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61st Annual MCA Convention & Trade Show
February 1 & 2, Regency Hotel & Conference Center
BCIA Annual Meeting
Pfizer Cattlemen's College
Trade Show Door Prizes
County Awards
Scholarship Luncheon
"A Taste of Beef" Auction
President's Banquet
Click here for registration and agenda.
BE THERE!!
Fill out your Census - The Census of Agriculture, taken every five years, is a complete count of all U.S. farms and ranches. The Census provides the only source of agricultural data for every county in the nation and is used to help influence decisions that will shape the future of American agriculture for years to come. By responding to the Census, producers are helping themselves, their communities and all of U.S. agriculture.
First Point Testing - State Veterinarian Dr. Jim  Watson announce recently that funding is in place to support 1st point testing for Brucellosis at auction markets through 2008. Mississippi has been Brucellosis Free since October 1998, thanks to the hard work and diligence those involved in the eradication effort.
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Wheels for Bucks!
 From now until February 1, please make an effort to collect empty Ralgro wheels from your friends, neighbors, and business associates. For every 10 empty Ralgro wheels and for every 5 empty magnum strips, we will receive one wheel of Ralgro to be auctioned at the "Taste of Beef" event during the MCA Convention. This is a wonderful fundraising opportunity and it goes to benefit the CattleWomen's Association, Junior Cattlemen's Association and Cattlemen's Foundation.
Wheels and strips can be brought to the MCA office prior to convention or directly to the convention. The Wheels for Bucks program is sponsored by Schering-Plough.
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1,500 Minnesota Cattle Herds Test Negative for Bovine TB
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced that 1,500 Minnesota cattle herds have tested negative for bovine tuberculosis, as part of the statewide bovine TB surveillance program, but TB-free status is still at best nearly two years away.
Minnesota lost its TB-free status after the disease was discovered in a herd in July 2005. A total of eight cases have been discovered in a cluster in northwestern Minnesota, the most recent in October 2007.
The October case and the fact that the disease was subsequently discovered in deer during last fall's hunting season will mean that TB-free status is at least nearly two years away.
In addition to the 1500 statewide surveillance herds, 326 herds have been tested as part of the state's disease investigation and area testing efforts.
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Second Brazilian Beef Co. Enters U.S. Market
Following the lead of competing Brazilian beef company JBS S.A., Brazil's third largest beef exporter, has stepped into the U.S. meat market by way of acquiring Mirab S.A. of Argentina.
The $36 million purchase was completed by Marfrig´s subsidiary, Argentine Breeders & Packers S.A. (AB&P).
Buenos Aires-based Mirab is Argentina's leading manufacturer of meat snacks including beef jerky. It exports to several countries including the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Mirab imports, packs and distributes its products in the United States through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mirab USA Inc., based in Taylor, Mich. Mirab USA is the world's largest processor and distributor of private label beef jerky, supplying major retail outlets in the United States and Canada. It also sells and distributes under its proprietary brands, "Pecos Bill's," "Farmer's Market" and "Rancher's Brand." from meatingplace.com
U.S. Beef in the European Union - Awareness of and preference for U.S. beef in the European Union is increasing, as checkoff-funded activities bring together buyers and sellers at trade shows, produce educational materials for distribution, and expose top chefs to U.S. beef production processes. U.S. beef exports to the European Union (EU) for the first 10 months of 2007 were up 129 percent to 6,270 metric tons (mt) compared to the same period in 2006. If this trend continues, USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng says it is likely that the high quality beef quota of 11,500 mt will be filled when year-end numbers are in. Leading European markets for U.S. beef are Italy and Germany. |
Farm Bill Update - Congressional staff is working on the Farm Bill, which will now head to conference, but conferees have yet to be named. For cattlemen, NCBA's top focus will be to remove language from the Senate version of the bill which bans packer ownership of cattle.
"NCBA policy supports a competitive, free-enterprise market," says Truitt. "It is unfortunate that the Senate chose to include legislative language that puts the government - not cattlemen - in charge of how cattle are marketed. This provision must be removed so that the heavy hand of government does not interfere with a cattle producer's ability to provide the beef products that consumers want."
A Statement of Administration Policy released by the White House says the Administration also strongly opposes the prohibition on packer ownership and the provision regulating production contracts, "because they would unduly interfere with the freedom to contract, require the divestiture of assets by entities that have operated lawfully, limit opportunities for farmers and ranchers to participate in marketing alliances, and increase prices for American consumers."
