Beef for the Braves - The Mississippi Braves were treated to a great steak dinner following Sunday’s game at Trustmark Park. Despite a record temperature of 107 on the Braves’ scoreboard, members of the Mississippi Beef Council grilled steaks and joined the Braves Booster Club in hosting the players and staff. 

Winners – Congratulations to three Mississippi Beef Council members who were successful in last Tuesday’s election. Pete Rutland of Smith County won his primary for Senate District 34, while Bill Pigott of Walthall County was the primary winner in House District 99. In Simpson County, Joe Magee will face a runoff in the Supervisor’s race. 

County Cattlemen’s Association 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. 

Cattle Market Notes - Friday, August 10, 2007, Dr. John Anderson, Mississippi State University –Fed cattle prices this week began uncharacteristically early in the South,
with Texas feeders taking $91 on Tuesday.  Prices slipped to $90 on Wednesday, and that pretty much established the market for all feeding regions.  Cattle traded at $90 live and $142 to $143 dressed in all regions on Thursday and Friday.  Slaughter this week is estimated at 674,000 head; up from last week’s 671,000 head but down from last year’s 679,000 head. 
Calf prices were somewhat mixed this week, with steady or better prices in many but not all locations and not on all classes of cattle.  At Oklahoma City, feeder and stocker cattle prices were steady to $1 higher, with receipts again pretty light this week.  At Lexington, Kentucky, feeder steer and heifer prices were steady.  Stocker cattle prices were steady to $3 higher.  At Georgia auctions this week, prices on feeder steers and heifers were steady to $2 higher.  Prices on stocker steers were steady to $3 higher; and prices on stocker heifers were steady to $2 higher.
At Mississippi auctions this week, steer prices were steady, and heifer prices were $3 to $7 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, $97-$100; 700-800 pounds, not reported.  Slaughter cow prices were $1 to $4 higher this week. 
Live Cattle futures fell sharply on Tuesday, as over 70 loads were tendered for delivery against short August positions. Live Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses) were as follows: August $90.22 (-3.38); October $94.55 (-3.42); December $97.47 (-2.60); February $97.90 (-1.45); April $98.00 (-1.45).
Feeder cattle futures fell sharply on Tuesday in sympathy with Live Cattle and also under pressure from higher corn futures on that day.  Feeder Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses): August $114.97 (-0.95); September $114.57 (-1.75); October $115.30 (-1.90); November $115.25 (-1.80).
The market spent all week anticipating Friday morning’s Crop Production report puts the corn production forecast (and the first of the season based on actual field observations)  at just under 13.1 billion bushels.  September Corn closed on Friday at $3.33, up 6 ½ cents from last week’s close.  Soybean futures rose early in the week on hot, dry weather forecasts but fell back some on Friday as improving weather trumped generally favorable news in Friday’s reports.  August beans closed on Friday at $8.50, up 11 cents from last Friday’s close.  Dr. Anderson’s complete report can be accessed from www.mscattlemen.org

Third and Fourth British Farms Test Negative for Foot and Mouth - Fears eased in the United Kingdom on Saturday as cattle on a fourth farm suspected of carrying foot and mouth disease tested negative.
Earlier, tests on a third suspected farm also proved negative. But British officials aren't taking any chances.
"I must stress the need for relentless vigilance. It is crucial that all animal keepers continue to check their animals regularly and practice the highest possible levels of biosecurity, Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said in a statement.
The ban on meat exports from the U.K. continues and only limited animal movement within the country is being allowed.
An interim report found it was very likely the source of the infection was the Pirbright research center, close to the farm in Surrey where cattle were first infected. from meatingplace.com

Additional Funding for TB Eradication - USDA has announced the availability of an additional $35 million in emergency funding for the bovine tuberculosis (TB) eradication program. This is in addition to $2 million in emergency funding already available for tuberculosis control and eradication.
 The USDA funding will help support TB eradication efforts, which include surveillance, control and epidemiologic investigations. Currently, all states are designated accredited-free for TB, except Minnesota and portions of Michigan and New Mexico.
 Bovine TB is a contagious and infectious disease. It affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats and other warm-blooded species and can be fatal. TB outbreaks can compromise international and domestic trade in U.S. animals and animal products.

