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The Virginia Cattleman
Volume 36 Number 10
Circulation 8,000
November 2014
PHOTO BY JACQUELYNN DAVIS
Steele Cattle Company cattle pastured in New Castle, VA
What’s Inside…
NCBA Vows To Fight 2nd Beef Checkoff................................. Page 10
The Virginia Cattleman
P. O. Box 9
Daleville, VA 24083-0009
Non-Proﬁt
Organization
U. S. Postage
PAID
Daleville VA 24083
Permit No. 8
Consumers’ Willingness to Pay Drops..................................... Page 32
Open Or Problem Cows + Annual Cost Don’t Add Up! ......... Page 33
Stacking Technology In Stockers Adds Up To More Pounds .. Page 50
Official Publication of the Virginia Cattleman’s Association • PLEASE NOTIFY SENDER IF ADDRESS LABEL IS INCORRECT
PAGE 2, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Opportunities
Jason Carter
Executive Secretary
This is going to sound cliché
I know but it is the season of
change right? Fall has come on
in full force through October
and brought with it an annual
and magnificent reminder of
God’s wonder in the changing of the leaves. There have
also been some frosts scattered
around the state along with
some rains that were long overdue in part of western Virginia.
God’s wonder is around us
every day and certainly only
hard to find when you aren’t
looking, but like the changing
leaves of the trees, fescue is
another wonder. What other
grass could we honestly rely on
to carry our cattle anywhere in
the state, put up with the abuse
of poor soils, poor fertilization,
drought and overstocking and
yet still bounce back in the fall
each year? Whether it is late
hay cutting, stockpiled pasture
or immediate calories for nursing fall cows, our good old tall
fescue is the backbone of our
beef cattle business in Virginia
and way too underappreciated
and maligned. It is a great contributor to making our business
sustainable yet great effort has
been placed into replacing it
rather than managing it. Do
you ever think about the irony
of how our society has devolved
to viewing more of our backbone inputs as unsustainable?
Sustainability has become
less and less about managing
the things that maintain us and
increasingly more about the
things that simply make special
interests and niche groups just
feel good. Somehow in the popular press over the past several
years the agendas of the minority became more palatable to
support than the needs of the
majority. One of those needs is
safe, wholesome and affordable
food. For 75 years the United
States agricultural industry has
answered this challenge by doing more with less through the
adoption of technology. From
biology to meteorology, the
more we have learned, the better we have become at adapting
this knowledge to increasing
output with less inputs. That,
simply put, is probably close to
a Webster (a popular dictionary
publisher for readers under 30)
definition of sustainable. The
newer and more social definition of sustainable has scrutinized red meat production and
our federal government is right
in the thick of it. A joint Food
& Drug Administration and
Untied States Department of
Agriculture Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee meets every five years to re-evaluate our
recommended intake of daily
allowances. These recommendations have bearing on social
programs, school meals, military food service and consumer
ideas about wholesomeness….
in other words it’s a big deal.
This year’s committee has
brought a definition of sustainability into their discussion that
requires them to make dietary
recommendations based on
perceived sustainability of
how food is produced. In fact
they are using a definition that
includes terms like respectful of
ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically
fair & affordable, nutritionally adequate & healthy and
optimizes natural resources.
Doesn’t it seem obvious that
modern agricultural production is bringing us commodities
that fit all these requirements?
I’m sorry to say that we in agriculture are also to share the
blame for this dilemma. Our
own infighting based in access
to markets and profitability has
caused much of the philosophical differences that precipitated
this.
Marketing is hard plain and
simple. Yet we all need it and
everyone wants access to profitability. The trick is given that
everyone has market access, being profitable is not guaranteed
and nearly all niche producers
have realized that competing against established and
conventional commodities is
difficult at best. Grass finished
ribeyes are nearly $20/pound
not because they are necessarily better, but because they cost
more to produce. Economy of
scale is not evil, it is necessary
to be sustainable in the true
sense. However competing in
an open market is very hard,
just ask nearly every other
commodity group subsidized
by USDA, so a last resort of
marketing utilized by many
has become running down
conventional agriculture to
boost sales to a naïve consumer.
This ugly truth is hurting all of
agriculture by supporting this
confused notion that sustainability means colonializing our
food system and closing our
competitive markets.
Several years ago I was walking down a street in Brussels,
Belgium and encountered two
men engaged in a fist fight in
the road. I didn’t know them
or their problems, but I did a
U turn and found another route
a block over to get to where
I was headed. Seeing a fight
leads to presumptions and
avoidance because we don’t
care about the why anymore,
we just want an easy way to
avoid it. We have many fights
internally in our business that
become public and lead to
misunderstandings. Two current examples are mandatory
Country of Origin Labeling and
the proposed secondary beef
checkoff. Mandatory Country
of Origin Labeling was ruled to
be an unfair trade practice for
the second time by the World
Trade Organization and has
placed the United States in
a difficult position of choosing what to do next. Rescind
mCOOL and re-establish free
markets or take the consequences of tariffs and sanctions
from Canada and Mexico. The
mCOOL fight resulted from
objections to Canadian cows
being sold in Northern Plains
border states years ago and diluting the cull cow price there.
Those opposed to this made
it a consumer right to know
where their food comes from
issue and the proverbial USDA
wisdom gave us mCOOL. As a
result we have virtually closed
the door on feeder cattle trade
to Canada and limited a free
market based on what a special
interest group objected to and
spun into what they wanted
Continued on Page 37
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cattle farmers.
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 3
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CE +9
CW +33
BW +0.7
MARB +0.71
WW +60
REA +0.66
YW +106
$W +43.21
MILK +29
$B +92.14
Angus Sires:
KCF Bennett Southside
KCF Bennett Absolute
Baldridge Waylon W34
Connealy Beacon
Connealy Contrast
Connealy Earnan 076E
LLF Validation
GAR Progress
KCF
Bennett
10H S252
Polled Hereford Sale Bulls Average: Polled Hereford Sires:
CED +4.4
REA +0.60
BW +1.9
MARB +0.25
WW +63
BMI Index
YW +104
CHB Index +$37
+$28
Milk +27
KCF Bennett Revolution X51
KCF Bennett Harland X337
EFBEEF Schu-Lar Proficient N093
Schu-Lar On Target 22S
RST R117 Rib Eye 9093
KCF Bennett 10H S252
NJW 73S M326 Trust 100W
KJ HVH 33N Redeem 485T
Churchill Sensation 028X
Gelbvieh Sale Bulls Average:
CE 9
BW -0.4
WW +77
YW +110
+30
REA +0.52
MARB -0.07
FPI Index +74.03
CE 13
Milk +30
BW -1.2
REA +0.52
WW +67
MARB +0.41
YW +105
FPI Index +81.32
NJW 735
M326 Trust
100W
Featuring1150
50
0 Bulls
Bu
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Elite Genetics From Three Breeds
With The Industry’s Best Guarantee
KCF
Bennett
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Milk
Balancer Sale Bulls Average:
KCF Bennett
Harland
X337
KCF
Bennett
Encore
Z311
SAV Final Answer 0035
KCF Bennett Homestead
PA Power Tool 9108
Rito 9M25
Connealy Right Answer 746
KCF Bennett Energizer
GAR Fusion
KCF Bennett Commonwealth
Connelay Cultivator
Gelbvieh Sires:
KCF Bennett U271
KCF Bennett X593
Balancer Sires:
KCF Bennett U556
KCF Bennett W666
KCF Bennett Y353
KCF Bennett T297
KCF Bennett U271
KCF Bennett S30
KCF Bennett Absolute
GAR Progress
Connealy Beacon
CAR Efficient 534
KCF Bennett Capstone
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PAGE 4, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
The Virginia
Cattlemen’s Association
Affiliated with the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc.
P.O. Box 9
Daleville, Va 24083-0009
540/992-1009
www.vacattlemen.org
The Virginia Cattleman
540/992-1011
540/992-4632 - FAX
published monthly by the
Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
Jason Carter ....................... Stuarts Draft
Executive Secretary
Butch Foster.................................. Bristol
Field Manager
Troy Lawson...........................Churchville
Field Manager
FEEDER COUNCIL
Glenn Wheeler ............................... Atkins
Region 1
Chuck Miller ................................Crockett
Region 2
Joe Meek .......................................Dublin
Region 3
Forrest Ashby .............................Staunton
Region 4
Rick Matthews.........................Browntown
Region 5
Steve Hopkins ...............................Louisa
Region 6
Tom Nixon .................................. Rapidan
Region 6
Lin Jones .............................New Canton
Region 7
Brett Stratton ........................ Appomattox
County Cattlemen
POLICY & INDUSTRY
ADVOCACY BOARD
Gene Copenhaver ...............Meadowview
District 1
Joey Davenport ...................Glade Spring
District 1
Bill McDonald .........................Blacksburg
District 2
Steve Furrow.......................Rocky Mount
District 2
Bill Tucker .................................. Amherst
District 3
Jon Repair ................................ Glasgow
District 3
Jared Burner .................................. Luray
District 4
Allen Heishman ......................... Edinburg
District 4
John Goodwin ............................. Orange
District 5
James Kean ..................................Louisa
District 5
Jay Calhoun .............................. Callands
District 6
Mike Henry ........................... Chesterfield
District 6
Editor...................................... Jason Carter
[email protected]
Publication Coordinator...Jacquelynn Davis
[email protected]
Issued the first week of each month. Copy deadline the 15th
of the previous month.
The Virginia Cattleman is sent to members of the Virginia
Cattlemen’s Association. Annual dues are $50/year or
participation in the Association’s Feeder Cattle marketing
Program. Complimentary copies are sent to various
supporters of the Virginia Cattle Industry.
A Member of:
LPC
LIVESTOCK PUBLICATIONS COUNCIL
Virginia Turning To Hops As
Potential Cash Crop
Michael Felberbaum,
The Associated Press
Virginia farmers are turning
to an important ingredient in
brewing beer as a potential
cash crop for the state known
for its agricultural past and
present. Over the past few
years, more than a dozen
states including Virginia have
added hops to their list of
crops, mirroring the growing
demand and interest in craft
beer, as well as the use of local ingredients. “Increased
hop production represents an
interesting and potentially
lucrative opportunity,” state
Secretary of Agriculture and
Forestry Todd Haymore said.
Hops — strung up with
twine on trellises blanketed
with vines bearing the coneshaped flower — have been
growing in Virginia since
the 1700s but are now most
notably grown in the Pacific
Northwest. Former President
Thomas Jefferson even grew
hops at his estate Monticello
estate near Charlottesville
and bought large quantities to brew small batches of
beer. For many years, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture reports only included
Washington state, Oregon and
Idaho but the latest numbers
include 14 additional states
that are growing the bittering flower, according to the
Hop Growers of America. By
some accounts, craft brewers
now use nearly 50 percent of
all the hops produced in the
U.S., according to the Brewers
Association, a Colorado-based
trade group for the majority of
the nation’s more than 3,000
breweries. While industry
figures show only 25 acres of
hops being grown in Virginia
this year — compared with
more than 29,000 acres in
Washington state — farmers
are hopeful the state’s industry will grow.
“Right now we’re laughable to the Northwest. This
is a very niche market right
now but there’s a potential. ...
There’s a big future out there,”
said Stan Driver, a 61-year-old
horticulturist, who founded
the Old Dominion Hops Cooperative and has been growing
hops commercially in Nelson
County since 2007. The cooperative has nearly 40 grower
members, as well as other
associate members now interested in growing hops.
More than 50 varieties of
hops are grown in the U.S.
Hope impart different characteristics to beer such as
bitterness or citrus flavors.