A final agreement on the Farm Bill should be reached by March 15, 2008, when the extension of the 2002 bill expires.
Disaster Bill Update - USDA has begun processing about $1 billion in payments under the Crop Disaster Program, Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The payments were authorized under the "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007" signed into law on May 25, 2007. The final rule became effective December 19th.
Sign-up for these programs is ongoing. The programs provide payments to eligible agricultural producers who suffered crop, livestock and feed losses in 2005, 2006, or 2007. Producers must choose one year for which to receive payments.
LCP compensates livestock producers for feed losses resulting from natural disasters such as drought. LIP compensates livestock producers for livestock losses caused by natural disasters. Producers who suffered losses caused by blizzards that started in 2006 and continued into 2007 are also eligible for both.
Farmers and ranchers can apply to receive benefits for these and other disaster programs by visiting their local FSA office. Find more information at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. |
2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention, February 6-9! -The 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 6-9 in Reno, Nevada. The meeting will feature joint and individual meetings by NCBA, Cattlemen's Beef Promotion & Research Board, American National CattleWomen, Inc., Cattle-Fax and the National Cattlemen's Foundation.
This is the time of year when NCBA's producer-members gather to discuss our industry's priority issues at issue forums and committee meetings. On February 9th, members will vote on policy for the coming year at NCBA's Board of Directors Meeting.
The pre-registration deadline is approaching. Don't miss this most important meeting for the cattle industry. Register by January 11th to receive significant discounts off of the onsite registration fees. For more information and for a complete schedule of events visit our website at www.beefusa.org. | |
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Cattle Market Notes
Friday, January 4, 2008
Dr. John Anderson, Mississippi State University -
After struggling a bit in December, the fed cattle market ended the year on a fairly strong note. Last week's 5-Area average fed steer price (live) worked out to $92.21 - a $1 to $2 improvement from the week prior to Christmas. This week, with crude oil futures topping $100 a barrel and reinvigorated grain futures making a mess of livestock markets in general, there didn't seem to be a lot of optimism to start out the week.
Nonetheless, on Thursday, cash prices moved another $2 to $3 higher in fairly active business. Prices in the South were mostly $95 live and $152-$153 dressed. In Nebraska, prices were a bit lower than that at $93-$94 live and $150-$152 dressed.
Most auctions were quiet this week due to the New Year's holiday.
Live Cattle futures have had a bit of a rough time over the holiday season. December's Cattle on Feed report was not at all friendly, showing much larger November placements than anybody expected. Last week, futures surged higher on Thursday in response to higher cash prices. The market basically held that level until yesterday. This Thursday, unexpectedly higher cash prices came too late in the day to prevent a pretty substantial sell-off in the Live Cattle pits. After yesterday's strong showing in the cash market, futures moved higher in Friday trading. However, by the close, most contracts were down slightly - a very disappointing development given the strength in the cash market this week. Live Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday's close in parentheses) were as follows: February $94.55 (-1.50); April $96.95 (-1.37); June $94.05 (-0.72); August $95.42 (-0.55); October $99.50 (-0.32).
The New Year is not off to a good start for Feeder Cattle futures. The March contract has lost about $4 since that time. That contract closed on Friday at a life of contract low. More deferred contracts are at their lowest level in six months. Until grain markets stabilize, feeder cattle futures will remain under pressure.
As already noted, corn futures have stormed higher. Fundamentals in the grain market have gotten even stronger (if that is possible) here in the first week of the year. Oil futures hit $100 a barrel this week. This improves demand prospects for corn by increasing expected returns in ethanol production. Dr. Anderson's complete report can be accessed from www.mscattlemen.org |
Don't Miss NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week's Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 8th, we'll retorn to nashville and the 2007 Cattle Industry Annual Convention where we follow a first time attendee. Then join us as we travel cross country with the 2007 class of the Young Cattlemen's Conference. Finally, we visit the state of Maine to learn more about the IRM Red Books and how they are produced (The 2008 IRM Red Books are available now. To order, call the MCA office at 601-354-8951.) The show will be rebroadcast Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Make sure you tune in to NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org
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Calendar of Events
January
Jan 7& 8 MSU Beef Team Orientation
Jan 10 Oktibbeha CCA
Jan 17 Clay CCA
Jan 17 Lee CCA
Jan 17 Noxubee CCA
February
1 & 2 - MCA Convention & Trade Show
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