OCA Week In Review:
January 6, 2014
Provided by the staff of the OCA
For more information please contact
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KNID Agri-Fest this week!
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Vote Today!
Visit the OCA Facebook Page starting now through Jan. 31. The photo with the most "likes" will win. Click here to vote.
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USDA Makes Permanent Meat and Grain Serving Flexibilities in National School Lunch Program
WASHINGTON, January 2, 2014 - Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon today announced that USDA is making permanent the current flexibility that allows schools to serve larger portions of lean protein and whole grains at mealtime.
"Earlier this school year, USDA made a commitment to school nutrition professionals that we would make the meat and grain flexibility permanent and provide needed stability for long-term planning. We have delivered on that promise," said Concannon.
USDA has worked closely with schools and parents during the transition to healthier breakfasts, lunches and snacks. Based on public feedback, USDA has made a number of updates to school meal standards, including additional flexibility in meeting the daily and weekly ranges for grain and meat/meat alternates(PDF, 103KB), which has been available to schools on a temporary basis since 2012.
USDA is focused on improving childhood nutrition and empowering families to make healthier food choices by providing science-based information and advice, while expanding the availability of healthy food. Data show that vast majority of schools around the country are successfully meeting the new meal standards.
- Last month, USDA awarded $11 million in grants to help schools purchase needed equipment to make preparing and serving healthier meals easier and more efficient for hardworking school food service professionals.
- In November 2013, USDA issued an additional $5 million through the Farm to School grant program to increase the amount of healthy, local food in schools. USDA awarded grants to 71 projects spanning 42 states and the District of Columbia.
- USDA awarded $5.6 million in grants in FY2013 to provide training and technical assistance for child nutrition foodservice professionals and support stronger school nutrition education programs, and plans to award additional grants in FY 2014.
- USDA's MyPlate symbol and the resources at ChooseMyPlate.gov provide quick, easy reference tools for teachers, parents, healthcare professionals and communities. Schools across the country are using the MyPlate symbol to enhance their nutrition education efforts.
Collectively, these policies and actions will help combat child hunger and obesity and improve the health and nutrition of the nation's children. This is a top priority for the Obama Administration and is an important component of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to combat the challenge of childhood obesity.
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The Weather is Cold but Cattle and Beef Markets are Hot
Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist
The holiday season is not typically a time when markets make dramatic moves. However, fed cattle prices going into Christmas were just over $130/cwt. and emerged from New Year's at over $137/cwt. late last week. Fed cattle prices advanced the last week of December despite a fire that idled a Cargill plant that week and further reduced holiday-diminished slaughter schedules. Choice boxed beef prices have increased roughly $4/cwt. since before Christmas. The Choice-Select spread has also narrowed with Select increasing even more than Choice resulting in an effective average boxed beef price increase of about $6/cwt. For packers, the increase in boxed beef is not enough to compensate for the fed cattle price increase meaning that packer margins continue to be squeezed. In the last four weeks, both cattle slaughter and boxed beef production have been down roughly 4 percent. Carcass weights are close to year ago levels, with steer and heifers carcass weights down and cow carcass weights up due to high proportions of dairy cows in the cow slaughter total.
It will likely take another week or so to fully assess post-holiday beef markets. The massive winter storm affecting the eastern half of the country this week will have additional impacts on both beef supply and demand. The fact that most major cattle feeding regions are not being affected by big snow totals will reduce the impacts but the cold temperatures and temperature swings will affect animal performance and hold carcass weights in check. Snow is heavier from the eastern corn belt through the northeast and, combined with brutally cold temperatures, will likely reduce beef demand and product movement for a few days.
Fed cattle prices have jumped much more than expected and raises the question of what to expect next. Current fed prices are already above spring prices as indicated by Live Cattle futures. Is this an early peak or can we expect additional first quarter strength in fed prices? I think it unlikely that we will see a continuation of the current rally in the next few days. Reduced slaughter and carcass weights, perhaps aggravated by weather impacts will tend to support prices close to current levels but packers will certainly resist higher fed prices unless boxed beef continues to move higher. Fed prices may move mostly sideways for the near term but the potential exists for prices to push towards $140/cwt by the end of the first quarter. In contrast, current April Live Cattle futures would suggest we are already at the spring peak. Boxed beef prices and winter weather will both be key factors to watch in the first quarter.
Feeder cattle markets have been mostly closed the past two weeks so market trends are difficult to assess but indications are that prices will be strong as markets reopen this week. Higher fed cattle prices are supportive, though adverse weather may temper feeder demand the next few days. Wheat pasture conditions have been marginal in some areas and may continue to deteriorate with the cold weather provoking some early movement of stockers off wheat but neither the numbers nor timing is likely to pressure feeder markets significantly.
