USDA has issued the final rule for mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), including an amendment to the regulations for muscle cut covered commodities derived from animals slaughtered in the United States. The decision pleased some livestock organizations, but disappointed others. “We are deeply disappointed with this short-sighted action by the USDA,”said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George. …
Sequester Could Cause FSIS Inspector Furlough
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has shaken up the meat and poultry industry with his comments about how sequestration might impact agriculture during a speech to the National Ethanol Conference last week. Answering a question about funding for a farm bill, Vilsack talked more broadly about what might happen after March 1 if Congress fails to act and sequester creates automatic …
Centuries of Cattle Ranching Captured
The Florida Cattlemen’s Association has welcomed cattlemen and women from across the country this week at the 2013 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show with warm sunshine and a great sense of hospitality. Florida is celebrating 500 years of agriculture and beef production has a rich history here in the Sunshine State. The Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation has created a …
USFRA Announces Four Fresh Faces of Farming
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has announced four Faces of Farming & Ranching chosen from on-line voting and a panel of judges. The four represent a range of agricultural commodities including corn and soybeans, hogs, cattle, and dairy and they were chosen from nine finalists announced last month at the New York Food Dialogues. The winners will act …
Get Your MBA and Promote Beef Today
The Missouri Cattlemen’s Convention kicked off the morning with the popular Cattlemen’s College. NCBA’s Executive Director of Communications, Daren Williams, presented to the group on defending animal agriculture. We seem to always be fighting an up hill battle in the agriculture industry, so defending our passion and livelihood is vitally important. Beef has recently been under the spotlight and it …
EPA Denies Ethanol Waiver Request
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition by the governors of poultry producing states that would have waived the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and its requirement for ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply. In its decision to deny the request, EPA said Friday that the RFS itself is not causing economic harm and that suspending the standard would …
Important Cattlemen Issues For 2013
From the farm bill to educating consumers, the beef cattle industry shares many of the same concerns facing agriculture as a whole. I talked with a couple of producer representatives at last week’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk about hot topics for cattlemen going into 2013. Don Pemberton, Chairman of the NCBA Policy Division is also a beef …
A Rich History at The American Royal
The 2012 American Royal runs from Sept.9 – Nov. 17 and is chalk full of events for friends and family to partake in all promoting the wonderful world of agriculture. This event has such a rich history founded on the agricultural industry. In 1899 the very first American Royal took place in a tent at the Kansas City Stockyards as …
Heifer International at World Food Prize
The World Food Prize is all about feeding the world, especially the hungriest of the hungry in developing nations. One organization taking part in the 2012 World Food Prize last week was Heifer International, which has been helping hungry and disadvantaged people around the globe feed themselves for over 70 years. In this week’s ZimmCast, we hear from Heifer International …
Elanco Part of Global Harvest Initiative
The Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) is a private-sector voice for productivity growth throughout the agricultural value chain to sustainably meet the demands of a growing world. The initiative, established in 2009, includes agricultural industry stakeholders such as DuPont, John Deere, Monsanto and now Elanco. “This is the first time for Elanco joining this effort,” said GHI board member Claudia Garcia, …