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Washington Agency Visits
 
Pete Harper joined state association officers from five Southeastern Livestock Network members to lobby federal agencies on a variety of issues.
Visits included, APHIS Deputy Administrator Dr. John Clifford, GIPSA Administrator Dudley Butler, EPA Agricultural Council Lawrence Elworth and staff from the Department of Transportation.
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| Congrats to LeAnne
At last week's Livestock Publications Council meeting in New Orleans, MCA Communications Director, LeAnne Peters, was elected to the board of directors. The seventeen-member board represents publications covering all species.
The election was held during Ag Media Summit, the largest gathering of crop and livestock publications professionals in the United States.
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Mississippi's Senators
 
While in Washington, Harper visited with Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker. Both expressed concern with overreaching regulation of agriculture by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Homeplace Producers Sale
The Homeplace board sale will be broadcast via live streaming video tonight at 7:00 p.m.
Forty loads of calves are slated to sell at Southeast Mississippi Livestock's sale facility in Hattiesburg.
Click here at 7 to watch.
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BCIA Newsletter
The August 2011 issue of the Mississippi Beef Cattle Improvement Association newsletter is now available online.
Click here for the current and past issues of the MBCIA newsletter.
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More Anti-Beef Rhetoric
Last week produced another round of anti-meat talk with the release of the "Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change and Health" by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
The research by EWG examined every stage of food production, processing, consumption and waste disposal, and determined that if everyone in the United States eliminated meat and cheese from their diet just one day a week for a year, "the effect on greenhouse gas emissions would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road."
The report found that traditionally raised lamb has the worst carbon footprint, followed by beef, cheese, pork and fish.
Washington State University animal scientist Jude Capper posted a comment that accurately describes some problems with the study.
"Their assumptions with regards to beef and lamb production appear to be lacking both detail and understanding," Capper wrote. "There is no information as to growth rates, diet composition, dry matter intake or days from birth to slaughter, all of which are key parameters affecting the carbon footprint per unit of beef.
"Until a whole scale analysis is conducted that accounts for the environmental effects of all human activities (e.g. driving to the store vs. drinking French wine vs. having three children vs. eating a tofu burger), reports that are founded on erroneous data and do not provide context are entirely meaningless except as a reminder that all food production has an environmental impact."
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Crisis Grows in Japan
Japan banned cattle shipments from the nation's fifth-largest grower, as the contaminated-beef crisis widened with radiation threatening the country's food supply.
The government banned shipments last month from Miyagi and Fukushima, where radiation from a crippled nuclear plant contaminated hay. A total of 2,965 cattle that ate tainted feed were shipped to the market from 130 farms, the agriculture ministry said on July 28.
Fallout from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant poses a growing threat to Japan's food supply as unsafe levels of cesium found in beef on supermarket shelves were also detected in vegetables and the sea. Prolonged exposure to radiation in the air, ground and food can cause leukemia and other cancers.
Cattle grown in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima amounted 287,200 as of Feb. 1, 2010, representing 10 percent of the country's herd.
Beef prices in Tokyo slumped as consumers shunned the product amid safety concerns. The price of A-4 grade wagyu meat plunged to as low as 598 yen ($7.71) a kilogram on July 19 from 1,623 yen on July 1 on the Tokyo meat market, according to the agriculture ministry.
Japan's beef imports rose 11 percent in the first five months and may maintain that pace for the rest of the year amid radiation concerns.
U.S. beef exports to Japan will probably rise 33 percent to 140,000 tons this year, Philip Seng, chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said in May.
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Roberts Keeps Pressure on GIPSA Rule
For more than one year, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) has worked to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration's (GIPSA) proposed livestock and poultry marketing rule. According to Colin Woodall, NCBA vice president of government affairs, the rule would result in unprecedented government overreach into the cattle marketplace. He said it will take away choice for consumers and stymie the ability of cattlemen to market their cattle.
"Cattlemen have made their voices heard about the detrimental impacts the proposed GIPSA rule would have on their farms and ranches," Woodall said. "Unfortunately, the administration hasn't listened and is moving forward despite the fact that USDA has not completed its economic impact analysis. We are thankful to have bipartisan support from both sides of Capitol Hill standing with us to fight this rule."
Woodall said U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who is serving as ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has repeatedly raised commonsense questions to the administration trying to get the facts about this rule. Most recently, Woodall said Sen. Roberts sent a second letter to Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, requesting the administration do a full cost-benefit analysis of the proposed GIPSA rule before moving forward.
"It's been more than a year since I've asked Mr. Sunstein to properly review the GIPSA rule and its effect on the livestock industry. I'm committed to ensuring the livestock sector receives answers about how this proposed regulation will adversely affect livestock marketing in the United States," said Sen. Roberts. "The livestock sector is a driving force of the agricultural economy. If the president plans to double exports, this segment of agriculture stands ready to deliver. However, this cannot happen as long as producers are continually attacked with unnecessary regulations that could cost them hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. This review should have happened long ago, and I intend on holding Secretary Vilsack, Mr. Sunstein and OMB accountable."
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 CattleFax
Update July 29, 2011 The fed cattle market ranged from $1 lower to $1 higher this week in a moderate trade. In the North, sales were established at $109 to $110 live and $174 to $175 dressed. Sales in the South ranged from $107 early week to $108.50 later in the week. The boxed beef market gave up modest ground for the week as the dog days of summer continue to take a toll on domestic beef demand. Sale volumes on that side were light to moderate. Feeder cattle values were steady to as much as $3 lower this week while calves sold $1 to $2 lower. Larger than normal movement continued as the drought in the south is still forcing cattle off of pastures. Slaughter cow prices were $2 to $3 softer. Corn prices traded sideways early in the week, supported by yield concerns, but pushed lower by late week. Feeder Supply: The smaller supply of beef cattle facing our industry was elevated to new levels earlier this year when the USDA released its first Cattle Inventory report for 2011. The January 1 feeder cattle and calf supply outside of feedlots was more than 938,000 head smaller than 2010. Forecasts attempted to pinpoint when the one-million head supply void would show up in U.S. feedlot placements and most were incorrect. Seven months have passed and the July 1 inventory report showed feeder cattle and calf supplies outside of feedlots were 950,000 head lower than 2010, and the expected supply void has yet to reach feedlots. Ethanol Increases: The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported U.S. ethanol production at 895,000 barrels per day (1.166 billion gallons) in May. Daily average production rose 1 percent above the month of April and 5.8 percent compared to May 2010. The weekly production data for June through the third week of July has averaged near 889,000 barrels per day. The weekly data suggests that corn used for ethanol during the old crop 2010/11 marketing year will likely total 5.025 billion bushels, down 25 million bushels compared to the USDA's projection of 5.050 billion bushels unless production levels in August are record high (above 925,000 barrels per day). |
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Calendar
August
1 Homeplace Sale,
Hattiesburg S/Y
4 Copiah CCA
15 Jeff Davis CCA
23 Amite CCA
23 Leake CCA
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Mississippi
Loves Beef
Mississippians spend $1,060,126,199 annually on beef.
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