Last Call, Juniors, Express Yourself - MJCA wants your original design that will be used on t-shirts for a fundraiser during the Dixie National. The contest is open to any MJCA member and there will be cash prizes awarded to the top three designs. On a plain white sheet of paper draw a 4-color design incorporating MJCA and agriculture. Mail it in to the MCA office by December 14th. Make sure that your name, address, age, and home telephone is on the back. Good Luck!

White Sand Unit Field Day – Fifty cattlemen gathered at the MAFES Experiment Station near Poplarville for an excellent program covering many aspects of herd management and marketing. Producers also laid preliminary plans for a board sale slated for August, 2008.

Star Junior Awards – Entries are being accepted until December 18th for the junior and senior Star Junior Awards. Winner in the senior category will receive $500 and the junior receives $100 with a plaque for each. Contact LeAnne (601-613-9611) for entry details.

Friday at the Convention – Put February 1 & 2 on your calendar to attend the MCA Convention & Trade Show at the Regency Hotel in Jackson.  Be there Friday afternoon at 1:00 for the BCIA meeting and then hear Dr. Vic Cortese in the first Pfizer Cattlemen’s College session. That evening, bring your family and friends to the Ag Museum for “A Taste of Beef”.  It will be a great weekend!

Cattleman of the Year - County cattlemen’s associations, breed associations, and Extension agents are all eligible to nominate producers for the 2008 Cattleman of the Year awards to be presented at the convention. A producer in both the commercial and purebred category will be recognized and entry forms are due January 11th.

Senate Ends Farm Bill Impasse - Senators cleared a major hurdle on Thursday in negotiations on the 2008 Farm Bill, agreeing to pare down a list of hundreds of proposed amendments.
The agreement, which allows each party to offer 20 amendments, could allow the Senate to pass the legislation before the end of the year. The amendments must come from the list of amendments that was agreed upon by consent before the Thanksgiving recess.
There are roughly two weeks left in this year's session. If the Senate passes its bill this month, House and Senate negotiators could draft a final version early next year to send to the President.

U.S. begins beef talks with Japan - U.S. and Japanese officials began subcabinet-level discussions last week in Tokyo to discuss beef, among other issues.
Co-chairing the meeting were Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Masaharu Kono and Daniel Price, international economic affairs aide for President Bush, according to Kyodo News.
Washington is expected to continue pressing Tokyo to lift its age restriction on U.S. beef imports.  It isn't clear whether U.S. officials expect any breakthroughs, though recent history says otherwise, with Bush receiving the latest snub last month.

Feed Prices Up 21 Percent from a Year Ago - Livestock producers paid 21 percent more to feed their animals in November than they did a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its November agricultural prices report.
Higher prices for complete feeds, feed supplements, feedgrains and concentrates more than offset lower prices for hay and forages. Prices were up 4 percent from October.
Soybean prices averaged $9.48 per bushel in November, up 55 percent from a year ago, while corn prices averaged $3.49 per bushel, up 21 percent from last year. from meatingplace.com

U.S. Beef Sold to Russia - Although operating under an incomplete export protocol that is still being negotiated, NCBA has received word that U.S. beef has been sold to Russia for the first time since December 23, 2003.  “Historically, Russia was the largest market for U.S. beef liver exports, but information regarding this $0.5 million sale is significant and arguably historic,” says NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud.  “Our understanding is that it may be the first of its kind involving the sale of U.S. whole muscle cuts, thought to be from the round.”
While a sale of this size by itself is not likely to be a market mover, the potential for additional sales will be watched closely.  Already one of the world's largest importers of poultry meat, USDA currently forecasts total Russian beef imports at slightly over one million metric tons, probably worth more than $2 billion in 2007, making Russia the second largest beef importer in the world behind the United States. 
Russia's dominant position as one of the world's largest exporters of energy has led to explosive economic growth since U.S. beef last had access to Russia, and a huge increase in Russia's demand for animal protein. 
Russia is now Brazil and Paraguay's largest beef export market as well as a major market for Argentina, Uruguay and Australian beef. A U.S. beef export sale of this size also suggests that the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, and strength in the Brazilian Real, is putting some cuts of U.S. grain-fed beef on a competitive footing with Brazilian grass-fed beef in the global marketplace.

