- Trust In Beef is a new effort to empower beef producers on their sustainability journey and provide consumers with real-life proof of the continuously improving environmental performance of American beef. The program is led by Farm Journal‘s social purpose initiative, Trust In Food, and its industry-leading beef brand, Drovers.
- Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds, (R-S.D.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) jointly announced they are introducing a bill in the U.S. Senate to reestablish mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. The legislation will reinsert “beef” and “ground beef” into the current MCOOL law that requires country-of-origin labels on many food commodities, including meat from chickens, sheep, goats, and deer.
- In response to the severe drought conditions in the West and Great Plains, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its plans to help cover the cost of transporting feed for livestock that rely on grazing. USDA is updating the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) to immediately cover feed transportation costs for drought impacted ranchers. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will provide more details and tools to help ranchers get ready to apply at their local USDA Service Center later this month at fsa.usda.gov/elap.
- Jim Monroe be joining Smithfield Foods on September 20 as vice president of corporate affairs. Monroe’s responsibilities will include corporate communications and working with media covering the U.S. pork industry, agriculture and food.
- The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) is celebrating the 10th year of the annual IPPE Young Leaders Under 30 Program with the launch of the 2022 program. Interested applicants must apply to the program by Oct. 1 and meet select requirements, including being a member of at least one of the following IPPE sponsor organizations: the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), North American Meat Institute (NAMI) or U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY). No more than two applicants from a single member organization may be nominated.
- National Pork Board is launching a mythbusting campaign featuring Emmy Award-winning actor Eric Stonestreet. The new video series introduces consumers to the “Rural Dictionary,” which redefines common pig-related idioms and phrases to showcase the innovation of modern pork production. The inaugural video, When Pigs Fly, launched earlier this week online and on NPB’s social media channels.
- As Co-Chair of the Tax Aggie Coalition, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association spearheaded a letter to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee leadership urging them to consider the implications that changes to federal tax policy will have on family-owned agricultural businesses. Nearly 330 trade associations representing family-owned food, agriculture and related businesses agree that, when drafting legislation to implement President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, it is critical that the “American Families Plan” must also support family farms and ranches.
- The North American Meat Institute issued the following statement about inflammatory statements regarding the meat and poultry industry and the price of consumer goods during a labor shortage and a pandemic. “As with almost every industry, meat and poultry packers and processors of all sizes have been, and continue to be, affected by the global pandemic and the inflationary trends that challenge the U.S. economy,” said Mark Dopp, Chief Operating Officer for the North American Meat Institute. “American consumers of most goods and services are seeing higher costs, largely due to a persistent and widespread labor shortage. The meat and poultry industry is no different. Issuing inflammatory statements that ignore the fundamentals of how supply and demand affects markets accomplishes nothing. Meat and poultry markets are competitive and dynamic with no one sector of the industry consistently dominating the market at the expense of another.”
