Call To Action – Homeland Security is in the final weeks of accepting public comments on locating the National Agro and Bio-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Mississippi. We need everyone to file a short comment in favor of building the lab in our state. Both written and oral comments will be given equal weight and must be submitted by September 28th.
Protecting the health of our herd is critical to our success and having this facility and the compliment of companies and animal health professionals located here will enhance the quality of veterinary care available for our cattle. Not only that, it will improve health care for our citizens since it will drive the expansion of our medical and dental schools and the associated industries connected to such a major research facility.
Just as importantly, this new industry will offer the children and grandchildren of our members many opportunities for careers here at home while helping protect the health of the citizen and animals of our nation.
Oral comments may be submitted by calling the 24-hour toll-free number which is equipped with a voice mail system: 1-866-501-6223.
Written comments may be faxed to 1-866-508-6223 or e-mailed to: nbafprogrammanager@dhs.gov
Be sure to mention that you are a cattle producer since industry acceptance is important to the process.

1,790 Plates - Congratulations go out to Jones County Cattlemen’s Association for completing another successful steak sale. Almost 1800 ribeye steak plates were sold last week in the two-day sale in Laurel. Proceeds from the event will fund county scholarships and other projects.

Scholarships - Forms are now available for scholarship programs sponsored by The Wax Company, Mississippi CattleWomen’s Association and Mississippi Cattlemen’s Foundation. Contact the MCA office.

Tanner Farms - Junior cattlemen enjoyed a great field day at Tanner Farms near Shuqualak Saturday.  The Tanner family treated the crowd to a day of contests, games, and educational programs at their new sale facility.

 Cattle Market Notes, Friday, September 7, 2007, Dr. John Anderson, Mississippi State University –Last week, cash fed cattle prices moved another couple of dollars higher as wholesale beef markets continued to show some strength. Last week’s 5-Area average price ended up at $94.33 -- up about $1.70 from last week. This week, cash business was very slow. Through mid-day Friday, USDA reported too few sales to establish a market trend, though the limited trade that did occur suggested basically steady prices with last week. Calf prices were no better than steady at most locations. Short pasture remains a problem in much of the Southeast, making it difficult for producers to keep calves (even heifers) at home. At Lexington, Kentucky, feeder steer prices were steady to $1 higher, and feeder heifer prices were steady in a light test. At Arkansas auctions, prices on all
classes were steady to $2 lower. Prices in Georgia this week were an exception to the trend.
At Mississippi auctions this week, steer and heifer prices were steady. Steer prices at Mississippi auctions this week were reported as follows: 250-300 pounds, $140-$150; 300-350 pounds, $130-$140; 350-400 pounds, $125-$130; 400-500 pounds, $115-$125; 500-600 pounds, $105-$115; 600-700 pounds, $100-$105; 700-800 pounds, $90-$100. Slaughter cow prices were $1 to $5 lower this week. For the week: breakers, not reported; boners, $44-$51; lean (850-1,200 pounds), $40-$45.
Live Cattle futures ended the week a bit mixed, with nearby contracts mostly lower and deferred contracts steady to a little higher.  Live Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses) were as follows: October $96.10 (-0.80); December $99.45 (-0.57); February $100.40 (+0.03); April $100.82 (+0.37); June $96.75 (+0.75). 
Feeder cattle futures moved higher for much of the week. On Friday, feeders were pressured by lower Live Cattle futures as well as by higher corn futures. Feeder Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday’s close in parentheses): September $118.80 (+1.28); October $118.32 (+0.70); November $118.57 (+0.75); January $116.55 (+1.13).
On Friday, corn was back up significantly, again chasing the runaway wheat market. December wheat on Friday was up 24 cents to the staggering level of $8.43, though due to spreading, new crop contracts were actually lower on Friday. September Corn closed on Friday at $3.31 ¼, up 7 ¼ cents from last week’s close. Soybean futures also moved up this week along with other grains. September beans closed on Friday at $8.91, up 23 cents from last Friday’s close. Dr. Anderson’s complete report can be accessed from www.mscattlemen.org

Tyson Pares Beef Production - Tyson Foods Inc. said it will completely shut down beef production at three of its Midwestern plants today in an attempt to manage poor operating margins owing to unfavorable market conditions.
Tyson also reduced production on Saturday, spokesman Gary Mickelson told Meatingplace.com. Mickelson declined to specify which plants were affected.
The high cost of cattle, driven by a tight supply of market-ready cattle, is the main culprit, Farha Aslam, an analyst with Stephens Inc., told Meatingplace.com. However, it's nothing more than a normal fluctuation in the U.S. cattle cycle, she said.
Other analysts cited an abundance of beef that has tempered beef prices, according to media reports.

Russian Trade Audits Begin - Russian officials are expected to arrive in the United States this week to conduct a long-awaited series of audits that will finally lead to the resumption of U.S. beef trade.
In November 2006, Russia agreed to an import protocol that included no age or product restrictions upon the United States’ receipt of its OIE “controlled risk” status.  Before trade can resume, Russian veterinary officials must complete a series of audits of U.S. processing plants, so NCBA is hopeful that U.S. beef will be moving into the Russian market very soon. 
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 importer in the world, behind the United States and ahead of Japan, and is forecast to import more than 900,000 metric tons in 2007.
 

Sign-up for Disaster Relief Programs Begins September 10 - Sign-up for the new Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) begins September 10.  The ad hoc disaster programs provide benefits to farmers and ranchers who suffered losses caused by natural disasters in recent years. 
LCP compensates livestock producers for feed losses that occurred between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007, due to a natural disaster. 
LIP compensates livestock producers for livestock losses that resulted from natural disasters during the same time period. 
More information about LCP and LIP is available in a fact sheet titled, Agricultural Assistance Act of 2007, found on FSA's web site at www.fsa.usda.gov; click on Disaster Assistance Programs. 

Industry Pioneer Dies – Fred Johnson, 91, passed away Sept. 6 at his home in Summitville, Ohio. Johnson, founder of Summitcrest Farms in 1949, helped found Certified Angus Beef and was chairman of the program for its first 6 years.
In 1998, the Johnson family was selected as one of eight Cattle Businesses of the Century.
In 2007, the National Cattlemen’s Foundation presented Mr. Johnson with their National Beef Industry Vision Award in honor of his outstanding leadership and service to the beef industry.

U.S. Beef Quality Touted In Bangkok - With more than 5,000 hotels and 100,000 restaurants catering to an estimated 14 million tourists last year, Thailand needs to import most of its foodservice supplies. Tourism, rising up to 20 percent annually in the last three years, is a significant contributor to increased demand and consumption of high-end and imported food products.
USMEF sees a niche for U.S. beef and pork products in this modernizing market. To deliver that message to foodservice, hotel and retail representatives, USMEF took part in the International Food and Hospitality Sept. 5-8 in Bangkok. The four-day show attracts more than 17,000 visitors and some 600 companies from 32 countries across the region.
Limited U.S. beef and pork items are imported into the country, but visitors so far have been impressed with the quality of U.S. red meat products. U.S. beef exports to Thailand must be boneless products from animals less than 30 months of age processed under the approved AMS export verification program.

Congressional Schedule - Both the House and Senate reconvened on September 4th, following last month’s recess.  Appropriations bills will be a priority for Congress in the coming weeks.  Senate Farm Bill discussions, originally scheduled for mid-September, are likely to be pushed off until next month while the Senate is preoccupied with debates on Iraq and with confirming a replacement for outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. 
NCBA also expects Congress to continue discussions on energy policy, environmental issues – such as a proposal to expand the Clean Water Act – and hearings related the pending Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama.   

Korea Resumes Trade of U.S. Beef, but Shipping Mistakes Continue - South Korea resumed imports of U.S. beef late last month except for products from several specific meat-processing facilities that mistakenly sent ineligible shipments to South Korea.   Just last week, inspectors found unapproved product in shipments from two separate U.S. plants. 
In a conference call with the media on September 5th, Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said, "I can't imagine that these errors continue to be made." Nelson emphasized that food safety is not at issue. "It's a compliance issue," he said. "It doesn't help our reputation when we can't get it right. It undermines our credibility." 

Costa Rica to Allow U.S. Cattle Imports - USDA’s announced September 4th that Costa Rica will allow the importation of all U.S. cattle born after the implementation of the United States' 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban. 
"This decision further affirms that the United States' science-based mitigation measures for BSE effectively protect animal health and food safety," said APHIS Administrator Cindy Smith. "We are pleased that Costa Rica is following international standards that support market access for U.S. cattle, and we will continue to urge our other trading partners to do the same." 
In May 2007, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) formally classified the United States as a “controlled risk” country for BSE. This status confirms that U.S. BSE regulatory controls are effective and that U.S. cattle of all ages can be safely traded.

NCBA Continues Push for Transportation Bill - As Congress returns from August recess, NCBA continues its support for a bill introduced by Reps. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and Mary Fallin (R-Okla.) on July 19th to raise the federal exemption on the maximum weight for farm vehicles to 26,000 lbs. on a national basis.  H.R. 3098 is aimed at amending title 49, United States Code, to provide certain exemptions to drivers of intrastate commercial motor vehicles engaged in agricultural purposes.  Currently, this bill has 12 cosponsors, and NCBA’s lobbying staff will be working in the coming weeks to increase support for this legislation. 

 Don't Miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 11th, Brett Stuart of Cattle-Fax will discuss the impact of branded beef programs on the cattle industry. This includes an explanation of how cattle qualifying for a “premium choice” grade can offer a significant return on investment.  You’ll also the Kansas family that was named the Beef Improvement Federation’s Seedstock Producer of the Year. Experts from Purina Mills will discuss feed bunk management, and Cattlemen to Cattlemen will also pay a visit to the California State Fair’s Sale of Champions.

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 RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org.

Sept 13                   Forrest/Lamar CCA
Sept 14-15              Master Stockman Program
Sept 17                   Monroe CCA
Sept 20                   Webster CCA
Sept 20                   Neshoba CCA
Sept 20                   Covington CCA
Sept 25                   Nutrition Shortcourse, Distance Ed Sites
Oct 3-14                 Mississippi State Fair
Oct 11                     Neshoba CCA