New Names for Beef & Pork Cuts

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PORTERHOUSE_STEAKCS5v2The National Pork Board and Beef Checkoff Program received unanimous approval from the Industry-Wide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee to introduce updated Uniform Retail Meat Identification Standards nomenclature for fresh beef and pork for retailers to use on pack. Changes to the beef and pork common names were the culmination of extensive consumer research which showed an opportunity for retailers to build consumer confidence in how to shop for and prepare beef and pork.

The revised nomenclature was previously reviewed by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and Agricultural Marketing Service, and retailers, packers and scale label companies were engaged in the process. The full list of the revised beef and pork common names are now available for retailers to integrate into their scale label programs on www.MeatTrack.com.

Examples of new cut names backed by research:

Pork
· Pork Porterhouse Chop (previously a loin chop)
· Pork Ribeye Chop (previously a rib chop)
· Pork New York Chop (previously a top loin chop)

Beef
· Ribeye (previously beef rib, ribeye, lip-on, bone in)
· Tenderloin (previously beef loin, tenderloin, full, boneless)
· Porterhouse Steak (previously beef, loin, bone in)

The new cut names will eventually align with the foodservice industry as well to provide a consistent consumer perception of beef and pork at restaurants and at home.

Agribusiness, Beef, Pork

Telling the Story of The Great American Wheat Harvest

Chuck Zimmerman

Custom HarvestersHere’s a great looking group of custom harvesters. This is from the U.S. Custom Harvesters booth at Commodity Classic. I met another one of these road warriors that will be featured in the upcoming film documentary, “The Great American Wheat Harvest.” He is Dan Misener, second from the right.

Dan’s business is Misener Family Harvesters which has been in business since 1969. It is truly a family business. That family business will be one of the ones featured in the documentary which is now in production. The documentary will tell their story as they follow the harvest north. Dan says around mid April they get started and work a week or so from each stop over a period of 6-7 months. That’s a long stretch away from home!

The Great American Wheat Harvest is a project that will help people understand where a loaf of bread comes from. Dan says, “We can’t let somebody else tell our story. We need to tell our own story.

You can listen to my conversation with Dan here: Interview with Dan Misener

Ag Groups, Farming, Harvest, Wheat

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FarmOn and Make Your #FarmVoices Heard

Chuck Zimmerman

#FarmVoicesThis April 22 a group of young agricultural enthusiasts want you to FarmOn. The organization is inviting farmers and consumers to connect through the power of social media. Farmers are asked to post a photo and a thought to Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter about their experience as a farmer, attaching the hashtag #FARMVOICES.

Let your picture/post answer one of the following questions:

  • What do you love about farming?
  • What challenge do you face that threatens your ability to farm?
  • How do you care for your land and animals?


The FarmOn Foundation was formed by a group of young agricultural enthusiasts, from rural Alberta, determined to see the industry thrive and become tangible for new farmers looking to be a part of it. With Canada losing 60% of their young agricultural producers in the last 15 years, leaving only 9.1% of farmers under the age of 35, it was mission critical to form an organization that existed solely for the benefit of young farmers and seeing them succeed.

As such, the FarmOn Foundation was born, with the mandate to inspire young farmers to action by equipping them with the tools, knowledge and hands on skills needed to increase the profitability of their agricultural businesses.

Governed by a Board of Directors, all in touch with the agriculture industry, the Foundation continues to create programming that is of benefit to farmers who are evolving their operations.

Ag Groups, Farming, Social Media, Social Networking

AgFanatics Talk About the Markets

Cindy Zimmerman

agfanatics-2In the newest AgFanatics podcast, our friends Cory and Nick give some explanation as to what has caused the significant retreat in grain prices, after last Thursday’s USDA report. What does the future hold and what could we see in next Wednesday’s WASDE report? Tune in to find out!

The AgriVisor AgFanatics podcast is updated twice weekly and can be found on Itunes or right from the front page at www.agrivisor.com.

Farming, GROWMARK, Markets

Report Reveals Improper Payments at USDA

Cindy Zimmerman

A guest post by Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant

agri-pulseWhen lawmakers talk about reducing “waste, fraud and abuse” in federal programs, they usually target the food stamp program, more recently called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

In fact, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced legislation recently that he said would “restore integrity” to the SNAP program, while saving $36 billion in taxpayer dollars. He’s supported by fellow Republican Senators Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and John Thune, R-SD.

“Times are tough right now for millions of Americans and government spending is out of control.” Roberts said. “This bill is a package of straightforward, commonsense reforms that have garnered bipartisan support in the past to address, waste, fraud and abuse.

