the idea has been repeated in TV segments, on multiple blogs and by at least four congressmen. The only trouble is, it isn’t true.

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What a farmer wants you to know about how beef gets to your plate

What a farmer wants you to know about how beef gets to your plate

Ryan Goodman

CNN

In this country, we are blessed with a great group of farmers who care for their animals and a food safety system to ensure things work properly. There are farmers who do things various ways for good reasons for both their customers and their farms. A good balance of science and communication can go a long way in sustaining this process.

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