However, a favorable climate
and fertile soil are important
for commercial hop production — an area of research being discussed at a meeting at
Virginia State University later
this month. Other universities
in the region, including Virginia Tech, also are looking at
the labor-intensive crop. Vir-
ginia also recently passed a bill
permitting farms to grow hops
as well as establish a working
brewery onsite and during
the last few years, hops were
even planted at the Executive
Mansion at the Virginia State
Capitol.
“Virginia can and will be a
player,” Haymore said. “My
grandfather said over and over
when I was a child growing
up on the farm in Pittsylvania
County that we can grow just
about anything in Virginia but
we want to be sure that we’re
producing the styles that best
suit what beer makers want.”
Overall, agriculture and
forestry are two of Virginia’s
largest industries, providing
more than 400,000 jobs and
combining for an economic
impact of $70 billion annually,
according to a 2013 economic
impact study conducted by the
University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public
Service. On its own, agriculture generates more than $52
billion per year. Still, farming
isn’t the business it used to
be in Virginia. That’s why, in
2012, Jonathan Scott founded
the Virginia Hop Initiative to
help existing farms transition
to a new product or have new
growers enter farming.
“Much of the old tobacco
farmland sits idle in places,”
said the 44-year-old Scott, who
grows hops in a rural area outside of Richmond. “Virginia
has been losing its farms for
quite some time now and our
average farmer demographics
always appear to be increasing
in age. ... Hops are a great crop
to bring younger people back
into farming and agriculture.”
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 5
8th Annual You-Pick-Em
All Polled
All Black
Saturday, November 15, 2014 11 am - 2 pm
At the Farm Lunch served at noon!
Guest consignor Last Call Gelbvieh, Dr. Tom Lavelle, DVM
• 25 Gelbvieh, Balancer® and
Angus bulls sell!
• Many Homozygous black and
Homozygous polled
• 25 Females sell!
DCSF POST ROCK GRANITE 200P2
Senior Herdsire
JKGF FUTURE INVESTMENT X037
HYEK BLACK IMPACT
Junior Herdsire
W
Please call for catalog. Catalog will be available for
Senior Herdsire
L
H
F
viewing on www.gelbvieh.org
QUALITY
GELBVIEH
CATTLE
LITTLE WINDY HILL
Farms
Doug & Sue Hughes
6916 Peppers Ferry Road
Max Meadows, VA 24360
H 276/637-3916 • C 276/620-4271
email: [email protected]
PAGE 6, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
7 Steps To Moving and
Penning Cattle With Dogs
Amanda Radke,
BEEF Today
When it comes to moving cattle,
some ranchers rely on horses,
others use ATVs, and many
utilize the skills of a working
cattle dog. Whatever the preferred method, there are many
considerations to moving cattle
efficiently and with minimal
stress. Although we don’t use
cattle dogs on our ranch, I had the
opportunity to be an announcer
a few years ago at the National
Cattle Dog Finals, and I learned
to appreciate what makes a good
dog vs. one that just gets in the
way when working cattle.
A video by Charles Long,
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
and Extension resident director
of research in Overton, TX, was
recently shared with me. In the
video, Long depicts and explains how cowboys use blackmouth cur cow dogs to move a
group of cattle from a pasture
into a pen. You can watch the
seven-minute video below, but
here are seven points I gleaned
from the video regarding the
herding of cattle using dogs,
along with advice from Long,
who is an expert on the subject: cattle are wild or not dog-broke,
they may take the dogs or run
1. Entering the pasture. “Keep away. It might take a little lonthe dogs close by the rider until ger to make sure the cattle stay
arriving closer to the cattle,” says settled in the group.
Long.
4. Riding to the herd. “Ap2. Gathering the herd. “Use a proach the herd slowly,” advises
single quiet command to begin Long. “In the case of wild cattle,
circling the cattle. The cattle will make a large circle, so cattle don’t
group together to avoid pressure see or hear you until you are in
the position to move them where
from the dogs,” åhe says.
they want to go.”
3. The bay up. Long says that
5. Starting the drive. Long
the “bay up” allows stragglers to
catch up while the dogs maintain points out that the dogs stay
the group of cattle together. If the at the front of the herd to slow
movement and prevent runaways, as the cowboys and horses apply pressure from behind
the herd.
6. Continuing the drive. In the
video, the viewer can see that the
cattle move slowly and calmly.
This is routine for dog-broke
cattle, says Long.
7. Approaching the pens. “The
cattle are able to move quietly
into the trap, and the dogs stay to
the rear to handle any animal that
tries to stray away,” concludes
Long.
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ROBERT WHITACRE
Regional Beef Specialist
540-247-4282
CHAD JOINES
Blacksburg, VA
540-557-7263
MIKE BAZZLE
Harrisonburg, VA
540-421-7411
TIM BARBOUR
Chatham, VA
434-841-5230
JERMY COLLINS
Nickelsville, VA
423-914-6192
Focused on the things that matter!
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 7
PAGE 8, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
California Egg Law May Lead to AG War Between States
Matthew Patane &
Donnelle Eller, Des Moines
Register & contributions from
Associated Press
A California law that bars
eggs from states that fail to
provide roomier cages for hens
could lead to beef, pork and
other Iowa products being
banned from the West Coast
state, Iowa agricultural leaders
say. A federal judge threw out
a six-state case October 9th that
asked the court to strike down
a California statute barring the
sale of eggs there that were
produced by hens in cramped
cages. Iowa, the nation’s largest
egg producer, was part of the
suit. “One of the reasons the
U.S. is prosperous is because
we have free trade between the
states,” said Dermot Hayes, an
agriculture economist at Iowa
State University. “This opens the
doors for states to put barriers
against other states. “And you
can always say those barriers
are driven by environmental or
social restrictions. But in reality
you just want to protect your
own producers,” Hayes said
Friday.
The California law is intended
to ensure animals are treated
humanely, its supporters say.
Many farmers view the law
as interfering with efficient,
scientifically sound production
practices. The law, which will
go into effect Jan. 1, requires at
least 116 square inches of space
per chicken. That’s slightly
smaller than the size of a sheet
of legal paper, which is 8.5
inches by 14. The industry
standard is 67 square inches, or
a little smaller than a 10-inch by
7-inch rectangle. “Obviously,
I’m disappointed and think it is
unfortunate that this court failed
to address what I believe is an
effort to unconstitutionally limit
the ability of Iowa farmers to
access California’s consumers,”
said Iowa Secretary of Agricul-
ture Bill Northey. “Evaluation
of additional legal options to
address this situation needs to
be done.”
Iowa had joined Alabama,
Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska
and Oklahoma in pursuing the
lawsuit earlier this year, claiming the California law violated
the interstate commerce clause
of the U.S. Constitution. U.S.
District Judge Kimberly Mueller
dismissed the suit, saying the
states did not prove California’s
law would hurt their citizens,
only some egg producers. “It
is patently clear plaintiffs are
bringing this action on behalf
of a subset of each state’s egg
farmers ... not on behalf of each
state’s population generally,”
Mueller wrote in her decision.
Iowa Attorney General Tom
Miller said his office is reviewing next steps. “We’re considering our options on behalf of the
governor and the state of Iowa,”
Miller said in a statement.
Jimmy Centers, a spokesman
for Gov. Terry Branstad, said
the governor plans to continue
“fighting for the state’s agriculture industry.” “The governor
believes that this case demonstrates the very reason the
commerce clause was adopted
— to prevent states like California from passing burdensome
regulations that are a detriment
to other states,” Centers said.
Kevin Vinchattle, chief executive officer of the Iowa Poultry
Association, said he was concerned the ruling would open
the doors to more regulations
that could hurt Iowa’s agricultural industry. “If they can do
this for eggs, I don’t know what
prohibits them for doing it to
anything else we produce in
Iowa,” Vinchattle said.
Northey and Hayes agreed,
saying the barriers could extend
beyond agricultural products
like eggs, beef and soybeans and
include manufactured goods.
California could decide it’s un-
happy with the wages paid Iowa
workers and ban Winnebago
RVs or Deere tractors, in their
view. “Just find something you
don’t like about a state’s production practices” and vote to put
up a barrier, Hayes said. “Say
we want to get rid of California
wine. All we have to do is say
you shouldn’t use ground water
for irrigating crops. Then we can
stop them from exporting their
wine to us.”
Iowa produced more than 14.5
billion eggs each year in 2011,
2012 and 2013, according to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Of those Iowa-produced eggs,
more than 9 percent were sold to
California between July 1, 2012,
and June 30, 2013, according
to the California Department
of Food and Agriculture. Iowa
eggs made up 30 percent of
all of California’s egg imports
during that time. The Humane
Society of the United States,
which helped defend the law in
court, praised the move, the Associated Press reported. “We are
delighted that Judge Mueller has
dismissed this baseless lawsuit,
and ordered that it can never be
filed again,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, the organization’s chief
counsel for animal protection
litigation. The judge’s opinion
found “that their entire theory
for why California’s food safety
and hen protection law will
harm egg farmers is totally
without merit.”
California voters approved
a 2008 ballot measure that required pigs, calves and egglaying hens to be raised with
enough space to allow them to
lie down, stand up, turn around
and fully extend their limbs.
California legislators later expanded the law to ban the sale of
eggs in the state from any hens
that were not raised in compliance with its standards.
Miller Farm LLC
First Annual Bull Sale
12:00pm November 15, 2014
At the farm.
5510 Rawley Pike, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Zoetis Educational Presentation on the value of DNA testing at 10:30 a.m. Followed by lunch.
Selling 30 Angus Bulls sired by Ingenuity, 9Q13, Revenue, 9M25, Fusion,
Sunrise, Prophet, Consensus, Confidence.
Also selling 15 commercial bred Angus Heifers.
Guest consignors include:
Arehart Angus (Carey 540-290-2240) and Gustin Land & Cattle (Jerry 804-693-7761)
Sale Manager Tom Templeton (540-421-8341)
Auctioneer Tom Weaver (540-435-0020)
“Where Value-Added Genetics Create Prime Profits.”
A sale catalog will be mailed prior to the sale. Please plan to attend.
Craig Miller: 540-820-9818 or [email protected]
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 9
AngusNoon
Female
Sale
• Saturday
November 15, 2014
Union Grove, NC
Fall and Spring Cow/Calf Pairs
Bred and Open Heifers
Shufﬂer Farm
Eugene Shufﬂer
444 Union Grove Road
Union Grove, NC 28689
(704) 876-9895 Cell
(704) 539-4161 Barn Ofﬁce
(704) 539-5148 Home
Mike Gillispie Farm, Inc.
Mike Gillispie
639 Gillispie St.
Dobson, NC 27017
(336) 374-0467
Hidden Hand Angus
Farms
Shad Bolen
1825 Ferney Creek Rd NW
Willis, VA 24380
(540) 312-4592
For your free reference sale booklet, contact anyone in the ofﬁce of the Sale Managers, TOM BURKE/KURT SCHAFF/JEREMY HAAG, AMERICAN ANGUS HALL OF FAME at the
WORLD ANGUS HEADQUARTERS, Box 660, Smithville, MO 64089-0660. Phone (816) 532-0811. Fax (816) 532-0851. E-mail: [email protected] • www.angushall.com
PAGE 10, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
NCBA Vows To
Fight USDA Plan
To Create 2nd Beef
Checkoff Program
Mary Soukup, Editor,
Drovers CattleNetwork
The largest contractor of
the Beef Checkoff Program,
the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association (NCBA), said that
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack’s idea to reform
the checkoff by creating another beef checkoff fund is dead
on arrival with the grassroots
organization. During an exclusive interview with Drovers/CattleNetwork, NCBA
President and Texas cattleman
Bob McCan said a big majority of producers support the
current checkoff structure and
that creating a second checkoff
is not only duplicative but also
potentially risks the future of
the Beef Checkoff Program.
