The Cattle Industry Summer Conference is over. It’s been a great week of cowboys, steaks and following the grass roots process of the work of the NCBA and CBB. Helping me wrap up my coverage is CBB Chairman, Dave Bateman. I want to thank CBB for once again having me in as their Beef Board Blogger.
I spoke to Dave after the joint board meeting was over. Dave says it’s been a great conference. He says we’re looking at some difficulties like decreasing revenues due to things like cattle numbers being down along with lower imports.
Dave says committee members rose to the occasion though by prioritizing projects and that they have done an exceptional job. He says there’s a “unity of decisions” although that doesn’t mean everyone is happy with every decision. As he puts it, no one likes to see really good programs get cut back. He says that they’re beyond cutting the fat and now they’re cutting into the muscle.
Dave does point to a bright spot which is foreign markets. He says that the numbers are up and for that reason they’ve put some extra money into the foreign markets program.
He also says that the conference has been a good place to start the effort to improve the Checkoff with recommendations. In conclusion, he says that with the cow herd shrinking, “we’re a victim of our own success.” He says producers are so much more efficient in terms of production that revenues haven’t kept pace.
You can listen to my wrap up interview with Dave here:
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Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
The first ever winners of the BQA Award were announced today.
Quality. It’s not only a word written in an instruction manual but a responsible action – one must live it and then teach it. That was the underlying theme this week as two producers were honored with the national Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) award, created to recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers from across the country who incorporate BQA principles as part of the day-to-day activities on their operations. The winners were selected based upon their commitment to beef quality assurance while operating sustainable cattle operations.
This year’s winners were Jim Docheff, Diamond D Dairy from Longmont, Colo., and Anne Burkholder, Will Feed Inc. from Cozad, Neb.
A common trait among the two winners is a strong desire to continually improve BQA on their operations while successfully encouraging others around them to implement BQA. The National BQA award winners are selected annually by a committee of representatives from universities, state beef councils and cattle industry groups. For more information about the beef checkoff or BQA program, visit www.bqa.org, www.dbqa.org or www.beefboard.org.
Listen to my interview with Jim and Anne here:
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Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
In a real show of gratitude, we allowed Joe Schuele, USMEF, to attend the media reception here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. We even let him say a few words. We did it because we appreciate all his hard work in the media room for years.
Joe let us know how much he enjoyed doing it and said that we’d be taken care of very well by Grace Webb and Melissa Tessitore, pictured here with him.
We know where to find Joe though.
Tom Ramey, CBB’s CEO sure has his hands full dealing with some challenging times for the Checkoff. This morning he made a presentation at the second general session of the Summer Conference. You can listen to his presentation below.
I also interviewed Tom and found out that there are two main issues of special importance to the Checkoff here at this conference. The first one, according to Tom, is the budget. The recommended budget was presented at the CBB Update Session and committees will be looking at the parts that affect them during their meetings. Tom says that Checkoff dollars are down and that it’s a tough time right now. He says some difficult decisions will need to be made.
The other big issue is the process to create recommendations for ways to improve the Checkoff. Tom says the staff has sent out over 300 letters soliciting comments and that they’ll be organizing meetings with a number of the organizations targeted. Once those comments come in the staff will organize them and scrub them so that the Admin Subcommittee, which is charged with overseeing this process, can look at them on the merit of the comment without being affected by seeing who wrote them. Then the staff will be helping organize meetings with the committee to review the comments and formulate recommendations prior to the end of the year.
Tom says producers here seem excited about what the Checkoff is doing but are concerned about the budget. He says these are difficult times for the beef industry.
Listen to my interview with Tom here:
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Listen to Tom’s general session presentation here:
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Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
The red-shirted Beef Ambassadors have been wandering the halls here at the Summer Conference. I spoke with two of them this morning, Leticia Varelas, NM (L) and Jennifer Rassler, PA. They wanted to make sure I pointed people to their blog: Raising The Steaks. I hope you’ll take some time to see what these ambassadors of the industry are doing.
In my interview they each talk about projects they’ve been involved with like:
Summer Photo Contest: So, our mission for you is to capture those little moments of you washing your animal, leading him around, or how well you take care of them. Let your photo show how your involvement with the beef cattle production project really encourages you to be aware of animal welfare. So what we want from you is your best photo. Send it in to us at our email, which is raisingthesteaks@gmail.com. Feel free to include a caption about your picture. The contest deadline is October 1st, so you’re sure to have the perfect moment for a picture. Be sure to include an email adress where we can contact you. Photos will be judged, and a winner notified. Check back for more details as we get this contest rolling.
Penn State Blood Drive: Jennifer says they held a blood drive that had the slogan, “Beef, It’s What’s For Donors.” They fed donors hamburgers and gave them t-shirts too. She says it was the biggest blood drive they’ve ever held.
YouTube Videos: Both of these ambassadors produced YouTube videos for Earth Day to showcase the positive things farmers do for the environment. You can find Leticia’s video here and Jennifer’s video here.
Listen to my interview with Leticia and Jennifer here:
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Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
By now you know that the new CBB website is MyBeefCheckoff.com. I just realized that it’s what you get when you type in the old CBB web domain too.
One of the features you’ll soon find on the new CBB website will be producer profiles. The idea is to find out what producers (beef and dairy) think about the programs and activities of the Checkoff.
To get things started I did a number of interviews today and will get many more before the end of the summer conference. I started out with Jim Eschliman, Ericson, NE. He’s a dairy producer and it has been his career. He says they milk 140 cows but have around 300 head all together.
So when it comes to the Beef Checkoff he says that we have to continue to promote beef and get dairy producers to understand that fact. As he says, they’re beef producers too.
Jim says it’s important for dairy and beef producers to understand how to handle their animals and especially pay attention to the shipping process.
He sells cull cows and steers and thinks the Checkoff has increased the price he receives. As he puts it, “The Checkoff really helps.”
You can listen to my interview with Jim here:
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Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
The Zimfo Bytes you see several times a week have been a very well received feature of AgWired. It allows us to post more nuggets of news to help keep the agrimarketing community informed. Melissa Slage, Cattlemen’s Beef Board, is the author of Zimfo Bytes. She’s pictured with Lynn Heinze at yesterday’s CBB Admin Subcommitte mtg.
This morning I talked to Melissa about what she does at CBB and their new website, MyBeefCheckoff.com. Melissa is Trade Media Manager which means she’s responsible for news releases and trade show activity. She’ll be at the upcoming Ag Media Summit for example.
I’ve logged in to MyBeefCheckoff.com and am glad they finally got a website that’s intuitive and easy to find things I need.
You can listen to my interview with Melissa here:
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You’ll find more posts on the CBB’s Beef Board Meeting website.
Feel free to check out and use photos from my Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board Administration Subcommittee got things started here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver today. I spoke with CBB Chairman, Dave Bateman, about what we can expect to see happen during this meeting.
Dave says that producers come together here at the summer meeting to do the work of the industry.
He says that the committee structure of the CBB is part of the groundwork of what happens here and that part of the process is to get the most bang for the buck while increasing beef demand.
One of the exciting topics they’ll be talking about is international markets. Dave says that the current value of the dollar, coupled with some real opportunities, makes for some interesting challenges. He says that attendance is expected to be slightly higher this year.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more about this, but Dave also mentions the process that has been started here for recommending improvements to the Beef Checkoff Program.
You can listen to my interview with Dave here:
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You’ll find more posts on the CBB’s Beef Board Meeting website.
Feel free to check out and use photos from my Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
I just got a little advance notice about a new Beef Checkoff website. I like the idea of making it easier to find information if you’re an ag journalist.
On July 15, we are launching a new Web site designed to make learning about the beef checkoff easy. MyBeefCheckoff.com is launching and you’re on our list! You’re receiving this email because we feel you’re an important news contact within the beef industry, and we’ve signed you up for exclusive media access on our site. This includes weekly updates such as press releases and audio releases; monthly updates such as Beef Briefs and daily access to our information (story) request form.
You absolutely have to check out this post on Defamer to watch the video clip set to one of Matthew McConaughey’s new Beef radio spots. I’m sure NCBA won’t be upset for being given credit for the Beef Board’s work.
Did you stuff your face with enough beef over the holiday weekend? If not, Matthew McConaughey is gonna be mighty pissed off. Check out the new radio spot he recorded for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association. You know, the dudes who came up with that “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” slogan? Well, they got themselves a brand new golden-haired, A-list pitchman and the results have become a bit of an obsession here in the Defamer offices. Why does it fascinate so? Maybe it’s because McConaughey plays up his every vocal tic for maximum effect, like he’s trying to lure a small child into a windowless van with some candy.
Even better are the comments posted so far. Like:
The extreme close up of the braying steer. I weep. Want to hate the Matty, but can not, not with Andre Previn arranging the score.
Or
I’m going to Ruth’s Chris for dinner tonight and TOTALLY ordering “the power of protein in the land of lean beef”.
Two U.S. organic beef producers are teaming up to expand the nation’s organic beef supply. CROPP Cooperative, North America’s largest farmer owned co-op, and Dakota Beef, the largest vertically integrated organic beef producer in the U.S., have partnered in a mutli-year agreement.
Consumer demand for high quality organic beef has been exceptional and this partnership will ensure supply to an increasingly savvy and discerning organic consumer.
While other beef companies are struggling to supply the market with increased demand as traditional retailers take organic beef “behind the counter” and offer more choice cuts, Dakota Beef is flush with cattle and prepared to meet demand. 
Innovative supply chain management and long term partnerships with certified organic beef producers make this possible. Looking forward, the partnership with Organic Prairie will ensure strong supply chain in the future, “We currently see more certified organic calves on feed than ever before and that bodes well for the demand that this consumer driven product is creating,” says David Wilcox, an organic cattle finisher from Madison, South Dakota. Ranchers are happy too, Mike Olson, a 1000 head organic rancher from Utah says, “The organic cattle industry seems likes it become streamlined and organized for the first time ever, which is great news for those of us who have stuck with it for so many years.”
Yesterday I had lunch with 5000 head of cattle - and about 60 people.
It was the season kick-off of Missouri’s Lunch and Learn program, a summer series sponsored by all the ag groups in the state where they invite local community leaders to visit agricultural operations. The first event for this summer was held at Circle A Ranch in Huntsville, MO. The main hosts for this event were one of our very best and first clients, the Missouri Beef Industry Council. (Check out their blog here.)
What was especially unique about this event was that it was held in the middle of a covered feedlot - one of only three feedlots in the state of Missouri. You’d think it would be a little, well - smelly - to say the least. But, it was not at all. And there were NO FLIES! It was just as pleasant as having lunch in a park pavilion - just a really huge one with a bunch of cattle in it.
The secret? Sawdust, according to Dave Gust, who owns the operation. “The sawdust acts sort of like kitty litter and it absorbs the ammonia, which is the smell,” he said. “We change it every two weeks and then we compost it and make it into fertilizer - turns into black dirt.”
The guys in the picture are Dave on the left and ranch manager Mark Akin.
Listen to an interview with Dave here:
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Weis Markets says it’s a first. It’s the first time a supermarket chain has offered locally raised beef. But, consumers in Pennsylvania can now find Pennsylvania Proud Choice Angus Beef at 23 neighborhood Weis Markets stores.
“Buying local is one of the hottest trends in food today but it’s been a hot trend for us since 1912,” said Norman S. Rich, Company CEO. “Last year alone, we purchased more than 19 million pounds of produce from local Pennsylvania producers. 
Our Pennsylvania Proud Choice Angus Beef is the logical extension of our commitment to buying and selling Pennsylvania’s best products. We are proud to be the first supermarket company in the country to offer a local beef program.”
Pennsylvania Proud Choice Angus Beef is grain fed, hand-carved and aged a minimum of 20 days. The program features a full line of roasts, steaks, tenderloins and ground beef. The PA Angus cattle are supplied from farms in Lancaster, Schuykill and Chester Counties.
Even Nolan Ryan agrees that all beef is nutritious. But, the former ball player says his beef is a cut above the rest. That’s because he says his company offers what consumers are looking for at the meat case.
This USDA-certified Choice line is produced with consumers and their families in mind. This premium line is free from antibiotics and added hormones. Cattle are exclusively fed an all-vegetarian diet.
Nolan Ryan’s Premium Reserve is being introduced in Kroger Southwest locations in the Dallas and Houston metro areas. In addition, Nolan Ryan’s Guaranteed Tender Beef continues to be available for retail and foodservice. Most recently it was named the “Official Beef of the Texas Rangers” and is being served at Rangers Stadium.
Hey… what could go better than beef n’ baseball?
Chatel Farms wants to give consumers the beef without, well, causing too much of a beef. The Georgia-based company is now offering Beef Crumbles, or, 100 percent pure ground beef packaged in ready-to-use, re-sealable portions. Chatel Farms offers two varieties: 80 percent lean or 85 percent lean.
The Crumbles are flash frozen and crumbled using an innovative proprietary technology providing consumers quality ingredients in convenient sizes.
Simply pre-heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add frozen Beef Crumbles directly into the pan and cook while stirring for approximately two minutes. Then add your favorite sauces and seasonings and you’re well on your way to serving up a wholesome, tasty dish for you or the entire family.
Chatel Farms Beef Crumbles are now available at Wal-Mart stores nationwide and in participating Kroger stores.
U.S. beef is at the heart of the classic “American” dish and it can certainly be sorely missed when traveling abroad… especially in Southwest Asia. But, 1st Lieutenant Peter Shinn of the National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing found one Iowa couple who’s trying to bring local beef to troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One Iowa couple is making sure U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting a taste of home. And they’re doing so with help from an extensive network of volunteers, and from the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing.
Ted and Dee Ann Paulsrud of Danbury, both of whom are long-time members and leaders of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) are now leading an initiative to get Iowa beef sticks to U.S. troops in southwest Asia. The ICA took on that effort shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. But the program proved costly, both in time and money, and ICA decided to drop the initiative a little over a year ago. Dee Ann Paulsrud, now widely known as “The Beef Stick Lady,” picks up the story from there.
“It started a year ago in November [2006] when my husband was retiring off the Iowa Cattlemen’s board for District VII Director,” she told Brownfield. “They no longer were going to do it at the state level. They already had done it for four years and then, they were aborting the program. Well, we didn’t want to do that.”
So the Paulsruds took up where ICA left off. And Dee Ann Paulsrud said they’ve developed an all-volunteer beef stick processing and distribution system, all aimed at getting Iowa beef to American fighting men and women in Southwest Asia. (more…)
The media has been pointing fingers at biofuels, blaming them for rising food costs. But a study from The Biofuels Digest suggests rising food costs are the result of global pressures, such as China’s increasing demand for meat. Biofuels Digest says their study finds that for every bushel of grain used to make U.S. ethanol, six are used to support Chinese meat demand.
A change in Chinese meat consumption habits since 1995 is diverting eight billion bushels of grain per year to livestock feed and could empty global grain stocks by September 2010, according to a new study from Biofuels Digest.
The study, “Meat vs Fuel: Grain use in the U.S. and China, 1995-2008,” concluded that a complete shutdown of the U.S. ethanol industry would extend the deadline only until 2013.
“It’s not food, it’s not fuel, it’s China,” said Jim Lane, editor of Biofuels Digest and author of the report.
The study determined that China’s meat consumption since 1995 has increased by 112 percent to 53 kilograms per person per year.
“If the Chinese people had consumed the same amount of meat, per person, in 2007 as in 1995, there would have been enough grain left over to support 927 million people with food for an entire year,” said Lane. (more…)
An agricultural research facility in Florida fears the 10 percent reduction in ag research funding will close its doors… and abruptly abort research on a nameless, mixed breed of cattle. The St. Petersburg Times reports:
Indeed, few people have ever seen cattle like these. Unless you’re knowledgeable in bovine research, the cross-bred calves huddled in tall grass of the pastures near the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Subtropical Agricultural Research Station at Chinsegut Hill may appear rather strange.
The animals are so new, in fact, that they don’t even have an official name yet.
Rather, research scientists at the facility refer to them simply as an F1 composite breed, a catch-all name that indicates they are the mixed offspring of several beef cattle breeds — in this case American Angus and Brahma cattle, plus the South American Romosinuanos — that are a product of more than a decade of genetic research.
While Coleman praised the calves’ aesthetic virtues, his hope is that they will someday lead to a tastier, more profitable breed of beef cattle.
Though that result is a long way off, Coleman fears it may never happen at all…
With the Bush Administration calling for a 10 percent cut in agricultural research in its proposed USDA budget for 2009, Coleman said this agricultural research station is one of three targeted for closing.
(more…)
I don’t know about you but I like my steak on the grill and that wouldn’t be real good for my iPod. But if you know of some beef lovers with a Nano and want a unique gift then think of the Kobe Beef iPod Nano Case. It’s only $100. Can you imagine what the whole steak costs?
I’m thinking that a nice Angus or Herford case would be okay for me. As they say on Gearlog, “It adds a whole new meaning to Where’s the Beef?”
May is National Hamburger Month and Beef Month, so it’s a good time to hail to the hamburger and bow to the beef.
It may seem as simple as a food that got its name from Hamburg, Germany. But the original ground beef patty on a bun may have been from the Mongols who brought it to Russia; seafarers that brought the patty idea back to the port city of Hamburg; Louis’ Lunch - the New Haven, Conn., burger joint; “Hamburger Charlie” Nagreen; or, the Menches Brothers. But it seems no matter what the tale, the ending is still the same – consumers love a good burger.
Americans consumed approximately 11.9 billion burgers in 2007. Forty-one percent of Americans eat burgers at least once a week and 85 percent eat burgers once a month. That’s reason to tip your hat to beef producers.
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Digital cattle news pioneer, Rob Cook, is now working for Vance Publishing after the company acquired CattleNetwork.com.
