Cattlemen’s Webinar Series: Fake News! EPDs Don’t Work!

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Beef, Cattle, Genetics, Genomics, NCBA, Reproduction, Webinar

Next up in the Cattlemen’s Webinar Series from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is centered around genetics and specifically expected progeny differences or EDPs. Join experts January 18, 2018 at 7 p.m. CT for FAKE NEWS: EPDs Don’t Work.

There is a lot of fake news out there, and the perception that EPDs don’t work is one such piece of news. This webinar will look at the objective evidence supporting the fact that EPDs do work, and examine how their accuracy is impacted by pedigree, performance records, progeny data and genomic information. Alison Van Eenennam, PhD at the University of California – Davis and Matt Spangler, PhD at University of Nebraska – Lincoln will be leading the discussion.

Animal Ag Bites 1/2

AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • Dairy Strong 2018 will be held Jan. 17-18 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wis. The conference will bring together more than 700 farmers, corporate professionals and government and university representatives to explore the future of an integral part of the culture and economy of Wisconsin and the nation. It will include a panel discussion about the changing landscape of milk marketing and trade in the United States and globally featuring a panel of CEOs from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the International Dairy Foods Association.
  • The American Sheep Industry Association Washington, D.C., Trip is scheduled for March 5-7, 2018. Attendees will stay at the Marriott Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard. Those interested in attending should consult with their state sheep association. Attendees will travel into the nation’s capital on Monday, March 5, before meeting with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the following day. Time that afternoon and the morning of March 7 will be reserved for visiting with congressional leaders.
  • A new generation of consumers is getting to know beef through the new beef checkoff-funded Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. campaign, launched in October. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its introduction, the iconic brand has been refreshed, celebrating its reintroduction to a variety of today’s consumers, channel partners and food influencers. State beef councils are beginning to extend the campaign’s content and features, including the campaign’s “Rethink the Ranch” anthem video and related video spots, showcasing real, hard-working farmers and ranchers from around the country.
  • Nearly 150 4-Hers from 26 states participated in the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville. Opportunities included five separate competitive events: poultry judging, chicken barbecuing, turkey barbecuing, an egg preparation demonstration and an avian bowl (a game of poultry and egg jeopardy). Poultry and egg industry leaders also participated in a Poultry Careers workshop, exposing the 4-Hers to valuable information about career and educational opportunities in the poultry and egg industry.

Animal Ag Bites 12/26

AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

    • Novus International, Inc. has smashed its previous records and raised $252,987 for the United Way. Novus was able to support the United Way through a combination of employee donations, business partner sponsorships and company matching. As part of its effort to cultivate sustainable people, Novus matches causes and charities of significance for its employees dollar-for-dollar. This year, Novus employees across North America including its Missouri, Arkansas and Texas offices and field employees raised more than $125,000 which was matched with company funds. 
    • Registration is now open for the Animal Agriculture Alliance‘s 2018 Stakeholders Summit, themed Protect Your Roots. The event will be held May 3-4 at the Renaissance Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Va. Find registration details here.
    • Is the feeder cattle contract still viable and how can the market volatility be managed? These are the main questions in a new Feeder Cattle Basis report from the RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness group. The CME Index is comprised of 12 states, and the Rabobank analysts explore the need for regionalization for a more accurate picture of the Feeder Cattle Basis and Market.
    • The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board has named Scott Stuart of Colorado as the new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2018. Stuart has an extensive background in the livestock industry, including board management and as a contractor to the beef board.  He currently serves as the President and CEO of the National Livestock Producers Association.
    • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced the appointment of 27 members to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board. A list of board members is available on the AMS Cattlemen’s Beef Board webpage.
    • The 2018 AQHA Convention is March 2-5, 2018, in Jacksonville, Florida. Visit aqha.com/convention for more information.
    • Registration for the American Meat Science Association’s 71st RMC is now open. The event will be held in Kansas City June 24-27, 2018. More information regarding the technical program, schedule of events, registration fees, hotels and more is posted at meatscience.org/rmc.

Ag Responds to Tax Reform Passage

jamie johansenAg Group, AgWired Animal, Audio, Government

Our House of Representatives again passed the GOP Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1 (115) today after a re-vote. And agriculture is beginning to chime in.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (TX-11) praised House passage and said, “Today, Congress has delivered the fairer, simpler tax code that American families and small businesses deserve. This historic tax relief package both simplifies our broken system and sets the economy on a course to stimulate growth and create jobs. As chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I’m pleased that Chairman Brady and his team have produced a bill that acknowledges the unique tax challenges faced by those in agriculture. From lower marginal rates to the treatment of pass-through income to improved small business expensing, this bill delivers for farmers, ranchers and all rural America.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today said, “This is a once-in-a-generation reform of the federal tax code and it comes just in time to be an eagerly awaited Christmas present for taxpayers. Having traveled through our nation’s heartland for most of this year, I know that the hard-working, tax-paying people of American agriculture need relief. Most family farms are run as small businesses, and they should be able to keep more of what they earn to reinvest in their operations and take care of their families. Simplifying the tax code and easing the burden on citizens will free them up to make choices for themselves, create jobs, and boost the overall American economy. I thank President Trump for his leadership, and commend Congress for being responsive to the people.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Beltway Beef podcast was also centered around this hot topic impacting agriculture. Listen to NCBA’s Director of Government Affairs Danielle Beck discuss it’s impact on U.S. cattlemen and women.Beltway Beef with Danielle Beck

CBB Names Scott Stuart to CEO Position

jamie johansenAg Group, AgWired Animal, Beef, Beef Board, Beef Checkoff

The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board (CBB) has named Scott Stuart of Colorado as the new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2018.

“The beef industry is very complex,” notes Brett Morris, CBB chairman from Ninnekah, Oklahoma. “Scott has the background and understanding to bring all those pieces together to help producers meet their goal of promoting beef and getting the most value from their checkoff dollar”.

“The outstanding work he has done with National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA) illustrates the type of CEO we were looking for to fulfill the expectations we had.

“Scott is a visionary with a strong ability to be very productive. He is thorough and productive, with an immense amount of enthusiasm for this industry. I am most excited about his cowboy background. He will resonate with farmers and ranchers from all over the country, helping them to better understand the benefits of their beef checkoff investments,” Morris added.

Stuart has an extensive background in the livestock industry, including board management and as a contractor to the beef board. He currently serves as the President and CEO of the National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA), which comprises several regional livestock marketing cooperatives marketing over 2.5 million cattle annually. He graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Agriculture Business and completed a law degree at the University of Wyoming.

Season’s Greetings from the Animal Ag Alliance Team

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Animal Ag Alliance, Company Announcement, Holiday

Season’s greetings from the Animal Ag Alliance team to your family! Wishing you a very merry Christmas and happy, healthy new year!

As we wrap up our 30th anniversary year, we want to give a heartfelt thank you to all of our members and supporters. It is through your support that our team is able to work to bridge the communication gap between farm and fork and help protect the future of animal agriculture. For a recap of 2017, check out our year-in-review. We look forward to a productive and successful 2018 and beyond!

President Trump to Address Farm Bureau

AFBF, AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Video

Next month, for the first time in 26 years, the President of the United States will address the membership of the largest general farm organization in the country.

Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will address farm and ranch families from across the nation at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th Annual Convention, Jan. 5-10 in Nashville, Tenn. It was January 13, 1992 when the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, addressed the AFBF 73rd annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

That was just two weeks after Chuck and I had uprooted our Florida family and moved them to Missouri to work for the Brownfield Network. Lynn Ketelsen and I were chosen for some reason to anchor the live audio feed of President Bush’s speech, delivered via satellite to radio stations. That was where I first heard the pronunciation Missour-uh for the Show Me State and wondered if I had been pronouncing it wrong all my life. The scanned photo here is the best I could find in my archives – which is a box in the attic.

Searching on-line for photos from the event, I did find the video of the address on C-SPAN, and the text of the speech from the American Presidency Project. Two of President Bush’s main themes were international trade and tax reform, which are likely to dominate President Trump’s remarks as well. President Bush actually addressed the AFBF annual convention twice – the first time in 1990, which C-SPAN also has archived.

This is pretty fun to watch – and thanks to C-SPAN for keeping such an extensive archive and being a good use of our tax dollars!

What Secretary Sonny Needs From Santa

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, usda

It’s been a long and busy year for Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, but he here at the end he is still short-staffed at USDA and could use some help from Santa to get the job done.

“I had no idea we would be delayed like this and it’s unfortunate,” said Sec. Perdue in a recent interview with Iowa Agribusiness Network‘s Ben Nuelle. “We have seven or eight different mission areas that need leadership, we’ve got less than half of those filled.”

One of the delays continues to be Bill Northey as USDA Under Secretary of Farm Production and Conservation, who was nominated over three months ago but put on hold by Sen. Ted Cruz over ethanol politics. “The senate has its rules where one member can hold a nominee in this way, it has nothing to do with Bill Northey’s qualifications,” said Perdue. “But there is a provision where the majority leader can bring his nomination to the floor…over the objection of Sen. Cruz.”

As Congress gets closer to passing a final tax reform bill this week, Secretary Perdue says it would make a “tremendous Christmas present for Americans,” especially farmers. “We revere farmers and all that they do, we have to remember they are businesses as well and they gotta make a profit to stay in business and the less they have to pay in any expense, including taxes, the better they can reinvest in their farming operation.”

Listen to Ben Nuelle’s interview with Sonny here. It was conducted earlier this month, but all of Perdue’s comments are still pertinent – Iowa Agribusiness Network interview with Sec. Perdue

Sec. Perdue made his first appearance at the National Press Club last week to talk about USDA’s mission, the 2018 farm bill, trade, and other topics. Listen to that here: Sec. Perdue at National Press Club

Animal Ag Bites 12/18

AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • Registration is now open for the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2018 Stakeholders Summit, themed Protect Your Roots. The event, now in its 17th year, will be held May 3-4 at the Renaissance Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Va. Discounted early registration fees and a special hotel rate are available through April 1 (pending availability).
  • For the first time in more than 20 years, the world’s premier gathering of red meat industry leaders is coming to the United States. Hosted by the International Meat Secretariat (IMS) and the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), the 22nd World Meat Congress will be held in Dallas, Texas, May 30-June 1, 2018.
  • PMI Nutritional Additives announces the launch of Peloton yeast feed additive to help livestock producers maintain rumen health and digestive efficiency. Peloton yeast feed additive is a thermal stable blend of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and PMI’s Fulfill feed additive.
  • An upcoming free CattleFax webinar will address that question as well as provide an outlook for the cow-calf sector and entire beef industry for 2018. The CattleFax Trends+ Cow-Calf Webinar will be at 5:30 p.m. MT, Jan. 24, 2018. To participate in the webinar and access program details, register online at https://www.cattlefax.com/#!/about.

  • Members of the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) elected five candidates to the board of directors at the annual membership meeting held December 9, 2017, during the 47th Annual American Gelbvieh Association National Convention in Wichita, Kansas. Newly elected board members are Dustin Aherin, Phillipsburg, Kansas; Jeff Loveless, Spanish Fork, Utah; Derek Martin, Bucklin, Kansas; and Dan McCarty, Rifle, Colorado. Re-elected to serve a second term was Lowell Rogers, Seminary, Mississippi. The AGA Board of Directors also elected individuals to serve in leadership positions on the executive committee for 2018. Scott Starr, Stapleton, Nebraska, was re-elected as AGA president.  Elected as vice president was John Carrel, Columbus, Montana. Klint Sickler, Gladstone, North Dakota, was elected as secretary and Walter Teeter, Mount Ulla, North Carolina, was re-elected as treasurer.