“We have a big majority of
support for our checkoff that
we have now and very good
return on investment – it’s been
very successful,” McCan says.
“The majority of producers
in this country feel that way.
It’s our obligation at NCBA as
a grassroots organization to
vocalize that opinion as much
as we can.”
Established by the 1985 Farm
Bill, the Beef Checkoff Program
was created to fund projects
related to promotion, research,
consumer education and international marketing. Of the $1
per head assessment, which is
the same amount as it was in
1985, half is allocated to state
beef councils and half goes to
the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB)
to administer the national
checkoff program according
to USDA rules and oversight.
According to the 1985 Act, CBB,
in coordination with the Beef
Promotion Operating Committee, contracts with established
national, non-profit, industry
organizations to implement
checkoff programs. For three
years, a checkoff enhancement
working group comprised
of the industry stakeholders
has met to discuss potential
reform of the beef checkoff in
order for it to meet the needs of
today’s diverse cattle industry
and make it more effective and
efficient. Since that time, the
group has not been able to reach
a consensus.
Calling the process a “waste
of time and money” and claiming “there is no willingness
from key players within the
group to allow real reforms to
take place,” the National Farmers Union voted to leave the
working group. At the same
time, NFU passed a resolution
calling for a series of changes
to the 1985 Act, which would
require congressional approval
and a change to the 1985 Act.
The final recommendation
called for USDA to place the
beef checkoff under the Commodity Promotion, Research
and Information Act of 1996
(1996 Act). Unlike the previous
recommendations, the final
action item proposed by NFU
would simply require an act of
Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack, as the 1996 Act allows
the Secretary of Agriculture to
write a rule for a new commodity checkoff program.
During a September 30 meeting of the working group, including NFU despite its decision to withdraw, Secretary
Vilsack announced that he is
considering creating an additional beef checkoff that would
fall under the 1996 Act. A move
McCan says could jeopardize
the entire national checkoff. “It
gives the federal government
way too much authority,” McCan says. “There would be a
lot of duplicity and additional
bureaucracy. Our current structure is pretty efficient. The
state-national relationship is
very strong. The CBB utilizes
as many of the non-profit entities as they can to implement
the authorization requests.
We need to capitalize on that,
and we don’t see any way that
could continue going forward
with any type of program unContinued on Page 12
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW PETER FARMS SMART
AT NHSMART.COM/MONUMENT
©2014 CNH America LLC. New Holland is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC. NH00000000
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 11
Impact of proposed Waters of the United States Rule
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PAGE 12, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
2nd Beef Checkoff Program
Continued from Page 10
der the 1996 Act.” McCan
said NCBA sees this as the
current administration taking
executive action to achieve its
agenda regardless of what the
majority of the industry wants.
“This is an unnecessary act that
was announced to appease one
group,” McCan says. The new
checkoff and the current checkoff would reportedly coexist for
a period of three years before a
producer referendum would
take place. At that point, and
under a new administration, a
referendum would be held on
whether to continue.
Creating a second checkoff
would, essentially, result in a
doubling of the assessment,
from its current $1 per head to
$2 per head. NCBA has supported doubling the current
checkoff assessment. However,
McCan says while the Secretary’s plan may achieve another
dollar, a lot of that dollar could
be “eaten up in administrative
expenses.” Under the 1985 Act,
just 5 percent of checkoff funds
can be used for administrative
expenses; whereas under the
1996 act, that figure increases
to 15 percent.
All the talk of reform might
lead one to believe the current
beef checkoff is not meeting its
intended purpose of maintaining and developing markets
for cattle and beef through
marketing, research and education. According to a recent
economic study conducted to
measure the return on producer’s and importers’ investment
in the national checkoff program showed different results.
Specifically, Dr. Harry Kaiser,
Cornell University, concluded
that each dollar invested in
the checkoff between 2006 and
2013 returned about $11.20 to
the beef industry. Additionally, Kaiser concluded that had
there not been any CBB-funded
marketing from 2006 to 2013,
domestic beef demand would
have been 15.7 billion pounds
less (11.3 percent) and foreign
demand for U.S. beef would
have been 6.4 percent lower.
McCan says the conclusions
of the study are proof the current checkoff structure is working and that there is no need
to move ward with Secretary
Vilsack’s plan. He added that
the working group only lost
one member organization,
and that NCBA will continue
working with the “coalition of
the willing.” “We still have a
good majority of organizations
in this country to come up with
a statement of principles going
forward – either to enhance
the 1985 act or continue as is,”
McCan says. “Whatever the
together for the new structure,
a proposed rule will be submitted to the Federal Register
consensus of the group is, we
can active our goals without
having to utilize the 1996 Act.”
Previously, Secretary Vilsack
said the checkoff reform process needed to be completed
by December 2016. While a
specific timeline for his new
plan has not been announced,
McCan said as soon as USDA
finishes putting the details
and then opened for a public
comment period, with a 2016
implementation time.
Kelly Cox
Specializing In:
Cattle Farms,
Timberland,
Hunting Tracts
Appraisal & Consulting
Services Available
www.kellycox.com
[email protected]
804-561-1831 • 804-305-8852
9141 Washington Street
Amelia, VA
Straightstone Angus, LLC
SECOND PRODUCTION SALE
November 22, 2014 • Long Island, VA • 3 p.m.
Rita 7M76 of Rita 4L1 Pred
Sire: GAR Predestined • Dam: Rita 4L1 of 2536 208
CED +4 • BW +2.9 • WW +59 • YW +107 • Milk +27
CW +46 • Marb +.93 • RE +.71 • Fat +.047
$W +41.56 • $F +53.00 • $G +40.78 • $B +103.96
Rita 7M76 is the foundation donor of the Blackcap Family
in the Straightstone program. A donor daughter of the
$300,000 valued Three Trees Ranch donor, Rita 4L1, she
and her select ET heifer pregnancies by VAR Reserve 1111
and GAR Advance will highlight this year’s sale.
CSP Rita V234
Sire: Connealy All Around • Dam: Davis Rita 4001
CED I-1 • BW I+3.4 • WW I+39 • YW I+69 • Milk I+35
CW +31 • Marb +.54 • RE +.68 • Fat -.002
$W +25.24 • $F +14.09 • $G +37.56 • $B +85.24
Rita V234 has been one of the mainstay donors in the
Straightstone donor arsenal. Her donor dam, Rita 4001, was
the top-selling female of the Cool Spring Plantation Sale
selected by Shady Brook Farms and has produced more than
$500,000 in progeny sales. Progeny by this donor sell by GAR
Ingenuity, GAR Prophet, and GAR 5050.
Springfield Lady Jaye 0027
Sire: GAR Ultimate • Dam: Destiny Lady Jaye 800S
CED +14 • BW -.2 • WW +50 • YW +88 • Milk +23
CW +19 • Marb +.90 • RE +.46 • Fat +.043
$W +37.33 • $F +32.36 • $G +42.57 • $B +75.96
Lady Jaye 0027 serves as the cornerstone of the herd sire
producing Lady Jaye family and she blends the $100,000 Deer
Valley Farm and Riverbend Ranch herd sire, Ultimate with
the one-time anchor of the Lady Jaye family in the Riverbend
donor program, Lady Jaye 0027. Watch for progeny from this
Straightstone feature to headline our 2nd Production Sale.
SALE
MANAGED
BY:
131 Robin Ct.
Howell, MI 48855
517-546-6374
www.cotton-associates.com
5390 Straightstone Rd.
Long Island, VA 24569
Sale Barn Address:
Straightstone Angus, LLC
Stra
SS
R
Robert
“Doc” Durr, owner
4394 Straightstone Road
L
Long Island, Virginia 24569
434
434-335-4169 • 434-222-1880 cell
[email protected]
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 13
SERIES 12 HYDRAULIC CHUTE
Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment, a 70-year old manufacturing company and the industry leader in farm and
ranch equipment, introduces the Cattlemaster Series 12 Hydraulic Chute to their line of cattle chutes. This chute’s
unique combination of size, weight, functionality, and ease-of-use make it an excellent choice for a wide range of
target cattle groups, at an affordable price that rivals that of many larger manual chutes. The design and operation
of the chute is simple, and the hydraulics run on standard 110V so it can quickly be plugged in and ready to work.
For more information and to ﬁnd a dealer near you visit www.tarterusa.com.
WWW.TARTERUSA.COM
PAGE 14, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Buncksey Poore Passes
Jul. 12, 1925 - Oct. 4, 2014
(Buncksey) 89, of Powhatan,
born July 12, 1925 in Amelia,
Joseph Ellwood Poore
passed away October 4, 2014.
He is survived by his wife of
64 years Louise Smith Poore;
three daughters Jacki Easter
(Howard) of Amelia, Sylvia
Green (Bill) of Chesterfield,
Cindy Boggs (Ken) of Botetourt;
grandchildren Joseph Easter
(Jill), Michael Easter
(Kristina), Katie Forsyth
(Jason), Will Green, Scott
Green and Anna Boggs
and five great grandchildren. He was preceded
in death by his parents
Paul and Mamie Poore
and brother Charles
Melvin Poore.
A member of the
greatest generation and
naval veteran, Buncksey proudly served on
board the USS Wisconsin
during WWII, where
he achieved the rank
of gunners mate third
class and participated
in five major actions. He
devoted his life to his
family and agriculture,
farming in Amelia and
Powhatan counties. During his
33 year career with the Virginia
Department of Agriculture,
Buncksey received numerous
Heifer Prices
Grounded In Reality
Wes Ishmael, BEEF Magazine
When considering the value
of replacement heifers in today’s market, one thing you
know for sure is that they’re
worth about $1,500 per head to
a feedlot (basis 750 lbs.) From
there, Stan Bevers, Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension Service
economist, emphasizes there’s
no right or wrong answer;
each unique operation has an
answer that can be right for
them. Bevers recently took
a look at numbers relative
to Texas. Heavy-bred heifers
in the state could be had for
$1,650-$2,300. Using one ranch
he works with closely—an efficient one—he pegs the cost of
a heifer retained and developed
in the state at $1,400-$1,800.
Next, Bevers looked down the
road, calculating the Net Present Value for 2-year-old heifers
calving this year and then for
the next seven. He figured
$750/year cow costs. The value
was $2,301.
“We know the market is
$1,650 to $2,300, and it takes
$1,400 to $1,800 to raise her,
and now she is worth $2,300 in
my herd economically,” Bevers
says. “What do you do with
those numbers? Well, if nothing
else, it illustrates how complex
this decision is right now. It’s
not right or wrong. It’s based
on what type of operation you
have and your costs. You finally
have to decide to pull the trigger and say this is what we are
going to have to do.”
Similarly, Randy Blach, CattleFax CEO, explained to participants at the recent Hereford
Genetic Summit that over 25
years, it has taken about 1.5
calves (550 lbs. steers) to pay
for a bred cow. That makes a
bred cow worth $1,980 if calves
are$240/cwt. It makes a cow
worth $2,145 if calves bring
$260/cwt. Extend the ratio
to 1.65 calves, given pent-up
demand and whatnot, and
you’re talking bred cows worth
$2,178 and $2,360, respectively.
The point is that when judged
through history, current prices
seem to be within reason.
awards including the U.S.D.
A. Superior Service, Virginia
Cattlemen’s Association Industry Service, National Livestock
Grading and Marketing Association Man of the Year, Virginia
Pork Industry Service, and Life
Membership in the National
Livestock Grading and Marketing Association, inducted into
the Virginia Agriculture Hall of
Fame. Buncksey was active in
the Virginia Farm Bureau serving on numerous committees as
well as the Powhatan County
Farm Bureau where he served
as President, and Monacan Soil
and Water Appointed Director
at Large and served as a producer member on the Virginia
Cattlemen’s Board of Director.
He was a long time member of
May Memorial Baptist Church
in Powhatan.
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 15
MIX 30 LIQUID FEED IS AN ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE THAT IS A NUTRIENTRICH, PALATABLE BLEND OF CORN AND SOY
INGREDIENTS, DESIGNED TO SUPPLY A COMBINATION OF PROTEIN AND ENERGY. IT IS FORTIFIED WITH VITAMINS AND
TRACE MINERALS. MIX 30 ALLOWS CATTLE TO EFFICIENTLY DIGEST LOW QUALITY FORAGES.
PAGE 16, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
USDA Awards Over $52 Million In Grants To
Grow Organic And Local Food Economies
DOSWELL, Va., Sept. 29, 2014
– Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack announced the award
of over $52 million in support
of the growing organic industry
and local and regional food
systems through five U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
grant programs. The Secretary
made the announcement during
an event with Virginia Governor
Terry McAuliffe and First Lady
Dorothy McAuliffe and local
farmers at the Virginia State Fair.
“Local and regional food systems are one of the pillars of our
efforts to revitalize rural economies,” said Secretary Vilsack.
“Consumers are increasingly
demanding more local and organic options. Investing in local
and regional food systems supports the livelihoods of farmers
and ranchers, especially smaller
operations, while strengthening economies in communities
across the country. Today’s
announcements also improve
access to fresh, healthy food for
millions of Americans.”
Most of the grants announced
today were authorized through
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the
2014 Farm Bill), including the
Agricultural Marketing Service’s
(AMS) Farmers Market Promotion Program and Local Foods
Promotion Program, and the
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture’s (NIFA) Organic
Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and Community
Food Projects (CFP) grant program. Also announced today are
grants from AMS’s Federal-State
Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). Together, these
investments represent USDA’s
commitment to strengthening
organic and local and regional
food systems through projects
that recruit and train farmers,
expand economic opportunities,
and increase access to healthy
foods.
Secretary Vilsack made the
announcement while in Virginia,
where M. James Faison, a farmer
and business owner of Milton’s
Local Harvest, was awarded a
Local Food Promotion Program
grant. Milton’s Local Harvest
will develop aggregation and
wholesale distribution channels for farmers producing lo-
cal swine and cattle products in
Virginia and the District of Columbia. The project will improve
the commercial viability of small
to medium scale farmers, allowing wholesalers to source locally
and increasing consumer access
to local, sustainable, and healthy
meat.
USDA’s AMS awarded over
$27 million in competitive grants
to expand marketing through the
new Local Food Marketing Promotion Program (LFPP) and the
Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP). LFPP will invest
millions annually in marketing
and promotion activities for local
food enterprises including food
hubs, aggregation businesses,
local food processors, farm to institution activities and other similar efforts. FMPP makes annual
investments in marketing and
promotion activities for farmers
markets, CSAs and other direct
producer-to-consumer outlets for
local food. “These Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion
Program grants provide farmers
and ranchers around the country
with tools to reach consumers,
strengthen ties between urban
and rural communities, and help
meet the growing demand for
locally and regionally produced
food,” said AMS Administrator
Anne Alonzo.
Through the Organic Research
and Extension Initiative, USDA is
awarding more than $19 million
in grants to help producers and
processors who have already
adopted organic standards grow
and market high-quality organic
agricultural products. OREI’s
priority concerns include biological, physical and social sciences.
Organic Research and Extension
Initiative -funded projects assist farmers and ranchers with
whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based
information and will improve the
ability of growers to develop the
Organic System Plan required for
certification. For fiscal year 2014,
special emphasis was given to
research, education and extension relating to management of
diseases, insect pests and weeds
in specific regions. Community
Food Projects addresses a serious
local issue, which is basic food
access for low-income families
and individuals. CFP projects
bring together a wide range of
food system experts to share their
knowledge, skills and resources
to develop innovative solutions
to the nation’s food and hunger
problems. USDA is awarding
$4.8 million in CFP funding to 22
projects in 16 states.
AMS is also awarding over $1
million in matching FSMIP grants
to state departments of agriculture and state colleges and universities. Funds support research
projects to address challenges
and opportunities in marketing,
transporting, and distributing
U.S. agricultural products domestically and internationally. FSMIP
grants are funding 17 projects
in 13 States. All of these USDA
grants make a difference to diverse stakeholders across the nation. For example, previous FMPP
grants have led to increased
sales and attendance at farmers
markets, which creates more opportunities for more producers
to become vendors. The local
and regional food systems grant
projects support the USDA’s
Know Your Farmer, Know Your
Food Initiative (KYF2) which
coordinates USDA’s support in
local and regional food systems.
Past FMPP and FSMIP projects
supporting this work can be
found on the Know Your Farmer,
Know Your Food Compass. For
additional grant information on
the awardees please follow on
the grant program links in this
release or see:
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 17
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PAGE 18, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Beef Checkoff Sets FY2015 Plan of Work
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board
will invest about $39 million into
programs of beef promotion,
research, consumer information,
industry information, foreign
marketing and producer communications in fiscal year 2015,
if this week’s recommendation
of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee is approved by
USDA, following review by the
full Beef Board.
In action concluding its Sept.
16-17 meeting in Denver, the
Operating Committee — including 10 members of the Beef
Board and 10 members of the
Federation of State Beef Councils
— approved checkoff funding
for a total of 18 “Authorization
Requests,” or proposals for
checkoff funding, in the fiscal
year beginning Oct. 1, 2014. The
committee also recommended
full Beef Board approval of a
budget amendment to reflect
the split of funding between
budget categories affected by
their decisions.
“As both a producer and a
checkoff leader, it’s rewarding to
see the tremendous efforts that
go into responsible investment
of producers’ and importers’
hard-earned dollars into solid
checkoff programs that produce
results,” said Beef Board and
Operating Committee Chairman Kim Brackett (pictured), a
cattle producer from Idaho. “I
am truly excited about the opportunities that we have before
us as an industry and so pleased
that we have our checkoff to take
those on.”
In the end, the Operating
Committee approved proposals
from eight national beef organizations for funding through the
FY15 Cattlemen’s Beef Board
budget, as follows:
• National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association (nine proposals for
$27.8 million)
• U.S. Meat Export Federation
(one proposal for $7.7 million)
• Cattlemen’s Beef Board (one
proposal for $1.5 million)
• North American Meat Association (three proposals for
$1.1 million)
• American National CattleWomen (one proposal for
$371,000)
• Meat Import Council of
America (one proposal for
$350,800)
• American Farm Bureau
Foundation for Agriculture (one
proposal for $222,500)
• National Livestock Producers Association (one proposal
for $45,000)
Broken out by budget compo-
nent, the Fiscal Year 2015 Plan of
Work for the Cattlemen’s Beef
Board budget includes:
• $8 million for promotion
programs, including continuation of the checkoff’s consumer
digital advertising program, as
well as veal promotion.
• $9.7 million for research
programs, focusing on a variety
of critical issues, including preand post-harvest beef safety
research, product quality research, human nutrition research
and scientific affairs, market
research, and beef and culinary
innovations.
• $10.4 million for consumer
information programs, including a Northeast public relations
initiative, national consumer
public relations, including a
“Moms, Millennials and More”
consumer information program,
nutrition-influencer relations,
and creation of a digital application and beef game for youth.
• $1.7 million for industry information programs, comprising
dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry
to counter misinformation from
anti-beef groups and others,
as well as funding for checkoff
participation in a fourth annual
national industry-wide symposium focused on discussion and
dissemination of information
about antibiotic use.
• $7.7 million for foreign
marketing and education in
some 80 countries in the following: ASEAN region; Caribbean;
Central America/Dominican
Republic; China/Hong Kong;
Europe; Japan; Korea; Mexico;
Middle East; Russia/Greater
Russian Region; South America;
and Taiwan.
• $1.5 million for producer
communications, which includes producer outreach using
national communications and
direct communications to producers about checkoff results;
as well as development and
utilization of information conduits, such as auction markets;
maintenance of a seamless partnership with state beef council
producer-communication efforts; and producer attitude
research to determine producer
attitudes and desires of their
checkoff program.
Other expenses funded
through the $41.3 million 2015
CBB budget include $221,000
for evaluation, $305,000 for
program development, $325,000
for USDA oversight; and about
$1.9 million for administration,
which includes costs for Board
meetings, legal fees, travel costs,
office rental, supplies, equipment, and administrative staff
compensation. Fiscal Year 2015
begins Oct. 1, 2014.
“These meetings are both a bit
of the best of things, and a bit of
the worst of things, because we
have so many terrific proposals from beef organizations but
we cannot fund all of them,”
Brackett said. “With our task
before us, though, we had two
days of active discussion about
how to do what’s best for all
producers and importers who
pay their hard-earned dollars
into this checkoff program. I am
proud of the plan we were able
to put together toward enhancing consumer preference for
beef over other proteins in the
coming year.”
For details about individual
proposals considered by the
Operating Committee this week,
visit MyBeefCheckoffMeeting.
com.
2014 Bull & Female
Sale
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ƯƯƯ˷ƝƜƟƝƯƧƧƜƙƦƟƭƫ˷ƛƧƥ
Bulls Sired by These and other Leading Sires
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̗ƞȳȻȯȺȳɁΎȵɃȯɀȯȼɂȳȳȲΎɂȽΎȰȳΎȰɀȳȳȲȳɀɁ
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Saturday, November 29, 2014
30$WWKH)DUP
ƙɃȱɂȷȽȼȳȳɀ˶ΎΎΎƝ˷ƚ˷ΎƠȯɀɀȷɁΎȯȼȲΎɁɂȯˎ
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('*(:22'$1*86
(
6
28225 King William Highway
West Point, VA 23181
Pete Henderson: 757-880-7274
Peter Henderson: 757-298-6300
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 19
Flowing Spring
Gelbvieh
LITTLE WINDY HILL
Farms
6235 Lee Hwy.
Atkins, VA 24311
CHARLES E. ATKINS,
OWNER
(276) 783-6100
Money Making Mathematics:
2+2=5
Add as much as $1,000 over the life of a
crossbred cow with planned crossbreeding.
2157 Black Lick
Rural Retreat, VA 24368
HETEROSIS IS YOUR KEY TO PROFITABILITY
Judith A. Sweeten
Registered No. 48890
Home: 276-228-6347
Cell: 401-714-6812
SOUTHFORK
FARMS
GELBVIEH &
BALANCER CATTLE
Nathan and Sue Ellen Haver
969 Little River Rd.
Goshen, Va. 24439
Gelbvieh
x British
cow with a
Balancer®
sired calf.
Doug & Sue Hughes
6916 Peppers Ferry Road
Max Meadows, VA 24360
H 276/637-3916
O 276/637-4271
Triple D
Registered Gelbvieh
Red and Black Polled Bulls
13052 Ivor Rd., Sedley, VA 23878
Willie Diggs 770/591-3454
Alan Diggs 757/653-0174
Milton Diggs (Home) 757/859-6118
Milton Diggs (Cell) 757/328-8459
Email: [email protected]
www.wd-trid.com
Treble W Ranch
Registered Gelbvieh Cattle
17462 Fenton Drive
Abingdon, Va. 24210
Dr. Daryl Wilson/Tyler Wilson
(276) 676-2242
Joe & Gwen Wilson
(276) 628-4163
540-997-5376 540-997-5358 (Fax)
866-580-5335 (toll free)
email- [email protected]
[email protected]
Balancer® is a Gelbvieh x Angus or Red Angus registered hybrid.
James D. Bennett
(434) 376-3567
Paul S. Bennett
(434) 276-5675
Crossbreeding is smart and easy.
www.GELBVIEH.org
17659 Red House Road
Red House, Virginia 23963
Office (434) 376-3567
Fax (434) 376-7008
Jim G. Bennett
(434) 376-5760
To ﬁnd a Gelbvieh or Balancer® breeder near you
contact a member of the Gelbvieh Breeders of Virginia
Brian R. Bennett
(434) 376-5309
LAST CALL
GELBVIEH
Tom Lavelle, DVM
2984 Peppers Ferry Rd.
Wytheville, Va. 24382
(O) 276-223-4488
(H) 276-223-0104
Gelbvieh Breeders
of Virginia, Inc.
2157 Black Lick Road
Rural Retreat, VA 24368
President: Nathan Haver - 540-997-5376
Vice President: Tom Lavelle - 276-223-4488
Secretary: Joe Wilson - 276-628-4163
Treasurer:Judith Sweeten - 276-228-6347
Handfula
Gelbviehs
Black, Polled, Purebred &
Balancer Gelbvieh Cattle
Stephen, Vivian, Megan &
Caitlin Fanning
7287 East Blue Grass Trail
Bland, VA 24315
(276) 722-2034
(276) 620-0054
REGISTERED POLLED
GELBVIEH
C.H. Morris & Sons
928 Morris Road
Appomattox, VA 24522
Roger L. Morris
(434) 574-6592
(434) 315-4294
PAGE 20, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
President - Glenn Covington,
Orlean
P.O.P.O.
Box
209 Fishersville, VA
Box 209 Fishersville, VA
www.vaangus.org
1IPOFt'BY
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.vaangus.org
rg
Calendar of Events
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE......
November 8
C & J Cattle/Holly Hill Bull & Female Sale,
Mt. Sidney
The Arehart’s
2853 Shutterlee Mill Rd.
Staunton, VA 24401
November 15
Miller Farm LLC & Guest Bull Sale, Harrisonburg
November 15
Locust Level Farm Bull and Female Sale,
Vernon Hill
November 22
Shelton Angus/Dogwood Farm Bull Sale, Gretna
November 28
Echo Ridge Farm Black Friday Sale, Atkins
November 29
Edgewood Angus Bull and Female Sale, West Point
December 5
Knoll Crest Farm Fall Bull Sale, Red House
December 6
Southwest VA Finest Angus Sale, Abingdon
December 13
BCIA Sr. Performance Tested Bull Sale, Culpepper
BULL & FEMALE SALE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2014
www.edgewoodangus.com
Mailing Address: 400 Angus Ln. – Williamsburg, VA 23188
Farm Address: 28225 King William Rd. - West Point, VA 23181
Pete: (757) 880-7274 – [email protected]
Peter: (757) 298-6300 – [email protected]
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 21
Giving Thanks
John B. Rhudy
It’s the time of year
when we give thanks for
all the blessings in our
lives. Like most, I’m thankful for my family, health,
employment, and country.
I have been blessed with
three wonderful children
and a caring, loving wife.
Although there are plenty
of aches and pains from
old injuries, my health is
pretty good, well minus a
few pounds. With almost
fifteen years with the same
stocker outfit, I have to
say I have a great employer that is fair, respectful,
and from whom I have
learned so much. And,
without question, we live
in the greatest nation in
the world. While these are
huge blessings, there are a
couple of other things for
which I give thanks.
Without a doubt, my life
has been shaped and positively influenced by cattle.
Growing up on a dairy
farm, the clothes, toys,
and shelter provided to me
were bought by the milk
from our Holsteins. A lot
of my entertainment came
from feeding, chasing, and,
against orders, roping baby
calves. My mother moved
me to town near the end
of my sophomore year of
high school. Unable to be
on our dairy as much as
I wanted, it was hard for
me dealing with life at the
time. Beef cattle through
some great, kindhearted cattlemen in Tazewell
County, came to my rescue.
I was able to have the opportunity to day work for
and learn from these folks,
all because they had mama
cows that needed gathered,
vaccinated, and fed.
During college, my father and uncle sold our
dairy herd and bought
beef cows and stockers.
I also got the experience
of working in a couple of
sale barns at this time. This
exposed me to a different
part of the cattle world and
allowed me to make business acquaintances and
lifelong friends. Life and
circumstances led me to
employment outside of agriculture a couple of years
after graduating. This was
not a very fulfilling time in
my life. Again cattle, in this
case stocker cattle, made
a positive improvement
in my life. A gentleman
named Roger Steele was
in need of someone to care
for his cattle in Burke’s
Garden. I lived there and
was elated for the chance.
To say I was green would
be a severe understatement. Thankfully, the cattle
and Mr. Steele have been
patient and provided a
well-rounded education.
Without cattle, I would
not have become the man I
am today, and for this I am
very thankful.
As I mentioned, I live in
Burke’s Garden. The first
Rhudys came here around
1806. To say I love living
in the the highest valley
in Virginia would be an
understatement. My love
for the valley has shaped
my life more than cattle.
The off farm jobs were all
“do what I had to do to
live where I want to live.”
Thankfully, now I can live
where I want to live and do
what I want to do. I guess
my feelings for my home
are best summed up in the
following poem I wrote.
Happy Thanksgiving.
My Mistress
John B. Rhudy
Granddad died from farmer’s lung long before I was born
Though I chose Granny’s folks’ horseman’s ways, farmer clothes
I’ve worn.
I’ve been here since my day of birth, this valley’s my only home
Had to live in other places but my heart did always roam
Back to the fertile fields and the grassland so lush and green
I can’t put forth the words and explain to others what I mean
See, I’ve had my share of lovers and more than enough brides
After a time they can’t compete and soon leave my side
For this valley is my mistress, my first and one true love
I gave her my heart and soul as witnessed by God above
So I’ll ride her hills and check my stock as long as I can
And when in time they lay me low, planted in this sacred land
Wherein lies my ancestors whose love they showed through toil
For the valley is our mistress, let our bodies feed her soil
Your Beef Checkoff
Pete Crow - Publisher
How do you feel about your
Beef Checkoff promotion and
research program? According
to the surveys, it has an over 70
percent approval rating. With an
approval rating that high you
have to wonder what’s the beef.
There is always somebody who
won’t agree with the program
and it certainly seems that a
few sour apples can ultimately
ruin the whole bunch. And that
seems to be the National Farmers Union’s (NFU) agenda at
this point.
It was a noble idea for the
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom
Vilsack, to assemble a working group of interested parties
to hash out their differences
and go forward. NFU pulling
out of the working group was
nothing more than a political
trump card.
What gives our industry’s
“non-government organizations” the power to threaten
the program? One would think
that membership volume might
have a little bit more influence,
at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Agriculture.
So let’s see who has the most
influence. I figured that Facebook may have some answers
about membership or something close to it. According to
Facebook stats, NCBA is the
clear winner with 34,239 folks
liking their page. On the other
hand R-CALF has 1,048 “likes”
and the United States Cattlemen has 698 “likes.” NFU, the
instigator of this last check off
episode, had a whopping 2,274
“likes” and the American Farm
Bureau came in with 2,653
“likes.” In the social media
sphere, the number of “likes” an
organization has is a reflection
of their credibility or influence.
But, who are these guys?
Last week R-CALF sent a letter
to Vilsack demanding changes
to the Beef Checkoff program
after the Farmers Union pulled
out of the working group. The
letter was endorsed by 36 other
groups or associations, most I’ve
never heard of. Many are state
affiliates of NFU or R-CALFaffiliated state groups like the
Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska. These letters are drafted
to illustrate to the Secretary of
Ag the widespread support for
their cause when in reality you
have a multiple of the same
people complaining. It’s kind of
like stuffing the ballot box.
But what these guys want
is for the Secretary of Agri-
culture to unilaterally change
how the checkoff operates and
they offer solutions, which
include: Enforce the prohibition against conflicts of interest
in contracting and all other
decision-making operations of
the Beef Checkoff Program. This
would mean prohibiting any
member of the Beef Promotion
Operating Committee (BPOC)
voting to award checkoff funds
to any private organization of
which the member is personally
affiliated. This would bar any
NCBA member from being on
the BPOC.
Enforce a prohibition against
the Beef Checkoff Program
contracting with organizations
that engage in policy oriented
activities, including influencing
governmental action, policy or
elections. This provision would
exclude nearly all cattle oriented
organizations, including all
these folks who are complaining.
Also, they want Vilsack to act
on his own suggestion and implement a legally independent
federation of state beef councils,
without affiliation to the NCBA
or any other private entity. In
other words, they want NCBA
and the Federation of State Beef
Councils to get divorced.
Actually, the BPOC met last
week to approve their spending
projects for 2015 and have done
a better job of spreading the
money around. NCBA still gets
the lion’s share of the funding at
$27.8 million. U.S. Meat Export
Federation got $7.7 million, the
Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB)
$1.5 million, North American
Meat Association $1.1 million,
Continued on Page 46
PAGE 22, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
KNOLL CREST FARM
JAMES, PAUL, JIM, BRIAN BENNETT
17659 RED HOUSE RD.
RED HOUSE, VA 23963
434-376-3567 OFFICE
434-376-7008 FAX
JAMES BENNETT - 434-376-7299
PAUL BENNETT 434-376-5675
JIM BENNETT 434-376-5760
BRIAN BENNETT 434-376-5309
MAPLEWOOD FARM
JOHN AND KAREN FLEISHMAN
DANIEL AND ELIZABETH
5442 Daniel Cupp Road
Dayton, VA 22821
John - 540-421-9511
Daniel - 540-383-1688
[email protected]
MOUNTAIN LION MEADOW
OAK CREEK FARM
TODD, LYDIA, LAYLA AND LILLY SCOTT
1191 Spring Mill Road
Concord, VA 24538
434-665-1224
434-993-2502
BILLY AND JACKIE KOONTZ
25840 Independence Road
Unionville, VA 22567
540-854-6567
[email protected]
420 NORTH HAYFIELD RD.
WINCHESTER, VA 22603
Sid & Dorothy Rogers
HOME - 540-888-3134
CELL - 540-539-3352
[email protected]
2074 Gravel Hill Rd.
DILLWYN, VA 23936
(434) 983-3110
2.2 MI. EAST of
U.S. 15 on 617
FAUQUIER FARM
CEDAR PLAINS FARM
DIAMOND “W” FARM
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Harrisonburg, VA
Offering an outstanding group of purebred Hereford females and breeding age
bulls including:
TF Gloria 10S 144U 123B ET
R.E. BALTIMORE, OWNER,
MANAGER, FIELD HAND
150 Cartersville Ext.
Cartersville, VA 23027
(H) 804-375-3071
(O) 804-399-7409
“All Cattle Made In America”
DTF Mariah 5L 3A01
JACK SHEEHAN
4442 Factory Mill Rd.
Dabneys, VA 23102
Telephone: 804-556-4947
email: [email protected]
FROGTOWN ACRES
JERRY & REBECCA FUNKHOUSER
417 Frogtown Lane
Edinburg, VA 22824
Home: 540-984-8833
Jerry Cell: 540-333-1019
Rebecca Cell: 540-333-1019
email: [email protected]
MEADOW RIDGE
FARMS, INC.
