Genetic improvements within the U.S. dairy herd are fueling historic gains in key milk components needed to produce cheese, butter and a variety of other popular dairy foods. While U.S. fluid milk production has remained relatively flat in recent years, butterfat and protein levels within the nation’s milk supply are growing at a record pace as more producers are employing genetics to optimize milk composition. According to new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, the historic pace of change in U.S. milk composition is poised to continue as genetic gains and market incentives will drive butterfat and protein production higher for the foreseeable future.
Downtown Nashville, Tennessee, will host CattleCon 2026, Feb. 3-5, 2026. The largest cattle industry event of the year will be held in the heart of Music City, home of honky-tonks, history and hearty food. Thousands of cattlemen and women will gather to learn, conduct business, network and enjoy the sights, sounds and flavors in the “songwriting capital of the world.”
Attend a Stockmanship & Stewardship event this year to experience premier cattle industry education. As technology changes and improves, these regional events will help you learn more about the latest stockmanship and biosecurity practices to help your farm or ranch stay safe and keep cattle healthy. Experts Ron Gill, Curt Pate and Dean Fish travel the country to provide live demonstrations on chute-side handling, horsemanship and cattle hauling.
Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is awarding $100,000 in scholarships through the 2025 Colvin Scholarship Fund to support students pursuing careers in food and agriculture. Applications are open through April 14 across three categories, with top winners receiving $7,500 and a trip to the CAB Annual Conference.
Meat sales hit a record high of $104.6 billion in 2024, pounds sold increased 2.3 percent compared to 2023, and consumers, on average, purchase meat more than once per week (Circana) – keeping meat the largest fresh department in grocery, according to the 20th annual Power of Meat report released at the Annual Meat Conference by the Meat Institute and FMI—The Food Industry Association.
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are accepting nominations for the Dr. Charles Beard Research Excellence Award through July 1. The purpose of the award, which has been presented since 2013, is to recognize outstanding completed research projects, funded by USPOULTRY or the USPOULTRY Foundation, that have had a transformative effect on the poultry industry. The nominee may be recognized for multiple completed USPOULTRY research projects, all focused on the same subject area. Nominations are open to universities and research institutions involved in poultry research, as well as to individuals within the research community, including USPOULTRY members, staff and sponsored committee members. Self-nominations are also allowed. While nominations should primarily highlight research projects finished within the last five years, projects completed above five years may still be considered if their significant impact has only recently come to light. Additional information about the award can be found here.
A campaign has been launched to establish an endowment fund for the Nelson A. Cox Graduate Student Scholarship in Poultry Food Safety in honor of the late Dr. Nelson Cox. The Nelson A. Cox Graduate Student Scholarship in Poultry Food Safety will support a graduate student every year so that Dr. Cox’s legacy in poultry food safety can continue to impact future generations. The logistics for this scholarship are being handled through the USPOULTRY Foundation.
The benefits of grazing management plans that are written or kept digitally are unparalleled for U.S. ranchers and include boosts to profitability, efficiency and resilience as well as aiding ranchers in efforts to protect the land, water and plants that cattle depend upon. U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has set an ambitious target of 385 million acres managed under written grazing management plans by 2050.