House Approves Bill to Increase Mandate for RFS - As Congress returned to Washington last week, energy legislation took the spotlight with deals being brokered on a new House energy bill which passed by a vote of 235-181.  The bill now heads to the Senate where consideration is expected in the near future.
The “new” bill, H.R. 6, the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007, turns a blind eye to the concerns of livestock and food producers by requiring the production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, including a 15 billion gallon mandate for feedgrain-based fuel by 2016.  The remainder is to be produced from cellulosic or other advanced biofuels.
Cattle producers have tirelessly argued for a market-based approach to renewable fuels development.  But some policymakers have insisted on an increase to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which currently calls for the production of 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.  NCBA member policy is specifically opposed to increasing the government mandate for feedgrain-based ethanol. 
“In its current form, this bill does not provide any mechanism to reduce the mandate in the event of adverse weather conditions or infrastructure bottlenecks, which we’ve already seen affect corn production in the past,” said Jason Jordan, NCBA’s manager of legislative issues.  “The House of Representatives failed to address how the country will handle demands for corn in the fuel, feed and food industries if corn supplies are inadequate.”
If passed by the Senate, it is likely that President Bush will veto the bill.  A Statement of Administrative Policy released today says, “The bill would fragment the market by picking and choosing among fuel types instead of relying on market forces to develop new, more advanced technologies and the next generation of fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions.  Additionally, a new alternative fuel standard should include an effective safety valve, should be technology neutral, and should rely on market innovation instead of excessive statutory prescription…If H.R. 6 were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.”

With Peru Passage, Cattlemen Eye Trade Deals with Colombia, Panama - In a positive move for global trade and U.S. agriculture, the U.S. Senate approved the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) on December 4th by an overwhelming vote of 77 to 18. 
“Under this agreement, Peru will immediately eliminate duties on high quality beef and provide duty-free tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on standard beef cuts,” says Stacey Satterlee, NCBA’s director of legislative affairs.  “With beef production comprising less than 8 percent of Peru’s total agriculture gross domestic product, this market could grow to roughly $15 million a year.”
Like the Peru free trade agreement, deals with Colombia and Panama allow for duty-free treatment of high quality U.S. beef on day one of implementation.  Both Colombia and Panama have put in place import measures consistent with OIE guidelines and have agreed to recognize the U.S. beef inspection system as equivalent.  These agreements have also broken down pre-existing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers.
“NCBA cattle-producing members need Congress to step up and pass the Colombia and Panama deals so the U.S. agriculture sector can begin reaping the benefits of these well-negotiated agreements,” says Satterlee.  “The best way for America’s farmers and ranchers to achieve prosperity is for Congress to support expanding trade within the global marketplace.”

NCBA Rolls Out Newest Member Benefit With Cabela’s - Just in time for holiday gift shopping - NCBA has announced a member benefit program with Cabela’s – the world’s foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing, and outdoor gear. NCBA members can now receive 15 percent off of all Cabela’s gift cards purchased through NCBA’s Web site, www.beefusa.org.  The gift cards are redeemable wherever Cabela’s conducts business - whether in-store, online, or through the Cabela’s catalog.
“Whether it’s for holiday shopping or the hunting season, this program with Cabela’s is a tangible benefit that cattlemen can really get excited about,” said Steve Foglesong, a cattleman from Astoria, Ill., who serves as NCBA Policy Division chairman and Membership Committee chair. “When you look at the range of products Cabela’s has to offer cattlemen and their families, this discount can really add up in a hurry.”

2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention, February 6-9! - The 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 6-9 in Reno, Nevada.  The meeting will feature joint and individual meetings by NCBA, Cattlemen's Beef Promotion & Research Board, American National CattleWomen, Inc., Cattle-Fax and National Cattlemen's Foundation.
Join us in Reno for good food, great company and top notch education. Don’t miss the live demonstrations in the Cattle Learning Center Demonstration Arena located on the trade show floor. Curt & Tammy Pate will demonstration low stress cattle handling. Registration for convention is now open. For a complete schedule of events or to register on-line visit our website at www.beefusa.org.

Don't Miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 11th, we showcase some of the 2007 regional winners of the Environmental Stewardship Awards.  First, we will profile the Roaring Springs Ranch in Frenchglenn, Oregon where the ranch sits at more than 7,500 feet in elevation.  Then, we’ll head to northern California to visit the Yolo Land and Cattle Company.  Finally, we’ll head to Kansas and the Alexander Ranch where the owner says he’s in the business of selling used sunshine.
 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.

Dec 10                    Attala CCA
Dec 11                    Madison CCA
Dec 11                    Jeff Davis CCA
Dec 13                    Jasper CCA

Mississippi Cattlemen's Association
680 Monroe Street, Suite A
Jackson, MS 39202
(601) 354-8951
missca1@bellsouth.net