Dillon Feuz

Vilsack Calls for Stricter Food Labels

According to The Associated Press (AP), the Obama administration plans to tighten up requirements for country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules approved during the last days of the Bush administration.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told consumer groups, farm groups and meat industry leaders Feb. 17 that he will ask the meat industry to voluntarily follow stricter guidelines for new package labels designed to specify a food’s country of origin, AP reports.

If the industry does not comply with the stricter guidelines, the administration will write new rules, according to AP sources.

Leaders on both sides of the issue reached a compromise during debate over the farm bill last year, but much of the law was left open to interpretation by the Agriculture Department, according to AP.

Vilsack reportedly told AP sources he’d like to see labels that would give consumers a clearer idea about the origin of the animal or food. Vilsack also reportedly said the law should cover more foods.

Visit Angus Productions Inc.’s (API’s) www.countryoforiginlabeling.info site for further updates as they transpire.

News Flash:

JBS Acquisition of National Terminated

U.S. Premium Beef, LLC (USPB) and National Beef Packing Co. LLC (National Beef) announced Feb. 20 that the Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with JBS S.A. (JBS), previously announced on March 4, 2008, has been terminated effective as of Feb. 23, 2009.

Steve Hunt, chief executive officer (CEO) of USPB said, “although this is not the outcome we anticipated, we are excited to continue the growth and success of our business on a stand-alone basis. As demonstrated by our fiscal year 2008 and first quarter 2009 financial results, National Beef’s value-added business model, rooted in strong relationships with cattle producers and beef customers, continues to generate industry-leading profits.”

John Miller, CEO of National Beef, added that, “this development has re-energized our management team. With our strong liquidity position and numerous opportunities to grow our business — both internally and externally — we are eagerly looking forward to building on our value-added model while continuing to focus on serving the needs of our customers.”

USPB is the majority owner of National Beef Packing Co. LLC, a leading U.S. beef processor. More than 2,100 producers from 36 states have marketed cattle on USPB’s quality-based grids. More information about USPB is available at www.uspremiumbeef.com. More information about National Beef is available at www.nationalbeef.com.

Sara Snider

The Source

Your questions answered

Spring is almost here. In addition to the warmer weather, for many of you spring means the beginning of calving season. For AngusSource® spring means a flurry of activity as producers call to ask questions about program requirements or begin the enrollment process for their new calf crop.

I’d like to take this opportunity to give you answers to the top five questions the AngusSource Department receives this time of year. Hopefully, this information will answer some of the questions you have been asking yourself. Read more.

Online Resource Debuts for Cattle Risk Management

A variety of risk management resources are available to crop growers, and now cattle producers have a centralized place to find risk management resources. The new Cattle Risk Management Information Library is posted on the web.

The library is available through Kansas State University’s (K-State’s) AgManager web site www.agmanager.info/crmil/. The resource is the culmination of a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Risk Management Agency (RMA) and K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Department of Computing and Information Sciences.

The easy-to-use site makes a wide variety of information available for cow-calf, feeder, and fed cattle producers, said James Mintert, state ag economics Extension leader for K-State Research and Extension. The information can be categorized by such key risks as price, financial, and production.

In addition to including K-State and USDA-RMA information, the online library has links to other resources, with special emphasis on information available from other U.S. universities.

For example, one paper on the site compares differences in fed cattle prices across various marketing arrangements. Its contributing authors are from Colorado State University, Iowa State University, RTI International and The World Bank.

Miranda Reiman

CAB Corner

Saving a buck

These are penny-pinching times. Thermostats and consumer spending are down. People are traveling less and doing without frills.

Cattlemen often embrace this conservative spirit, even in the good years. We know that the cattle cycle turns, and favorable prices can only last so long. When times get tough, it can be hard for the already thrifty to cut expenses, especially if you’ve managed to keep a focus on producing quality. As you look at operating costs and search for cuts, it’s healthy to question everything, but before you go after the nickels and dimes that help you produce high-quality calves, take another look at the dollars in cow feed costs. Read more.

USDA Market News

Click here for Livestock Cattle Reports, including Slaughter and Feeder and Replacement Cattle Reports.

Resources for Niche Markets

Click here to learn more about producing natural and organic beef
and/or grass-fed beef.

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Angus sales, click here.