DOUG & MELISSA HARRISON
2184 Hillyard Drive
Broadway, VA 22815
540-896-5004
[email protected]
DEER TRACK FARM
3320 Deer Track Rd.,
Spotsylvania, VA 22551
BOB SCHAFFER
540-582-9234 (FARM)
[email protected]
www.deertrackfarm.com
HICKORY SPRINGS FARM
MIKE TAYLOR
20 Cottage Hill Road
Petersburg, WV 26847
NORVUE FARM
Ken & Doris Worley
25052 Rich Valley Rd.
Abingdon, VA 24210
276-944-3458
cell: 276-356-3458
[email protected]
“Virginia Finest”
Performance Tested Bulls for sale.
Reg.#
43380514
Reg.#
43466240
COTTAGE HILL FARM
[email protected]
304-257-1557 (home)
304-668-0580 (cell)
JASPER & ALICE
PERSINGER, JR.
2917 POTTS CREEK ROAD
COVINGTON, VA 24426
540-747-3261
[email protected]
ROLLING HILLS FARM
HARRY & BARBARA
KNABE
6470 BEVERLYS MILL ROAD
BROAD RUN, VA 20137
HOME 540-347-4343
OFFICE 540-347-7188
NORTHERN VA area
CATTLE FOR SALE
[email protected]
POTTS CREEK FARM
Reg.#
43270313
BBF Perfect Lady Z17
JOHN BRASUK
RT. 2 BOX 211-A
FAIRMONT, W.VA. 26554
304-363-5918
[email protected]
Reg.#
42867998
TPH Classy Lady 517 10H T515
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For more information visit the Virginia Hereford Association website at www.virginiaherefords.org
Catalogs available upon request, please call Virginia Hereford Association 540-848-4834
BAY BROOK FARM
RODNEY & BARBARA PHILLIPS
4277 FACTORY MILL ROAD
DABNEYS, VA 23102
804-556-3810
[email protected]
“Hereford Bulls for sale
at all times.”
DUNROVIN
DON & SHEILA RICHARDSON
3473 DUNROVIN FARM
CROZET, VA 22932
434-823-4438
e-mail: [email protected]
THICK, DARK RED, HEAVY MILKING COWS
DR WORLD CLASS
DR MR. CONSERVATIVE
WILLINGHAM FARM
PIONEER FARMS
CHARLES, MEREDITH AND
OLIVIA WILLIAMS
485 Hereford Crossing
Fairfield, VA 24435
[email protected]
540-460-8803
ROCK MILLS HEREFORDS
PAUL AND KIM NOVAK
240 THUNDER VALLEY LANE
Castleton, VA 22716
540-937-5553
[email protected]
HEREFORD HILLS FARM
ROY AND KIM DEAN
9311 BRADY LANE
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802
(540) 432-9805
[email protected]
Daron Culbertson
P.O. Box 91
Remington, VA 22734
540-270-2185
[email protected]
“In memory of Alton Willingham”
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 23
Cargill Pork Plant Reaches Safety Milestone; Celebrates With Beef
Cargill announced that its
Beardstown, Ill., pork processing plant has gone 6 million hours (since April 2013)
without a lost-time injury
at the plant, which employs
more than 2,000 workers who
produce over 1 billion pounds
of pork annually from 19,00020,000 hogs harvested there
daily.
“We confront injury risk by
acknowledging its potential
and weaving prevention into
our cultural fabric,” said plant
General Manager Steve Pirkle
in a news release. “Going so
many months without a lost
time injury occurs because
people care about each other
and the important work they
are doing to produce food.
They are attentive and nobody is shy about pointing
out potential risks so we can
address them before an injury
takes place.” To acknowledge
the workplace safety accomplishment, a prime rib dinner
will be provided to employees
working all three shifts at the
plant on Oct. 9.
Anticipating the question,
Pirkle said Cargill is serving
prime rib instead of pork because many of other employee
events at the plant feature
pork. Cargill is also a large beef
producer.
PAGE 24, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Russian Bans Won’t Dent Strong Beef Demand, Prices: Rabobank
Russia’s import bans won’t
have much impact on tightening global beef supplies, strong
demand and record prices, Rabobank said in its third-quarter
report. “There is largely positive
news for the global beef industry as strong demand and tight
supply are showing no signs
of slowing, pushing prices, in
some cases record prices, even
higher,” explains Rabobank
analyst Angus Gidley-Baird.
Most key producing and export
regions already are experiencing
record tight supplies, and suppliers are expected to tighten
even further throughout 2014
and into 2015, the firm said.
Rabobank says Russian import
bans likely won’t have a large
impact on world beef markets,
while Brazil’s beef industry
stands to gain the most. The
impact on major exporters, such
as Australia and the United
States will be minimal because
they already were experiencing
Russian trade barriers prior to
the current ban.
Rabobank’s regional outlook:
•United States: Volatility continues to characterize the U.S.
market as cattle prices continue
to trade at record levels, and
consumer appetite remains firm.
•Brazil: Brazil exports have
benefitted from increased demand from Russia this quarter
and will start going to China
during the next six months.
Strong demand and tight supplies have underpinned record
cattle prices.
•Australia: Cattle prices responded on the back of some
decent rainfall during August,
although the dry seasonal conditions remain a concern. Record
slaughter continues to drive
record exports, with strong international demand helping to
support prices.
•China: Although total Chinese beef imports in 2014 are
expected to be lower than the
record levels witnessed on 2013,
demand for the remainder of
2014 is forecast to strengthen.
•New Zealand: New Zealand
beef returns have remained at
record levels, and with a forecast
of tight supplies and very strong
U.S. demand, the industry outlook for the remainder of 2014
and into 2015 is optimistic.
•Canada: The Canadian cattle
market has been enjoying the
same surge in cattle prices for
the year as has been seen in the
•Argentina: Production is ex- low levels, despite the encourag- continues, as cattle availability
United States and has aggres- pected to increase seasonally with ing trade developments with the remains scarce. At the end of the
sively been using all available improved weather, but exports U.S. and Russia.
year, Rabobank expects beef
cattle supplies.
continue to remain at historically
•Mexico: Production restraint
Continued on Page 31
BBB
BBB
BBB
McDonald Farms
Bulls and
2070 Walnut Springs Road
Blacksburg, VA 24060 Females
Available
540-552-2520• *540-230-6225
540-552-2947
540-552-2520
www.mcdonaldfarms.com
BLACK POLLED SIMMENTAL and ANGUS CATTLE
“Our cows work for us; so our bulls will work for you!”
McIntire
Blue Ridge
Herefords
Cattle Company
TRIO FARMS, INC.
3070 US HWY BSN 340
Luray, VA 22835
Jerry Burner (540) 743-3446
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retention
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for Black
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Berryville,
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(540)
955-0066performance and
Complete
carcass
data
Polled Hereford Bulls with complete performance
and carcass data for sale. Call for current date and video.
R. J.
Lester,
Axton,
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• Show
Calves
• Breeding
R J434-334-1376
LESTER • BLUE RIDGE
HEREFORDS
• AXTON,
VIRGINIA
- day
• 276-650-8445
- night
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USDA Line1 Bulls for Black Cow Herds
Complete performance and carcass data
R. J. Lester, Axton, VA
434-334-1376 - day • 276-650-8445 - night
glenowenfarm.com
FOR SALE
Double J Farm LLC
Chestnut Ridge Farm
Registered Polled Herefords
Located in Traphill, N.C.
“Quality Cattle for Quality People”
222 acres Augusta Co. 9 tax parcels,
Barns, Silo and 1780 Log and Frame House
Owner, Agent
Owen Thomas III, Chestnut Ridge Road, Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 337-1847 or (540) 480-4817 (cell)
Headquarters
134 Thorncliff Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28303
John Wheeler
910/489-0024
[email protected]
Your Ad Here For $30
Call Jacquelynn
at 540-992-1009
for more information.
AVAILABLE
NOW:
EXCEPTIONAL
BULLS
FOR SALE
Exceptional SimAngus and Simmental Bulls
and Fancy Genetic Packages
3691 S. Middle Rd., Quicksburg, VA 22847 • (540) 335-1885 • [email protected]
www.shenandoahvalleysimmentals.com
Home of “the keepin’ kind”
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 25
Virginia Simmental Association
Virginia Junior Simmental Association Update
Farrell Jones, Junior Advisor
The State Fair of Virginia Youth Beef Show was held on October 4, 2014. We
were pleased to have a percentage show in addition to our purebred show.
Classes and winners are listed below. All of our junior exhibitors are commended for their hard work.
Purebred Junior Heifer Calf (Mar.-Apr., 2014) – 1st Zack Jones
Purebred Junior Heifer Calf (Jan.-Feb., 2014) – 1st Hunter Watkins, 2nd Kristin Seay
Divison Winner – Hunter Watkins
Reserve Division Winner – Kristin Seay
Purebred Senior Heifer Calf (Nov.-Dec., 2013) – 1st Nichole Landes
Purebred Senior Heifer Calf (Sept.-Oct., 2013) – 1st Zack Jones, 2nd Brittany Linton
Division Winner – Zack Jones
Reserve Division Winner – Brittany Linton
Purebred Junior Yearling Heifer (Mar.-Apr., 2013) – 1st Zack Jones
Purebred Junior Yearling Heifer (Jan.-Feb., 2013) – 1st Zack Jones, 2nd Zack Jones
Divison Winner – Zack Jones
Reserve Division Winner – Zack Jones
Champion Purebred Heifer – Zack Jones
Reserve Champion Purebred Heifer – Zack Jones
Champion Bred & Owned Purebred Heifer – Zack Jones
Reserve Champion Bred & Owned Purebred Heifer – Zack Jones
Percentage Junior Heifer Calf (Mar.-Apr., 2014) – 1st Lianna Durrer
Percentage Junior Heifer Calf (Jan.-Feb., 2014) – 1st Hayden Campbell
Division Winner – Lianna Durrer
Reserve Division Winner – Hayden Campbell
Percentage Senior Heifer Calf – 1st Hayden Campbell
Division Winner – Hayden Campbell
Percentage Junior Yearling Heifer – 1st Sidnie Saville
Division Winner – Sidnie Saville
Champion Percentage Heifer – Lianna Durrer
Reserve Champion Percentage Heifer – Sidnie Saville
Champion Percentage Cow/Calf Pair – Kristin Seay
Champion Percentage Bred & Owned Heifer – Hayden Campbell
Reserve Champion Percentage Bred & Owned Heifer – Hayden Campbell
VIRGINIA SIMMENTAL
ASSOCIATION
Dana Campbell, VSA Secretary/Treasurer
[email protected]
3764 Lowesville Rd.
Lowesville, VA 22967
434-277-9104
www.virginiasimmental.com
PAGE 26, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Saunders Wins National Beef
Ambassador Contest
Phillip Saunders, from Piney River, Va won
the 2015 National Beef Ambassador Junior
Competition in Denver, Colorado, September
26-27, 2014. The annual National Beef Ambassador competition, which is funded in part by
the Beef Checkoff and managed by the American
National CattleWomen, Inc., contractor to the beef checkoff, featured 10 JR
contestants ages 12-16 and 20 Senior
Contestants age 17-21. JR contestants
are judged in the areas of consumer
promotion, media interview technique
and issues response.
Contestants from throughout the
country vied for a place on this elite
team of agriculture advocates and
cash prizes sponsored exclusively by
Farm Credit. Additionally five educational scholarships totaling $5,000
were given by the American National
CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. and
Monsanto to SR team winners.
