News

On the heels of what was one of the driest years on record in several major beef producing states, the results of the USDA’s January 1 cattle-inventory report were expected. The report, released on January 27 shows that as of January 1, 2012 all cattle and calves in the United States totaled 90.8 million head – a low unrivaled since 1952 when the cattle-inventory totaled only 88.1 million head. Beef replacement heifers, however, were up 1 percent from the 2011 report, indicating a re-stocking trend by producers with ample forage supplies. To view the report in its entirety visit http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1017

The Open Space and Mountain Parks Department of Boulder, CO is currently working on plans to create a new natural beef brand which is expected to include the city’s name. The department is considering converting 200 of its 14,000 acres, currently leased to local farmers and ranchers, to execute the city’s “farm-to-table” vision for the beef brand.

Producers interested in learning how to take full advantage of alfalfa production and use of the commodity for forage are invited to attend the upcoming Kentucky Alfalfa Conference. The event will feature an alfalfa farmer panel and discussions regarding Roundup Ready varieties' performance, marketing, Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Hay Testing Program, alfalfa seed coating, National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance, the role of alfalfa in horse diets, role of the forage in beef diets. For more information on the conference, visit www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage.

A proposal nicknamed the “Ag Gag” measure, which would have made it illegal for animal rights activists to take pictures or videos of animals without the livestock owner’s permission, was removed from Florida’s SB1184/HB1021before the bill was passed. Opponents of the “Ag Gag” proposal view the measure as protection from animal rights extremists who manipulate the images, but lawmakers were concerned it would criminalize innocent people.

A group of 38,000 wheat and cattle producers recently filed suit against former MF Global executives after $1.2 billion in customer funds were discovered missing from the now bankrupt firm. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, led by Senator Debbie Stabenow, has requested input from financial stakeholders, market participants and consumer advocacy groups on policies that could help recover missing customer money as well as protect customer collateral and prevent similar situations.

Last week South Korea agreed to lift the ban on Canadian beef under 30 months of age, a decision which could generate up to $29.7 million per year for the Canadian beef industry. The ban was instated after the discovery of mad-cow disease in Canada in 2003.

Researchers at the Mississippi State University Insect Rearing Center in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology are currently developing a system for rearing black soldier flies, an insect with potential to make a big impact in the agriculture industry. According to MSU’s John Schneider, the black soldier species is neither a pest to humans nor a known disease carrier, but will eagerly consume almost any type of agricultural byproduct – including manure and carcasses. The insect larvae can also be dry-milled for use as a protein in livestock, poultry and aquaculture meal.

Representing agricultural producers from their states, agriculture department directors from Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming met with EPA officials recently to discuss EPA programs and regulations as well as several timely issues including air quality, particulate matter and renewable fuels. “American farmers and ranchers have such broad impacts on everything from daily food prices to widespread environmental impacts to emerging renewable fuel technologies that EPA needs to hear the views of state agriculture directors as part of our decision making process,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks.