Calculating Annual Cow Costs Webinar Series
Knowing annual cow costs is the foundation for evaluating and making management decisions that can improve profitability for a cow-calf enterprise. Significant increases in input costs are challenging producers to examine cost of production and identify where there may be opportunities to adjust the production system. Calculating costs and breaking them into categories gives understanding into where there may be opportunity to make changes.

Nebraska Extension will host a webinar series Thursday evenings at 7:30-8:30 p.m. Central time on Jan. 19 and 26 and Feb. 2, 9, 16 and 23. The series will explain the fundamentals of knowing and calculating annual cow costs.

Topics to be covered will include:

• Understanding economic unit cost of production for the cow-calf enterprise.
• Recognizing the value and cost of both grazed and harvested feed.
• Calculating cow depreciation and replacement development costs.
• Figuring the cost of equipment and labor utilized in the cow-calf enterprise.
• Examining breeding expenses and evaluating the value and cost relationship.
• Reviewing cost and production data to see how you compare.

Cost is $60 per person and includes a resource workbook. The course will be limited to 30 participants. To register go to https://go.unl.edu/cow_costs. Registration is requested by Jan. 12 to ensure pre-meeting preparation material is available to participants.

A computer and internet connection will be needed to participate in the webinar series.

For questions about the webinar series, or for more information, please contact Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension educator at 308-235-3122 or aberger2@unl.edu.

EPA, Army finalize rule establishing definition of WOTUS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced Dec. 30, 2022, a final rule establishing a durable definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The final rule restores water protections in place prior to 2015 under the Clean Water Act for traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas, interstate waters and upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters.

“When Congress passed the Clean Water Act 50 years ago, it recognized that protecting our waters is essential to ensuring healthy communities and a thriving economy,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what we’ve learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nation’s waters, strengthens economic opportunity and protects people’s health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers and landowners.”

“This final rule recognizes the essential role of the nation’s water resources in communities across the nation,” said Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor. “The rule’s clear and supportable definition of waters of the United States will allow for more efficient and effective implementation and provide the clarity long desired by farmers, industry, environmental organizations and other stakeholders.”

This rule establishes a durable definition of “waters of the United States” that is grounded in the authority provided by Congress in the Clean Water Act, the best available science, and extensive implementation experience stewarding the nation’s waters, said the release. The rule returns to a reasonable and familiar framework founded on the pre-2015 definition with updates to reflect existing Supreme Court decisions, the latest science and the agencies’ technical expertise. It establishes limits that appropriately draw the boundary of waters subject to federal protection.

More information, including a pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice and fact sheets, is available at EPA’s “Waters of the United States” website, https://www.epa.gov/wotus.

Ag groups disgruntled by WOTUS rule
“[The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)] is extremely disappointed in the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers’ new Waters of the United States Rule,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the nation’s waterways, but they deserve rules that don’t require a team of attorneys and consultants to identify ‘navigable waters’ on their land. EPA has doubled down on the old significant nexus test, creating more complicated regulations that will impose a quagmire of regulatory uncertainty on large areas of private farmland miles from the nearest navigable water.”

Duvall continued: “Even more puzzling is the administration’s insistence on moving forward with a new rule while the Supreme Court is about to issue a decision on the scope of the Clean Water Act. A ruling in the Sackett case could send WOTUS back to the drawing board, so it makes no sense for EPA to issue a rule that will only cause more disruption and uncertainty.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) also commented on the rule.

“For too long, farmers and ranchers have dealt with the whiplash of shifting WOTUS definitions. Today, the Biden administration sought to finalize a WOTUS definition that will protect both our nation’s water supply and cattle producers across the nation,” said NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart. “While the rule retains longstanding, bipartisan WOTUS exclusions for certain agricultural features, it creates new uncertainty for farmers, ranchers and landowners across the nation.”

NCBA previously called for the EPA to retain ag exclusions for small, isolated and temporary water features that commonly appear on farms and ranches. These exclusions have broad support and were included in WOTUS rules under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The rule fails to clearly exempt isolated and ephemeral features from federal jurisdiction and relies on “case-by-case” determinations to assess whether a feature is federally regulated. Today’s rule is a far cry from the regulatory certainty provided by the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, creating a significant and costly burden for agricultural producers.