While preparing for this national
beef promotion and education competition, youth across the nation learn
about beef and the beef industry with
support from state CattleWomen and
Cattlemen’s associations and state beef
councils. The preparation highlights
industry issues of current consumer
interest. Winners of the state competitions compete at the national level
where they receive additional training.
After the event, the youth ambassadors
speak to industry issues and misconceptions and educate their peers and
meal-time decision makers about beef
nutrition, cattle care, safety and more
during consumer events, in the classPhillp Saunders National Beef Ambassdor winner. room and online.
3 Ways To Get Involved In
The “Ag Provides” Campaign
Amanda Radke
in BEEF Daily
R e c e n t l y, a n i m a l r i g h t s
groups like PETA, Farm Animal Rights Movement, and The
Humane League launched a
massive social media campaign
called “Fast Against Slaughter,” that claims livestock are
starved, beaten and abused
before slaughter. The groups’
call-to-action for consumers is to
refrain from eating for one day
and spread the word via social
media against animal products.
I think a much more constructive program is one that
a graduate student organization at Texas Tech University
(TTU) has developed to coun-
teract such baseless negativity
and actually help their fellow
citizens. The campaign is called
“Ag Provides,” and it encourages agriculturalists to combat
hunger by helping to stock our
nation’s food pantries with an
abundance of groceries for the
needy.
According to the “Ag Provides” Facebook page, “The Ag
Provides campaign is working
to assure everybody has a nutritious meal on their plate, while
providing insight about where
the food comes from.” So how
can you get involved? Here are
3 steps to be a part of the “Ag
Provides” campaign, which
will last through the month of
October:
1. Get involved online.
2. Donate food. We all know
how expensive groceries can be,
but a little can go a long way.
Buy an extra bag of food the
next time you’re stocking up
your own fridge, and take it to
your local food pantry. Be sure
to call and ask what your local
food pantry needs the most.
3. Talk about it. Forget the
negative rhetoric. Let’s talk
about how the nation’s food
producers are working to end
hunger. Use the messages and
resources that the TTU graduate students have developed
and posted on social media and
spread the word. Be sure to post
about your donations online,
as well.
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 27
Beef! It’s What’s For Dinner!®
A Monthly report on your
Checkoff Dollars at work
from the Virginia Beef
Industry Council
www.vabeef.org
Valley Beef Conference
Beef producers gathered at the Shenandoah Valley Ag Research
Center in Raphine on October 15th for the Valley Beef Conference.
During the conference, the producers had the opportunity to
receive Beef Quality Assurance certification or become recertified. Jennifer Ligon, ANR extension agent in Buckingham with
the assistance of Dr. Dee Whittier and Dr. John Currin of Virginia
Tech, led the chute side training which included proper vaccination and cattle handling techniques. Dr. Whittier provided an
in depth look at pink eye control and treatment. Jason Smith,
graduate student at Virginia Tech, presented his research project
on the implications of early weaning on beef quality. After dinner, Dr. John Currin discussed fall health concerns and feeding
recommendations for spring and fall calving herds. The conference was sponsored in part by Virginia Cooperative Extension
and Virginia’s Beef Checkoff. For more information on how to
become BQA certified, contact your county extension office or the
Virginia Beef Industry Council office.
VBIC Reaches Consumers
at the State Fair of Virginia
The Virginia Beef Industry Council exhibited at the 2014 State Fair of Virginia in Doswell,
VA September 26th – October 5th. Nearly 240,000 people attended the 10 day event with the
opportunity to interact with a variety of exhibits to learn about agriculture. At the beef booth,
VBIC provided recipe brochures, nutrition and cookery information and more, as well as answer
questions and concerns consumers have about the beef industry. Questions included selecting
beef cuts and how to cook them, nutrition concerns and several wanted to know the differences
in grain finished and grass finished beef. Another hot topic was why beef prices have increased
at the grocery store. A door prize of various beef items was given away each day of the fair. At
the Virginia Tech Block and Bridle booth, fair goers had the opportunity to sample beef. A new
addition to the booth this fall was a very popular picture cutout where children and adults took
pictures to share with friends and family.
Did you know?
VBIC Participates in Main Street
Agriculture Celebration
The First Annual Main Street Agriculture Event was held
September 20th in Charlottesville’s Lee Park and Downtown
Walking Mall. The event was a partnership with the Albemarle
County Farm Bureau, Local Food Hub and various Virginia
Commodity groups and producers to celebrate farmers and
food providers and to support agriculture education. Consumers viewed exhibits and livestock and received information
about various agriculture commodities produced in Virginia.
Cooking demonstrations by local chefs showcased products
grown in Virginia.
Millions of consumers gained valuable beef preparation tips and techniques on how to use beef in
new, unexpected and appealing ways via a series of new online videos. Recent market research among
Millennial consumers concluded that the new videos delivered beef’s ease, taste and health within a
“fresh, modern and highly appealing” package, working hard to improve beef perceptions along the way.
The “no-recipe” videos showcased beef in its best light, in meals such as Stir-Fry, Burgers, Grilled Steak,
Steak Salad and Steak Tacos, showing the variety of nutritious and delicious “family favorite” ideas that
are so simple, anyone can prepare them. As consumers continue to look online for inspiration and “howto” content, video represents one of the checkoff ’s best ways to inspire consumer beef trial and usage.
Check out the new videos at www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com. To learn more about your beef checkoff
investment, visit www.mybeefcheckoff.com.
PAGE 28, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
V IRGINIA C HAROLAIS A SSOCIATION
2013-2014
VCA Officers
Our next sale
14th Fall Herd
Bill Thompson – President
1295 Park Avenue
Clifton Forge, VA 24422
540-968-1987
Improvement Sale
at Virginia Tech
Nov. 8, 2014
Kaitlin Smith –
Vice President
454 Old Farm Road
Lexington, VA 24450
540-463-6778
1:00 PM
Deidre Harmon – Secretary
1445 Pipers Gap Road
Galax, VA 24333
276-233-8852
more pounds at weaning!
Walt Winkler – Treasurer
124 Kindig Road
Waynesboro, VA 22980
540-943-6144
more pounds at yearling!
Data from the Spring 2012 Across-Breed EPD Genetic Trends presented
at the Beef Improvement Federation documents Charolais and
Charolais-inﬂuenced genetics lead all major breeds compared for both
weaning and yearling weights. In fact, Charolais cattle were proven to
excel at adding more pounds at weaning and yearling.
Rob Farmer –
Past President
8030 Greenwich Road
Catlett, VA 20119
540-270-3886
Every beef producer knows proﬁtability starts with more pounds.
More pounds. More proﬁts.
Simple math.
Chad Joines –
Southwest Director
Junior Advisor
Virginia Tech
Dept of Animal & Poultry
Science
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-557-7263
Increased Red Meat Yield
Optimum Growth Q Moderate Stature
Hybrid Vigor Q Consistent Breed Identity
Reproductive Efﬁciency Q Docility
AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION
11700 NW Plaza Circle Q Kansas City, Missouri 64153
816.464.5977 Q Fax: 816.464.5759
You are invited to our
November sale at Virginia
Tech as noted above.
We plan to have a great
selection of registered
Charolais cattle. These
consignments should
work well to improve
or add to a Charolais
herd. Also, as you
should already know, the
Charolais cattle work well
in commercial herds.
If you would like a
catalogue, but do not
receive one, you should
be able to visit the
catalogue online at www.
bobmorton.com. If you
prefer a hardcopy, you
may contact our sales
manager Mr. Bob Morton
by phone 931-842-1234
or email bob@bobmorton.
com. You may also
contact Bill Thompson
at mountainmeadows@
highlandcomputers.com
or cell 540-968-1987.
www.charolaisusa.com
© American-International Charolais Association 2014
We would like to invite
anyone interested in
becoming a member of our
association to call one of
the officers listed above.
D o W h a t Wo r k s
River Croft Charolais
Breeding
Polled-Registered
Performance Charolais
Cell 540-968-1987
Fax 540-962-7508
William and Agnes Anderson
P.O. Box 304
Altavista, VA 24517
(434) 369-5366
“Keeping the commercial producers in mind”
Charolais bulls
for the most
discriminating buyer
124 Kindig Road
Waynesboro, VA 22980
Walt Winkler
(540) 943-6144
Cross
Mountain
Cattle Co.
Robert Farmer
8030 Greenwich Rd.
Catlett, VA 201195
540-270-3886
Gerry Scott 540-379-1975
All members of the
Virginia Charolais
Association are entitled
to join all the sales we
sponsor.
CREWS FARMS
Registered Charolais
784 Payneton Rd
Chatham, VA
Billy Crews, Barry Crews
Billy C. Crews, Brent Crews
(434) 656-2361
(434) 656-3771
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 29
EU-Canada Trade Deal
The European Union and
Canada’s recently concluded
trade agreement is expected
to pump around $600 million
into the Canadian economy
annually from beef exports
and serve as a “game changer”
for the country’s beef industry, according to the Canadian
Cattlemen’s Association. As
part of the still-unratified Comprehensive Economic and Trade
Agreement (CETA), Canada
will build the capacity to produce hormone-free meat for the
European market, securing a
massive increase in the amount
of money the country makes
from beef exports to Europe.
Before the agreement, Canadian
beef producers made only a few
million dollars annually from
beef exports to the E.U., CCA
officials said.
“The removal of longstanding
barriers in this agreement, such
as high tariffs, enables Canadian
beef producers to benefit from
the high value that the European
beef market represents,” the
CCA said. Such a large-scale
agreement has eluded negotiators seeking to boost U.S. beef
exports to Europe. Currently,
the E.U. restricts American beef
to that which comes from heifers
and steers less than 30 months
old and fed on specific diets.
“The United States is watching,”
said John Masswohl, the CCA’s
director of government and international relations. “They see
this, obviously, just as large of a
potential as we see it.”
“I work closely with the
American cattle producers,
and I was mentioning how one
of the problems with Europe
is the technical barriers,” he
said, speaking to POLITICO
from Texas, where he met with
beef producers. “We made it a
huge priority to get rid of those
things.” He added: “I think ev-
erybody knows that if we can’t
make it work for Canada, then
it’s going to be very difficult
getting that deal with the U.S.
and Europe.”
The EU adopted restrictions
on livestock production in 1989
that limit the use of natural hormones to therapeutic purposes
and banned the use of synthetic
hormones, touching off “an
acrimonious trade dispute” between the U.S. and the Europeans, according to a 2010 report
by the Congressional Research
Service. The U.S. exported only
about $50 million to Europe in
2008, all under the Agriculture
Department’s Non-Hormone
Treated Cattle Program, the
report said.

World Cattle Inventory
V.S. Human Population
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PAGE 30, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
How Are Antibiotics
Used In Cattle? Are
They Causing Antibiotic
Resistant Bacteria?
Dr. Jake Geis, DVM
As a veterinarian, I see sick
cattle and treat them with
antibiotics and other medications on a regular basis. There
have been questions if using
antibiotics in farm animals
leads to antibiotic resistance
in humans. The risk that this
will occur is minuscule, however, because my colleagues
and I are on the front lines
of this issue we take antibiotic resistance seriously. Our
belief is the key to keeping
antibiotics effective is to treat
cattle early so they can make
a quick recovery and avoid
re-treatment.
To help you understand our
day-to-day usage of antibiotics, I would like you to meet
this calf. He doesn’t have a
number to identify him, so
we shall name him Frank.
