September Beef Briefs
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Look for Beef Briefs to be delivered the first of each month -- your snapshot of beef checkoff news affecting the dairy and beef industries. Editor’s note: please feel free to use these beef “blurbs” as space allows in your publication or online content. If you would like to expand on a certain topic, please email Melissa Slagle at mslagle@beefboard.org.
In case you missed it…… September is National Food Safety Education Month. Be sure to see how the checkoff is focused on promoting beef safety.
… The inaugural MyBeefCheckoff News beef and dairy e-newsletters were released in August. To read the August editions, click here or here and be sure to sign up on the homepage to receive future issues.
… Beef checkoff representatives will be attending numerous tradeshows in the future. Check the latest calendar of events to find out where you can stop by to visit the team.
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Online Resource Center
The Dairy Beef Quality Assurance program, funded in part by the beef checkoff, and the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) have teamed up with Dairy Herd Management magazine to create on online resource for dairy producers. The site contains helpful information about research and information about feeding calves and heifers, calf and heifer health, management practices, monthly market prices, and much more. This month, find information on proper management during hot weather and implanting dairy-beef steers.Visit the Calf & Heifer Resource Center for more information.
Growing Globally
Considering that more than 95 percent of the world population lives outside of the U.S., and much of that in developing nations, the producers who make up the Cattlemen's Beef Board have emphasized the need to invest in foreign marketing. Even amid diminishing overall checkoff budgets, the Board has voted to increase total dollar and percentage investments into marketing U.S. beef abroad. Following are some updates on results of those investments and general growth and opportunity in just one of many key markets, Japan:
n Export volumes of U.S. beef and beef variety meats worldwide advanced 30 percent year-on-year to 445,036 metric tons during the first half of 2008, while value jumped 39 percent to nearly $1.6 billion – compared to $1.8 billion during the same period in 2003. And while Mexico and Canada continued to be the top-performing export markets for the U.S. during the first half of 2008, export volumes of U.S. beef to Japan are rebuilding dramatically this year, thanks in part to a new beef cuts program funded by the beef checkoff.
For more information about international beef marketing efforts, funded in part by the checkoff, go to www.usmef.org.
Maximizing the Value of Market Cows & Bulls
Cattle producers have taken an active role in improved animal care, management practices and nutrition, but there’s always room for improvement. According to the checkoff-funded 2007 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit, cattle had fewer bruises as compared to 1999, less hide damage and an overall improvement in animal welfare and handling practices. Nonetheless, the condemnation rate from down cattle, incidence of antibiotic residues, bruising, and lameness continue to be challenges that need further attention.
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programs in individual states can help address some of the audit findings. Moving forward, producers can take the initiative to be proactive to ensure product safety and integrity; monitor herd health and market cull cattle in a timely manner; use appropriate management and handling practices to prevent quality defects and recognize and optimize the value of market cows and bulls.
Click here to view the complete 2007 audit report, dairy edition.
Producer Profit Tips
The checkoff-funded 2007 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit also shares ideas on how beef and dairy producers can work together – in their own way, on their own farms and ranches – to improve beef quality and the stewardship of cattle. The following are six “points of improvement” for producers to remember:
1. Reduce the use of electric prods and other aggressive driving aids when moving cattle.
2. Improve footing so cattle don’t slip and injure themselves.
3. When transporting cattle, separate them by gender to avoid injury or bruising to livestock.
4. Administer animal-health products in the neck, and do so subcutaneously when the label allows.
5. Follow the guidelines for animal care and handling.
6. Market your cattle before they become too thin or too lame for transport.
Watch for more profit tips in the next edition of Beef Briefs.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
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