But a recent report issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) provides fresh fodder for those convinced that USDA must do more to cut wasteful spending in other areas -while still delivering $144 billion in public services through more than 300 USDA programs.

The OIG found that seven of the 29 component agencies and offices administer “high-risk” programs that are vulnerable to significant improper payments. The seven agencies affected include the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Rural Development (RD), Forest Service (FS), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA).

USDA estimated that these agencies’ 16 total high-risk programs made $5.5 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2012, a 5.11 percent error rate. That’s an improvement compared to a 5.37 percent error rate in 2011. However, at least one agency has programs with improper payments exceeding 25 percent, explained OIG.

According to OIG, an improper payments are those that “should not have been made or that were made in an incorrect amount.” Improper payments also include those made to ineligible recipients, those made for “goods or services not received,” and those that lack “sufficient documentation.”

The OIG found that, for the second consecutive year, USDA failed to comply with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA), which requires that agencies meet seven specific requirements, including publishing improper payment estimates for all applicable high-risk programs; meeting a gross improper payment rate of less than 10 percent for each program; and publishing and meeting annual reduction targets.Read More

Agri-Pulse, USDA

Ag Leader Wants to Hear From You!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly Whether it’s good (hopefully!), bad or “help me before I throw this thing out into the field and run over it”, Ag Leader’s customer support staff wants to hear from you. And during busy seasons such as planting and harvest, customer support specialists are on hand extended hours to be sure that across all time zones, day or night, if you have a question in the field you can get an answer over the phone.

They may be called the silent heroes of the day, but Jordan Dittmer, Ag Leader Machine Guidance Support Supervisor, says, “We’re here to help. If you have something going on and you don’t tell us, we can’t help you. We want to hear from you.”

Listen to Dittmer explain

Ag Leader has also made a commitment to their dealer network through various classroom-style trainings and hands-on assistance, making dealers the next tier in customer support. Dittmer explains why Ag Leader continues to invest this time into developing dealers.

Listen to Dittmer explain

So think of these silent heroes as your next door neighbor, even though they may be thousands of miles away. In fact, most of the support staff are farmers just like you!

Listen to Dittmer explain

On behalf of Ag Leader’s support team, we wish you a safe, successful 2013 planting season!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader

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New Holland is Ready to Roll

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland Friends and FamilyThis kind of draws your attention. $500 off! It’s the New Holland Friends & Family Coupons (pdf), part of their Ready to Roll Sales Event.

APRIL 1 through JUNE 30, 2013
SAVINGS FOR YOU – AND A FRIEND!

Simply bring this card to your New Holland dealer and present it at time of purchase – and share the additional cards with a friend or family member so you can all save. Don’t forget, this offer is in addition to current Ready to Roll Sales Event incentives. See your local New Holland dealer for details or visit readytoroll.newholland.com.

Scan for New Holland DealsThe Ready to Roll Sales Event is in full swing, and that means you can get 0% FINANCING or CASH BACK on select New Holland tractors, haytools, combines and more. We’re even offering you and a friend an extra $500 each in savings with our Friends & Family coupons . NOW is the season to buy what is on your wish list. See your New Holland dealer for complete details. GET IN, GET READY, GET ROLLING! Offer ends June 30, 2013.

Agribusiness, New Holland

Where Food Comes From Adds Website Sections

Chuck Zimmerman

Where Food Comes FromYou have to admit that WhereFoodComesFrom.com is a great url. Don’t you? It’s the answer to the question a lot of people ask these days. This is done by IMI Global which is “America’s leading provider of third-party identification, verification and traceability solutions for the livestock and agricultural industries. The Company supports more than 6,000 ranchers, feed yards, meatpackers, food retailers and restaurants with a wide range of solutions – including its USDA Process Verified (PVP) programs – which annually verifies marketing claims for approximately one half of all U.S. beef exports.”

The Company’s Where Food Comes From® retail and restaurant labeling program connects consumers directly to the source of the food they purchase by requiring all product carrying the label to be sourced from third-party verified suppliers. With the use of QR code technology, consumers can instantly access information about the producers behind their food. We know every meal has a story, and Where Food Comes From® allows consumers to discover it.

Where Food Comes From has added two new sections to their website, Food to Know and Food 2 Grow. Consumers, educators and students who are seeking a trusted resource for all types of food information can find it here. There are over 400 categories of information, including unique data on world food production statistics not available anywhere else. They also have a Today In section where I learned that today is National Cordon Bleu Day.

Agribusiness, Food