More than 2,000 COVID-19 sampling kits will soon be on their way to hospitals across the state, thanks to Aggie innovation and ingenuity. Viral sampling kits — usually used on pigs, cows and chickens — are being repurposed to test humans by the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station. The sampling kits are being assembled from lab …
Animal Ag Alliance Primed & Prepared for Virtual Summit
Virtual conferences are on the rise. The 2020 Stakeholders Summit for the Animal Agriculture Alliance is a perfect example. If you’ve never physically attended one this is your chance to do so without traveling. Current trends in animal rights activism and farm security will be addressed at the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2020 Virtual Stakeholders Summit, themed “Primed & Prepared.” The …
Senators Stress COVID-19 Relief for Agriculture
Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) led a Senate colloquy Monday to outline the importance of supporting farmers, ranchers and rural America in legislation to provide relief from the impacts of COVID-19. Hoeven worked to include $50 billion in funding authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Joining Hoeven …
Farmers and Ranchers Committed to US Food Supply
America’s farmers and ranchers are committed to doing all they can do to maintain the nation’s food supply amid growing challenges posed by COVID-19. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president Zippy Duvall, along with Chalmers Carr, a peach farmer in South Carolina, and John Boelts, a produce farmer in Arizona, gave an update on how farmers are dealing with the …
NCBA Urges Steps to Maintain Beef Supply
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is working to maintain an adequate supply of beef for U.S. consumers during the current COVID-19 outbreak. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane says they have taken a number of steps to help protect the value chain, starting with sending a request to Vice President Mike Pence for assurance that meat inspection …
COVID-19 Restrictions Could Impact Food Supply
Beginning today, the United States will suspend routine immigrant and nonimmigrant processing visa services in Mexico indefinitely, including immigrant workers approved under the H-2A guest worker program who are needed to help farmers and ranchers get food in the grocery stores. “The decision to halt visa application processing in Mexico will restrict the number of immigrant workers being allowed to …
‘Nicely Done, Beef’ Ads Address Misconceptions
A new series of ads from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) shares facts about beef with consumers in an open, transparent and conversational way. “For the first time, we’re really getting out there and being more aggressive in defending beef, and specifically addressing some of those myths and common misconceptions when it comes to beef,” said Season Solorio, NCBA …
Kansas Rancher Named Beef Advocate of the Year
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association named Brandi Buzzard Frobose, a Kansas rancher, the 2019 Advocate of the Year. Early in 2019, Buzzard Frobose wrote a letter to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in response to the proposed Green New Deal, which contained negative connotations towards cattle and misinformation about cattle’s effects on climate change and the environment. She explained more …
CattleFax Provides Industry Outlook
Most segments of the beef industry should be profitable in 2020, according to CattleFax. “We’ve got plenty of supply to deal with, not only in beef, but also in pork and poultry supplies will be larger,” said Kevin Good, CattleFax Vice President of Industry Relations and Analysis. “Thankfully, demand is very strong domestically. We see that in beef in particular.” …
Fake Meat Key Issue for NCBA in 2020
At the Cattle Industry Convention, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released survey results that show widespread consumer confusion about plant-based fake meat products. Nearly two-thirds of the 1,800 survey respondents believed the fake meat products produced by Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and LightLife contained real beef or some form of animal byproduct. Those surveyed also showed misconceptions about key …