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Re-warming Methods for Cold-stressed Newborn Calves
Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist
The extremely cold winter nights have reminded us that spring calving season is just around the corner. More cold temperatures are likely during the upcoming calving season. Several years ago an Oklahoma rancher called to tell us of the success he had noticed in using a warm water bath to revive new born calves that had been severely cold stressed. A quick check of the scientific data on that subject bears out his observation.
Canadian animal scientists compared methods of reviving hypothermic or cold stressed baby calves. Heat production and rectal temperature were measured in 19 newborn calves during hypothermia (cold stress) and recovery when four different means of assistance were provided. Extreme hypothermia of about 86o F rectal temperature was found in the calves before re-warming was initiated. Calves were re-warmed in a 68 to 77o F air environment where thermal assistance was provided by added thermal insulation or by supplemental heat from infrared lamps. Other calves were re-warmed by immersion in warm water (100oF), with or without a 40cc drench of 20% ethanol in water. Normal rectal temperatures before cold stress were 103 oF. The time required to regain normal body temperature from a rectal temperature of 86oF was longer for calves with added insulation and those exposed to heat lamps than for the calves in the warm water and warm water plus ethanol treatments (90 and 92 vs 59 and 63 minutes, respectively).
During recovery, the calves re-warmed with the added insulation and heat lamps used more stored body energy to produce heat metabolically than the calves re-warmed in warm water. Total heat production from body stores during recovery was nearly twice as great for the calves with added insulation, exposed to the heat lamps than for calves in warm water and in warm water plus an oral drench of ethanol, respectively. By immersion of extremely cold stressed calves in warm (100 oF) water, normal body temperature was regained most rapidly and with minimal metabolic effort. No advantage was evident from oral administration of ethanol. When immersing these baby calves, do not forget to support the head above the water to avoid drowning the calf that you are trying to save.
Of course the calf must be dried off before returning the cold weather outside. Time honored methods such as drying the calf off with the gunny sack and then putting them under a heat lamp or in the floorboard of the pickup cab will still be helpful to many calves born in cold weather. These methods may not re-warm the calf as quickly or be quite as effective for the severe case of hypothermia. The source of research cited is Robinson and Young from the Univ. of Alberta in the 1988 Journal of Animal Science.
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KOMA Cattle Conference
STOCKTON, Mo. - The 2014 KOMA Beef Conference begins at 3 p.m., Jan. 14, 2014, at the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Mo.
The KOMA Beef Cattle Conference is a joint effort by the Extension Services in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas to provide participants of the beef cattle industry the latest information on production, marketing, economics, nutrition and forage utilization. The Missouri portion of the conference is being held at Joplin Regional Stockyards.
To learn more, click here.
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LEA to Conduct Livestock Exporting 3.0 Seminar
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Livestock Exporters Association (LEA) will hold the third annual "Livestock Exporting 3.0" seminar Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the Hilton Kansas City Airport in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the United States Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE) annual meeting. The seminar is aimed toward experienced exporters, LEA members and industry affiliates interested in marketing livestock abroad.
"When it comes to exporting livestock, details are key," says LEA President Tony Clayton.
"During our 2014 seminar, we will discuss the most recent changes to the export process and what that means for you as you plan to market internationally."
The day-long, in-depth discussion of the export process will give participants a closer look inside the procedures associated with shipping livestock overseas, and educate exporters on the sweeping changes taking place with the export approval process at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (USDA APHIS VS).
Click here to learn more.
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Upcoming Cattle Sales
Jan. 11 - Profit Maker Bulls at Hutson Angus Farms Bull Sale, Elk City, OK
Jan. 26 - Carswell-Nichols Hereford Sale, Alton, KS
Upcoming OCA Events
Jan. 10-11 - Enid Farm Show, Enid, OK
Feb. 11- OCA Board of Directors Meeting, Embassy Suites, Oklahoma City, OK
Feb. 11-12 - CLA Winter Session, Embassy Suites, Oklahoma City, OK
Upcoming County Events
Jan. 7 - Carter County Cattlemen's Annual Meeting at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, OK
Jan. 20 - Seminole County Cattlemen's Assn. Annual Banquet, The Trading Post, Wewoka, Okla., 6 p.m.
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Advertise in a valuable and reliable marketplace -- The Oklahoma Cowman.
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Merck Animal Health has committed to giving the OCA $1 for each empty Ralgro Wheel collected from Aug. 1, 2013 thru July 31, 2014.
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