Animal agriculture organizations united last week when they called on USDA to withdraw the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) interim final and proposed rules, labeled with the misleading title, Farmer Fair Practices Rules. Craig Uden, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president, said the rules stand to threaten market incentives, the quality of American beef the industry is known … Read More
Cattlemen’s Priorities for 2018 Farm Bill
In testimony before the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, Craig Uden, a fourth-generation cattle producer from Nebraska and the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), called on Congress to authorize $150 million a year over five years for a “stronger and more adequate foot-and-mouth disease (FMB) vaccine bank” as part of the 2018 Farm … Read More
Nominations for BQA Awards Now Being Accepted
Nominations for the 2018 national Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards are now being accepted. The beef checkoff-funded program, now in its 12th year, recognizes five winners in the areas of beef and dairy beef production, marketing and education. Categories for the award are: – BQA Cow-Calf, BQA Feedyard and BQA Dairy awards recognize producers who best demonstrate the implementation of … Read More
U.S. Red Meat Exports Maintain Strong Pace in January
According to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), January exports of U.S. beef and pork were up significantly year-over-year, maintaining the solid momentum established in the fourth quarter of 2016. Beef exports totaled 96,488 metric tons, up 17 percent from a year ago, valued at $515.5 million – up 18 percent and the … Read More
Rolling Back BLM Rule: “Strike Two for 2.0”
The Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) hail Senate passage of the resolution to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Planning 2.0 Rule. “This is Strike Two for 2.0. Streamlining is needed in the planning process, but not at the expense of input from local communities and permittees or elimination of economic analysis requirements,” … Read More
1st Online Brand Registration Program
Kelly Registration Systems (KRS), a leading provider of essential information and automation solutions to the agribusiness industry, released a new software program to manage cattle brands for state departments of agriculture and stockmen’s associations. The online registrations of brands is being implemented to manage Kansas’ livestock brand registrations. According to Dr. Justin Smith of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the … Read More
Animal Ag Applauds Appointment of Trump Ag Advisor
Animal agriculture applauds White House appointment of Ray Starling, current chief of staff for Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to the position of Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture, Trade and Food Aid. John Weber, president of the National Pork Producers Council said, “By picking a true champion of American agriculture to serve in this key advisory role, President Trump … Read More
Cattlemen’s Webinar Series on Beef Cattle Selection Tools
Time to register for the next Cattlemen’s Webinar Series on ‘Understanding Advancements in Beef Cattle Selection Tools.’ The webinar will take place Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Central and is brought to you by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Get the latest update cattle selection tools and how to use them including: New EPD calculation software, updated across … Read More
Costco Expansion Builds Momentum for U.S. Beef in Korea
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) reports that U.S. beef has built momentum in South Korea, and received a further boost since Costco recently began converting its imported chilled beef selection from Australian beef to 100% U.S. product. The move follows a multi-year effort by the USMEF to persuade store managers that sales of U.S. beef would match or exceed Australian … Read More
Beef, Pork Groups Congratulate Pruitt as EPA Admin
Groups representing the beef and pork industries released statements in response to the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator. Craig Uden, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), said, “For far too long, the EPA has been a runaway bureaucracy largely out of touch with how its policies directly affect folks like cattle ranchers, who use … Read More