Leaders’ Training – County cattlemen’s association directors and Extension Agents are reminded of the Leaders’ Training sessions to be held during August on the MSU Distance Learning Network. County Extension offices can sign up for one of four nights - August 14, 16, 21, or 23- to receive the interactive session.

Hereford Leadership Convention – Over 100 junior cattlemen from around the U.S. were in Mississippi last week for the PRIDE Convention sponsored by the American Hereford Association. Stops included EE Hereford Ranch, Grandview Plantation, Circle M Ranch, and Mississippi State University’s South Farm. Copiah County native Chris Stevens serves as Director of Youth Activities and Foundation for AHA.

Beef Backer Award –The Mississippi Beef Council will recognize outstanding producer-nominated restaurants in the state which promote and feature beef in their menus. If you have a favorite restaurant that deserves recognition for their beef items, contact the Beef Council office for entry forms. (601-353-4520 or missbc@bellsouth.net) 

VOTE TOMORROW!

Cattle Market Notes, Friday, August 3, 2007, Dr. John Anderson, Mississippi State University – Last week, fed cattle prices improved some in all regions. As has been the case for several weeks now, South Plains sales were late and about $1 higher than other regions. Prices on Friday were mostly $92 live, with some sales at $93 noted in Nebraska.
Calf prices around the country continue to advance. Fundamentals in the calf market continue to look pretty strong, with relatively tight supplies, uncharacteristically good late-summer grazing in many areas, and moderating corn prices (though corn prices remain a source of considerable uncertainty). At Oklahoma City, feeder and stocker cattle prices were firm to $2 higher on pretty light receipts. At Arkansas auctions this week, prices on all classes were steady to $2 higher.
At Mississippi auctions this week, steer prices were steady, and heifer prices were $1 to $2 higher. Steer prices at Mississippi auctions this week were reported as follows: 250-300 pounds, $150-$160; 300-350 pounds, $140-$150; 350-400 pounds, $130-$140; 400-500 pounds, $120-$130; 500-600 pounds, $110-$120; 600-650 pounds, $100-$110; 650-700 pounds, $95-$100; 700-800 pounds, not reported. Slaughter cow prices were $1 to $4 lower this week. For the week: breakers, not reported; boners, $46-$52; lean (850-1,200 pounds), $43-$47.
Live Cattle futures started the week moving higher on the strength of late cash fed cattle sales last week. By Tuesday, new contract highs were posted on some contracts. Live cattle fell sharply on Wednesday, largely on profit taking and on bearish sentiment due to more export problems with South Korea. Fundamentals actually looked pretty good mid-week, with wholesale beef prices showing signs of improving. Live Cattle contracts were mixed on Friday, with the nearby contract up on strong cash business. Live Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses) were as follows: August $93.60 (-0.02); October $97.97 (-0.68); December $100.07 (+0.25); February $99.35 (-0.52); April $99.45 (-0.47).
Feeder cattle futures held up pretty well through Wednesday’s decline in Live Cattle futures, supported by weaker corn futures. On Thursday, with an official announcement that exports to South Korea would be effectively banned, profit taking pushed feeders considerably lower, where they mostly remained on Friday. Feeder Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses): August $115.92 (-1.20); September $116.32 (-1.45); October $117.20 (-0.90); November $117.05 (-0.40).
Corn futures continue to trade on weather forecasts. Despite a significant drop on Wednesday, corn futures managed to move higher for the week. Crop condition ratings on Monday were down 4% in the Good-to-Excellent category compared to the prior week. It won’t take but another week or so of drops like that to give some real life to the corn market.
September Corn closed on Friday at $3.26 ½, up 5 ½ cents from last week’s close. Soybean futures moved more-or-less steadily higher this week, also trading on weather expectations and crop conditions.  August beans closed on Friday at $8.39, up 23 ½ cents from last
Friday’s close.Dr. Anderson’s complete report can be accessed from www.mscattlemen.org

Foot & Mouth Outbreak in UK – Officials have confirmed that samples from cattle near Surrey, England were positive for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). Following the announcement, all animals on the affected farm and an adjoining farm were destroyed.
Britain banned exports of livestock, meat and milk and halted the movement of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs nationwide in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.
The United States and Japan immediately banned British pigs and pork products in response to the outbreak. British beef is already banned in both countries because of mad cow disease.
The case is the first in Britain since 2001, when the carcasses of many of the 7 million culled cattle were burned on huge pyres that dotted the country. The farming industry was devastated, huge swaths of the countryside were closed and rural tourism was badly hit.
The total cost to the country was estimated at $16 billion.

New Beef Cuts to Debut in 2008 - At least four new Beef Value Cuts from the chuck roll are expected to debut in foodservice and retail channels in 2008. The new cuts include tender steaks for grilling, an affordable roast for dry roasting, boneless country-style ribs and a fully cooked roast. The new cuts represent the next step in the value cuts program that began in the late 1990s with the checkoff’s groundbreaking muscle profiling research. Expanding the value cuts line is among the checkoff-funded tools aimed at reaching the industry’s Long Range Plan goal to increase beef demand another 10 percent by 2010.
     Cattle-Fax estimates that the first group of value cuts, led by the Flat Iron and the Petite Tender, added $50 to $60 a head to the value of the chuck. The first round of value cuts has experienced dramatic growth in both foodservice and retail channels. To date, cuts like the Flat Iron, Petite Tender and Ranch Steak have been placed on menus in about 20,000 U.S. restaurants and sold in some 9,900 grocery stores across the country.

Cattlemen Urge “NO INCREASED RFS” on House Energy Bill – As the House debates energy policy, cattlemen will discussion the development of biofuels, especially corn-based ethanol.  Currently, H.R. 3221, The New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act, does not include any increases to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).  But an amendment could be offered that would increase the RFS for feedgrain based ethanol beyond what is in current law. 
In a letter sent to Representatives, NCBA urged that any amendment to increase the RFS for feedgrain based ethanol be opposed.  “Mandating additional corn-based ethanol production will only serve to exacerbate an already difficult situation for cattle producers across the country,” writes Jay Truitt, NCBA’s vice president of government affairs.  “The corn ethanol industry is obviously no longer a ‘fledgling industry’ in need of government support. For this reason, NCBA policy supports input segmentation of the RFS, and encourages an increase in the cellulosic portion of the requirement, while opposing any increase in the mandate for ethanol derived from feed grains.”

Korean Trade Update - While inspecting a 41,000 pound shipment (1,176 boxes) of U.S. beef shipped to Korea, Korean inspection officials reportedly discovered one box containing bone-in short loin or "T-Bones" which are specifically prohibited in Korea.  In response, South Korean officials have now suspended quarantine inspection of all U.S. beef imports.
“This does not mean the border is closed,” says NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt.  “But this effectively shuts off our ability to export product to Korea for the time being.  It’s also important to note that this is an issue of trade compliance and not beef safety.  This product certainly would have been acceptable just about anywhere else, including my own dinner table.”
NCBA has asked USDA to send senior level officials to the U.S. plant involved in hopes of expediting the reporting process.  “We need to get back to Korea with the necessary information as soon as possible on how this error occurred,” says Truitt.  “Then we need to develop a protocol that allows U.S. companies to ship product to Korea that meets their specifications.”
In a discussion with reporters, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns reiterated that this was not a safety concern.  "The vertebral column from an animal under 30 months of age is within OIE standards. It would be perfectly okay here, and in any country that is honoring OIE standards it would not be a problem. But we have this interim protocol with South Korea to try to get some beef going. And the vertebral column should be removed, and we acknowledge that."
Johanns also said the United States has shipped approximately 600,000 boxes of beef to Korea. “Korea is actually I think today a larger market than Japan is,” Johanns said. “Of those 600,000 boxes, thereabouts, we've had six boxes where there was some issue of some nature.”
"My hope certainly is that South Korea works with us," he said. "We will work with them. But the real solution to this issue is to go to OIE standards. That's what we're doing, and that's what we're expecting our trading partners to do, and these issues just simply disappear. This would not even be an issue if we were at OIE standards."

USDA, DHS Roles Clarified for Animal Health Facility - The House Homeland Security Committee passed H.R. 1717 on August 1, which authorizes the establishment of the new National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF).  It is expected that this facility will replace USDA’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center.
As Congress considers this bill, NCBA is urging that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be responsible for conducting important counterterrorism research while USDA continues its responsibility for the researching and monitoring of foreign animal diseases. 
“The vital work that has been done at Plum Island over the past 50 years must not be diluted or lost in the broader direction of DHS,” wrote NCBA in a letter sent to Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Ranking Member Peter King (R-N.Y.).  In response to this and other concerns, the Committee included language in the bill that clarifies USDA’s role in coordinating animal disease research and safeguarding the nation’s animal and plant health.
Mississippi is one of five states being considered as a location for the lab.

Farm Bill - The U.S. House of Representatives passed its Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419), on July 17 by a vote of 231 to 191.  The bill contains many improvements for cattlemen such as increased funding for conservation programs and some modest fixes to the mandatory country-of-origin labeling law (COOL).  But flaws remain within the bill such as an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) cap and payment limitations for conservation.  This language makes many ranchers ineligible for Farm Bill conservation programs.   
NCBA also worked to oppose any amendments that would alter the competitive structure of the cattle industry.  NCBA policy supports a competitive, free-enterprise market, and the House chose not to include any amendments that would limit cattlemen’s ability to market their cattle.
Within the Conservation Title, the budget for EQIP increases to $2 billion per year over the life of the bill. The bill will also broaden eligibility for EQIP funds to include custom feeders and livestock markets.  On the issue of mandatory COOL, an amendment was included that alleviates most of the record keeping burden for cattle producers and addresses the dilemma of labeling ground beef by designating it from mixed or multiple origins.  The Senate is scheduled to begin deliberations on the Farm Bill after the August recess. 

ELEVEN New Co-Sponsors Sign on to Death Tax Repeal! - To help preserve America’s family farms and ranches, NCBA continues its long-standing push for full and permanent repeal of the Death Tax.  H.R. 2380 was introduced on May 17, and currently has 141 cosponsors. 
Currently, a 10-year phase-out of the Death Tax ending in full repeal is scheduled to take effect by 2010.  But the tax is then scheduled to be re-instated in 2011, back to 2001 levels. H.R. 2380 makes the repeal permanent.  With rates ranging from 37 to 55 percent, the Death Tax is a leading cause of the break-up of U.S. family farms.  Too often ranches and farms must be sold to pay the tax bill, and the land is often purchased by developers. 
Similar legislation, H.R. 1586, was introduced by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) on March 20th. That bill currently has 76 co-sponsors. NCBA continues to urge all cattle producers to contact their members of Congress about this important issue.

Don't Miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 7th, Members of the U.S. Congress discuss their work on the Farm Bill, plus, learn about fall deworming strategies.
 The show will be rebroadcast Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and Saturdays at 9 a.m. Make sure YOU tune into NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on channel RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org.

Aug 9                                     Jefferson Davis CCA
Aug 9                                     Greene CCA
Aug 9                                     Pike CCA
Aug 9                                     BQA Training, Oxford
Aug 21                                   Kemper CCA
Aug 9                                     BQA Training, Perry CCA
Aug 28                                   Nutrition Shortcourse, Distance Ed Sites
Sept 14-15                              Master Stockman Program