With the passing of film and television actor James Garner over the weekend, many are remembering his popular roles such as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western-comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective drama The Rockford Files. One great role he played for the Beef Checkoff was the voice and face for some of the very first …
Ag Groups Take Issue with Interpretive Rule
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s promise that under the proposed rules defining Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) “all normal farming practices are exempt – period” may be falling on deaf ears in the agriculture community. McCarthy is visiting Missouri this week to explain the proposed rules but she faces an uphill battle from the …
Texas Beef Producers Approve Beef Checkoff Program
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) announced that Texas beef producers have voted to establish a state-level Beef Checkoff program. TDA conducted this referendum upon petition by cattle industry organizations under the authorities designed by the Texas Legislature. “Texas is the largest cattle producing state in the nation, and our beef is among the highest-quality in the world,” says Agriculture …
Lotz Wins World Livestock Auctioneer Championship
Blaine Lotz of Edna, Kan. proved his world-class talent as a livestock auctioneer at the 51st anniversary of the Livestock Marketing Association’s (LMA) World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC) in Knoxville, Iowa, on Saturday, June 21. As a third-generation auctioneer, the world champion was quite familiar with the livestock marketing industry. When he was 15, Lotz attended auctioneering school at Western …
Grassley and Ag Reject Japan’s TPP Offer
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) took time between votes today to join with several agricultural organizations and voice strong opposition to Japan’s negotiating position in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership to exclude a number of agricultural products as part of a final agreement. “Japan seems to believe that they’re entitled to keep five sacred agriculture products off the table,” said Grassley, who …
New NCBA Officer Team
The new president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is Bob McCan of Texas, who succeeded Scott George as president during the board of directors meeting last week. “It is a great honor to be elected to lead NCBA for the next year. A strong future lies ahead of us with endless opportunities for U.S. cattlemen and women,” said …
Cattle Industry Convention
It looks like all systems are go for this year’s Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, TN. It’s the first time I’ll be missing it in a long time. But that’s the way things work sometime. I enjoyed the opportunity to be the Beef Board Blogger for eight years and it’s in the hands of the very capable staff of the …
Holiday Wishes from ANCW
The American National CattleWomen would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, and may the year ahead be filled with contentment and joy.
Cow That Stole Christmas 10 Years Later
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the “cow that stole Christmas” – a day that will live in infamy for the U.S. cattle industry and one that Kendal Frazier with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association remembers well. Kendal recalls that NCBA received a phone call from USDA at 1:30 pm on December 23, 2003. “We immediately started to implement …
Merck’s Attack on BRD
Merck Animal Health is dedicated to spreading the awareness of one of the most common diseases found in the cattle industry. Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) continues to take an economic toll on herds across the country. During NAFB’s Trade Talk I spoke with Dr. Brent Meyer, technical services veterinarian for Merck. He shares what the company is doing to tackle …