U.S. Government Orders Millions of Doses of AI Vaccine - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has ordered an additional 22.5 million doses of the human avian influenza vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline as part of the department's effort to prepare in case a pandemic flu outbreak were to occur, according to a statement from GlaxoSmithKline.
GlaxoSmithKline also announced it has initiated its clinical trials in North America, with results expected in early 2008. from meatingplace.com

 Kroger Milk Going r-BST-Free – The Kroger Co. has announced its decision to go nationwide with a certified rBST-free milk supply. Earlier this year, Kroger transitioned the milk it sells in the western half of the U.S. to a certified rBST-free supply.
By February 2008, milk the Company processes and sells in its stores throughout the Midwest and Southeast will also be certified as rBST-free.
"Our customers' increasing interest in their health and wellness is the basis for our decision," said William Boehm, senior vice president and president of manufacturing for Kroger. "We appreciate the willingness of dairy cooperatives across the country to work with us to make this transition in the next six months."
Recombinant bovine somatotropin ("rBST") is given to cows to help increase milk production. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded there is no difference between milk derived from cows treated with rBST and those that have not been treated. For the past 10 years, Kroger has informed its raw milk suppliers that the Company prefers milk from cows that have not been given rBST, based on consumer preference. Recently, a growing number of dairy farmers have started to offer certification that the milk they produce comes from cows not treated with rBST. from Meatingplace.com  

Korea Trade Update - A team of senior-level USDA officials left Washington on August 3rd to audit the U.S. beef processing plant that recently sent bone-in product to Korea.
While inspecting 41,000 pounds (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 for export to South Korea.  In response, South Korean officials suspended quarantine inspection of all U.S. beef imports last week.
USDA is expected to finish its report to the Korean government by the end of this week. It is not known when Korea will lift its suspension on U.S. beef trade as it largely depends upon Korean satisfaction with USDA's official report of the incident, and the implementation of any potential corrective measures that might be necessary. U.S. beef exports, worth $34 - $38 million, are reportedly in transit to Korea at this time.  Historically, August is a high-volume sales month for U.S. beef exports to Korea, and NCBA is very frustrated and concerned that a prolonged delay could cost U.S. beef producers significant sales.
NCBA asked USDA to expedite the audit and report back to Korean officials.  “Our government officials need to get back to Korean officials with the necessary information as soon as possible on how this error occurred,” said Jay Truitt, NCBA’s vice president of government affairs.  “Then, a protocol must be developed which allows U.S. beef companies to ship product to Korea that meets their specifications.”

Russian Trade Update - Recent discussions between the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), USDA and Russian officials have provided very significant breakthroughs regarding U.S. efforts to get our beef back into Russia.
In November 2006, Russia agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef, but there has been no movement since then. In fact, at that time Russia agreed that it would accept an import protocol that included no age or product restrictions upon U.S. receipt of its OIE “controlled risk” status. The hold-up for the past nine months has simply been the inability to get Russian veterinary officials to the U.S. to conduct a series of audits that would lead to the resumption of trade.
NCBA is encouraged by the fact that this recent dialogue between government officials may finally facilitate the last step in this process of regaining access for U.S. beef in the Russian market.  In 2003, Russia was the fifth largest market for U.S. beef and beef product exports in terms of quantity, and the seventh largest in terms of value at $53 million. At present, Russia is the second largest beef importing nation in the world, behind the United States and ahead of Japan, and is forecast to import more than 900,000 metric tons in 2007. 

USDA Officials Return from Japan - U.S. technical officials, including USDA Chief Veterinarian Dr. John Clifford, have returned from Tokyo after a dialogue with Japanese officials.  The topic of discussion was the United States' OIE "controlled risk” status and the potential to expand U.S. beef exports to Japan from cattle above and beyond the current 20 months and under age restriction. NCBA is encouraged by these developments and will continue to urge that Japan fully re-open its market to U.S. beef in line with international trade protocol.

Farm Bill – NCBA views the bill that was approved in the House as a good start.   Of issue for cattlemen are the payment caps and limitation on Farm Bill programs.  An Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) cap of $1 million was established for participation in all programs.  Any producer having an AGI more than $1 million will be ruled ineligible for program participation.  Also, a payment limitation of $60,000 per program, per year was placed on all Farm Bill programs.  NCBA believes that these caps and limitations compromise the goals of voluntary conservation programs and should be removed from the bill.

Energy – The House and Senate have taken different approaches to renewable energy policy.  The Senate bill includes an increase in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to 36 billion gallons by 2022, setting a defacto mandate for feedgrain based ethanol of 15 billion gallons by 2012.  The House bill does not include an increase to the current RFS.  These two bills are expected to be worked out in conference following the August recess.  As the conference committee meets, NCBA will urge committee members to remove the RFS increase from the final package. 

NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 14th, we will feature cattlemen talking about their preconditioning work and the importance of weaning health programs.  Also, we’ll take you on a tour of this year’s Young Cattlemen’s Conference.
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 in to NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on channel RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org.

Aug 14                    County Leaders’ Training, Distance Ed Sites
Aug 16                    County Leaders’ Training, Distance Ed Sites
Aug 21                    Kemper CCA
Aug 21                    County Leaders’ Training, Distance Ed Sites
Aug 23                    County Leaders’ Training, Distance Ed Sites
Aug 28                    Nutrition Shortcourse, Distance Ed Sites
Sept 14-15              Master Stockman Program