“The timing of this rule could not be worse,” added Hart. “The Supreme Court is currently considering Sackett v. EPA, which will provide much-needed clarity related to the WOTUS definition. Today’s final rule seeks to directly preempt ongoing Supreme Court litigation, leaving farmers and ranchers with more questions than answers."

USDA proposes revisions to instrument-grading procedures
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) seeks comments on proposed changes to procedures related to instrument-grading. The proposed changes outline several key enhancements to ensure USDA grading is delivered with the highest levels of consistency and accuracy.

AMS is proposing more clarity about when new or previously approved instruments that have undergone major changes must go through a complete review process, and how the instrument must perform. For example, AMS is proposing all cameras be reviewed in evaluating both USDA quality and yield grade factors.

In addition to updates to existing protocol, AMS is proposing several new requirements. For example, AMS has outlined in a new document the installation process for entities that will use the technology as an aid for USDA grading. Additionally, AMS has developed new guidance for continual in-plant monitoring and for improved data sharing. These new procedures address issues related to performance in a production environment to ensure ongoing confidence in the technology and the USDA grading program as a whole.

AMS is also making administrative changes and is proposing to consolidate five previous guidance documents into one new document entitled “Instrument Approval Process, Instrument Grading Systems for Beef Carcasses.”

These proposed changes are, in part, based on recommendations from the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) Grading Committee. This committee was tasked with reviewing and providing recommendations to AMS for measures to ensure consistency, accuracy and integrity in the grading system. AMS is making recommendations based on its experience in administering the USDA meat-grading program with the use of instrument technology for nearly 15 years.

In addition to ensuring reliability as a tool for official grading, AMS’s Packers & Stockyards (P&S) Act and regulations require that, before the purchase, packers must make known to the seller the details of the transaction. Details include, when applicable, the expected date and place of slaughter, carcass price, condemnation terms, description of the carcass trim, grading to be used, accounting and any special conditions. Any instrument used to assign what is commonly referred to as a “House Grade” falls under Section 201.99(e) of the P&S regulations.

Documents outlining the proposed changes can be found on AMS’s website. AMS welcomes feedback from all interested stakeholders. Comments should be submitted to Dr. Willy Horne, AMS Livestock and Poultry Program, at Willy.horne@usda.gov by Feb. 17, 2023. Questions regarding P&S compliance should be referred to Will Arce, Packers and Stockyards Division, at William.arce@usda.gov.

Meat-processing bolstered in Pennsylvania
The Jefferson County (Pennsylvania) Dubois Area Vocational Technical School (Jeff Tech) was awarded a $1.1 million grant for a project to construct, equip and furnish a new facility to house Jeff Tech’s Farm-to-Refrigerator training program, which is intended to address a shortage of skilled meat-processing manpower in the region. The new facility will serve both secondary and adult students seeking to acquire skills for employment in the meat-processing industry.

“The Jeff Tech project will help reduce an identified bottleneck in the local meat supply chain as well as provide area secondary and adult students with new, marketable skills in a resilient industry within the region,” said Pennsylvania Senator Cris Dush. “Increasing employment opportunities and helping address challenges faced by our region’s meat-processing industry will benefit our local communities as well as enhance the economic sustainability of family farms in the region.”

“This state-of-the-art facility will be used to train butchers and meat cutters for the entire region,” said Jeff Tech Director Barry Fillman, later adding, “The long-term vision of this project is for people in our community to grow, butcher, sell, purchase and eat regionally sourced meat products and grow the economy of our entire region while providing long-term, family-sustaining career opportunities for adult and secondary students in our area.”

USDA announces funding for fellowship programs in Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico
USDA is awarding $1.5 million to Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri to establish school-based programs in Ghana, Guatemala and Mexico through the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program (IAEFP).

Established in 2018, IAEFP provides fellowships to eligible U.S. citizens to help developing countries establish school-based ag education and youth extension programs. The universities will collaborate with local institutions and organizations to support the selected fellows in their efforts. Click here to learn more.