Frank was born this summer
on lush green pasture and still
resides with his mother on the
same pasture. He has lived a
charmed existence, playing
with his friends, chasing after
rabbits, and being adorable
and stuff. Unfortunately, he
just caught pneumonia. If left
untreated, he will die.
You see, despite every effort to make his life as stress
free as possible, Frank still got
sick. Just like humans, cattle
get sick. My treatment plan
for Frank is an antibiotic, in
this case tildipirosin and an
anti-inflammatory drug for
the fever, flunixin meglumine. Note that the antibiotic
I chose is not used in humans,
which is common among
antibiotics used in cattle for
pneumonia. Now that he has
been treated, Frank will make
a full recovery and once again
frolic happily in the green
pasture.
Sometimes it is not only
single calves that get sick, but
an entire group of calves. Just
like a cold spreads through
your office at work, disease
can spread through a herd of
cattle. Unfortunately, unlike
our coworkers that loudly
complain about their aliment,
cattle make it their number one priority to hide any
sign they are sick. Cattle are
prey animals and any sign of
weakness is an invitation to
become lunch for a carnivore.
Because we cannot determine with 100% accuracy
which animals are sick and
which ones are not, using
antibiotics for disease prevention is practiced when we
recognize the start of an epidemic in a herd. For example,
if out of fifty calves five get
sick in two days, I will recommend treating the entire
group. If animals are treated
early, they respond better to
the antibiotic and less have
to be re-treated. This allows
for the antibiotic to be more
effective and less antibiotics
to be used in total.
Sometimes antibiotics for
disease prevention are administered in their feed. This
is because it is less stressful to
the animals to simply eat the
antibiotic than to be taken to a
handling area where they can
be given an injection. This is
NOT the same as using antibiotics for growth promotion.
Cattlemen have voluntarily
decided to not use antibiotics
that are of critical importance
to humans for growth promotion.
Because antibiotics are important to both human and
animal health, we veterinarians take antibiotic resistance
seriously. Although more
than 70% of the antibiotics
used in farm animals are
rarely or never prescribed to
humans, if there were to be a
case of antibiotic resistance
developing from animals the
first people to be impacted
would be us. Therefore we
take great care to make sure
antibiotics are used effectively and only as necessary.
Don’t forget about our
VCA shirts and hats
for sale…
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 31
UC-Davis Meta Study Downplays Concerns About GMO Feed
The consumption of genetically modified crops has
shown no negative effect on
the performance and health of
livestock, and there are no detectable or reliably quantifiable
traces of GE components in
milk, meat, and eggs harvested
from animals that consumed
GE feed, suggests a meta study
recently made available to the
public by the Journal of Animal Science.
More than 95 percent of
the 9 billion food-producing
animals used annually in the
United State consume GE food,
notes the study produced by
Alison Van Eenennaam, a cooperative extension specialist
in animal biotechnology at the
University of California-Davis,
and research assistant Amy
Young. It’s hard to avoid, given
that more than 90 percent of
corn and soybeans are genetically engineered. But advocacy
groups continue to argue for
the mandatory labeling of
products derived from animals
that consume genetically engineered feed.
For “Prevalence & Impacts
of Genetically Engineered
Feedstuffs on Livestock Populations,” which is to be published in JAS’ October print
edition, Van Eenennaam and
Young say they collated data
on livestock productivity and
health from publicly available
sources dating back to 1983, 13
years before the introduction
of GE crops, and subsequently
through 2011. They say their
Bans
Continued from Page 24
production to increase by 0.9
percent.
•Indonesia: Better supply has
resulted in softening prices, impacting finishers’ profitability.
This may cause lot feeders to
import fewer cattle in 2H 2014,
despite issuing record permit
numbers.
•EU: The market is expected
to remain under pressure and
at best stabilize, with the seasonal increase in beef demand
unlikely to result in higher
prices given the increasing
competition with lower pork
and poultry prices.
field data, which represent
more than 100 billion animals
following the introduction of
GE crops, “revealed no unexpected perturbations or dis-
turbing trends in animal performance or health indicators.
Likewise, it is not possible to
distinguish any differences in
the nutritional profile of animal
products following consumption of GE feed.”
The authors call for a need
to promote the “international
harmonization of both regula-
tory frameworks for GE crops
and governance of advanced
breeding techniques to prevent
widespread disruptions in international trade.”
Patricia Ann (Keller) Douglas inducted into the Virginia Livestock Hall of Fame
Patty Douglas, a North Dakota native, has lived in Virginia and served the Angus and larger beef industry most of her
adult life. She and her husband, Gar, raised five children and managed several Virginia cattle farms. She furnished
vibrant leadership to the Virginia Angus Association as board member president and office manager. She is known for
her diligent work and is widely respected throughout the Virginia cattle industry. Patty has fondly earned the nickname,
“the First Lady of Virginia Angus”, and was inducted into the Virginia Angus Hall of Merit in 1998.
PAGE 32, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Consumers’ Willingness To Pay Drops: Survey
The Meating Place
Consumers polled in October said they were spending
slightly more overall on groceries than they did in September
— but they spent less on food
consumed away from home,
reversing the trends seen just
a month earlier, according to
Oklahoma State University’s
monthly Food Demand Survey
In October, retail expenditures were up 0.33 percent from
September,
although
consumers spent
less on food
consumed
a w a y f ro m
home, down
4.33 percent
from September.Consumers still
expect high
meat prices
to continue,
although
inflationary
expectations are less than last
month (but still higher than a
year ago). Expected purchases
for all meat products rose in
October relative to September, with the largest uptick in
planned purchases for chicken,
same as last month.
The index showed increases
in the amount of money consumers were willing to pay
for chicken wings (it’s football
season, after all) but decreases
in the amount they were will-
ing to pay for steak, chicken
breasts, hamburgers, deli ham
and pork chops.
Awareness and concern tracking E. coli, salmonella, and
GMOs remained the most
visible issues in the news over
the past two weeks. The largest
percentage jump in awareness
from September to October
was for the terms “cloning”
and “hormones.”
The largest percentage fall
in issue awareness from Sep-
The summer was fun but we are ready to go WEST!
Steele Cattle Company cattle being shipped from Sinking Creek Store,
New Castle, VA
tember to October was for
“salmonella.”
E. coli, salmonella and
GMO were ranked in the top
three concerns in October,
though concern for all issues
increased from September to
October.
General food values
Taste, safety and price remained consumer’s most important values when purchasing foods. Consumer values
remained similar to those in
past months, with a decrease
in perceived value of price,
nutrition, animal welfare and
origin, and an increase in
perceived value of safety, appearance and “natural”-ness.
Similar to previous months,
consumers reported that their
main challenge was finding affordable foods that fit with-in
their budget. Finding time to
cook at home and finding food
children will eat remained
last, as in previous months.
In October, 5.56 percent of
participants reported having
food poisoning, a 16.32 percent increase from September.
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 33
Simple Math: Open or Problem Cows + Annual Costs Don’t Add Up!
John F. Grimes, OSU
Extension Beef Coordinator
The fall is an excellent time to
evaluate your cow herd and decide which cows get to remain
your “employees” and which
ones need to find a new career.
Notice that I referred to the cow
as an employee. After all, they
work for you. Yes, you have to
provide them with the infrastructure to do their job including proper nutrition, health care,
facilities, etc. However, if they
are not being productive for
you, they need to be replaced.
Cows and heifers leave operations for a variety of reasons.
The U.S.D.A.’s 2007-08 National
Animal Health Monitoring
System’s (NAHMS) Beef Study
surveyed producers and determined the primary reasons for
culling breeding females from
the herd. Across all sizes of operations, the top reasons given
for culling females from the
herd were as follows: 1. Age or
bad teeth; 55.7%; 2. Pregnancy
status (open or aborted): 41.8%;
3. Temperament: 16.6%; 4. Other
reproductive problem: 13.4%;
5. Economics (drought, herd
reduction, market conditions):
10.9%; 6. Producing poor calves:
10.7%; 7. Physical unsoundness:
9.6%; 8. Udder problem: 9.2%;
and 8. Bad eyes; 7.1%.
Determining the pregnancy
status of beef cattle continues to
be one of the most underutilized
yet relatively easy to implement
management practices available
to beef producers. Results from
the 2007-08 NAHMS Beef Study
indicated that approximately
18% of cow-calf operations
utilized palpation as a tool for
diagnosing pregnancy status.
The relatively inexpensive cost
of a pregnancy check of $5-$10
per head can lead to major savings for the cow-calf producer.
Today, there are three basic
technologies available to the
producer for pregnancy checking: traditional palpation, ultrasound, and blood testing. These
technologies are addressed in
a video covering the topic of
“Determining Pregnancy Status
of Beef Cattle” that has been
posted at the OSU Extension
Beef Team’s web site.
In today’s phenomenal cattle
market, I don’t believe there is
adequate justification to keep
open or problem females. Let’s
do the math. Based on local
markets in my geographical
vicinity last week, a typical sale
price for a cull market cow was
around $1.15/lb. That means a
1,200 lb. cow would gross $1,380
and a 1,400 lb. cow would gross
$1,610. Now let’s take a quick
look at 2014 Spring Calving
Cow-Calf Budget from the
OSU Extension Agricultural,
Environmental and Development Economics Department.
According to
the budget, the
variable costs
(feed, health,
marketing, supplies, interest,
etc.) for a spring
calving cow-calf
pair are $525.89.
This doesn’t include fixed costs
such as labor,
land, animal
re p l a c e m e n t ,
building, etc.
which pushes
total expenses
to $1,149.92!
Add the salvage value of
the open or
problem cow
with the annual
expenses from
our cow-calf
budget and the
results are a significant impact
on the bottom
line of any cowcalf producer.
Given the fact
that we are experiencing record low cow
numbers in the
country, I understand the
temptation to
keep the open
cow around to
attempt to produce another
calf from her.
However, there
is a reason that
the female is
open and reproductive issues are usually
not cured by the
passing of time.
By keeping the
open female
and trying to rebreed her, you
will be going two years between
calves produced and paychecks
received. Keep in mind that the
sale of the cull cow and the annual cow costs added together
can go a long way towards the
purchase of a replacement bred
female.
Over the years, I have heard
some producers lament that
they simply can’t find quality
replacement females. Granted,
the supply of bred females is
tighter than it has been in many
years but there are still several
opportunities in Ohio this fall
to add quality replacement females from seedstock producer
or breed association sales as well
as traditional auction markets. I
also want to remind you about
the second annual Ohio Cattlemen’s Association Replacement
Female Sale scheduled for Friday, November 28. The sale
will be held at the Muskingum
Livestock facility in Zanesville
and will begin at 7:00 p.m.
More details will be forthcoming about the bred heifers, bred
cows, and cow-calf pairs selling
in the sale.
The decision to keep an open
or problem female is a risky
proposition at best. Some simple
math will show you that the lost
potential income from a cull
female and extra accumulated
cow costs do not add up to a
positive number for the cow-calf
producer.
PAGE 34, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
I Don’t Want ‘Beef Sustainability’ Anymore
Trent Loos,
High Plains Journal
In an era where companies
and organizations have had the
ability to hijack terms and concepts, none is more concerning
than what is happening in the
name of food “sustainability.”
My father is still farming the
same land the first Loos family landed on when they came
from Germany in 1832. Three
generations of Ralph Chain’s
family of the Chain Ranch in
Canton, Oklahoma, are currently ranching the same land
their ancestors started tending
to in 1893. These are just two
examples of thousands of farm/
ranch families that have been
“sustainable” without some
hamburger-flipping marketer
telling us how to be sustainable.
This sustainable movement
must stop now or it will slowly
kill the U.S. food system. