Our friends at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. want to improve livestock health through preventive measures, while at the same time bridge the gap between producers and consumers who are more removed from production agriculture than ever before. The company has launched the Prevention Works platform to raise awareness and foster conversations between veterinarians, their clients and consumers. The goal is …
Senators Celebrate “Meat Mondays”
The offices of U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today celebrated ‘Meat Monday’ with barbeque beef brisket, ribs, and sausage from Hill Country BBQ restaurant. For the senators from beef producing states, it was a response to last week’s USDA employee newsletter promoting “Meatless Mondays” that was accidentally approved and put on line, and subsequently removed but …
Livestock and Poultry Groups Seek RFS Waiver
Livestock and poultry producers are filing a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in light of the current drought situation likely to cause feed shortages. “We need a waiver now,” said Randy Spronk of Minnesota, National Pork Producers Council president-elect. “I and NCBA support American ethanol,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef …
Timely Poll Shows Most People Eat Meat
The environmental and health effects of livestock production and meat can be debated, but one fact is for sure – most people like to eat it. A brand new Gallup Poll finds that only 5% of people in the United States consider themselves vegetarians – and only 2% say they are vegans who eat no animal products. According to Gallup: …
USDA “Meatless Mondays” Uproar
An internal USDA Greening Update newsletter that promotes “Meatless Mondays” caused a bit of an uproar on Wednesday. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sent out a news release linking to the newsletter and questioning USDA’s commitment to the livestock industry. The newsletter talked about various “greening” initiatives by the agency and suggested that “one simple way to reduce our …
Livestock Reports Not Sexy, Hard to Understand, and At Risk
For anyone who has ever done livestock market reports in the media, you know how complex and how intertwined they are. What happens in one market can greatly affect all of the others (including what goes on in the grain markets), and understanding these relationships is certainly not an easy task (doing markets for Chuck back during our days at …
Wisconsin Branded Tag Program Unveiled
The Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Identifying Wisconsin branded tag program. The voluntary Identifying Wisconsin branded Official ID program is the first of its kind and has been developed with support from Wisconsin livestock producers, industry and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The Identifying Wisconsin initiative is …
Late Swine Nutrition Expert Honored at Pork Expo
A University of Illinois professor who spent his lifetime contributing to the livestock nutrition industry was honored at World Pork Expo earlier this month. JBS United recognized the contributions of Dr. David H. Baker as this year’s John B. Swisher Leadership Award Winner. Dr. Baker’s family accepted the post humus award in his honor on June 5 at the Expo …
Locust Trace AgriScience Farm
Locust Trace AgriScience Farm is the newest career and technical high school in Lexington, Kentucky with energy and environmental being key factors in the facility design and agriculture being the educational focus. Locust Trace features spacious classrooms with adjoining labs, 6.5 acres for gardening, a state-of-the-art greenhouse with an aquaculture area for raising native fish, a soaring auditorium with a …
Beef’s Shrinking Environmental Footprint
Contrary to popular belief, eating beef is not bad for the environment and Dr. Jude Capper with the Department of Animal Sciences at Washington State University has the research to prove it. Jude talked about her findings to the media and during National Cattlemen’s Beef Association committee meetings at the recent Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville. “There’s a popular perception …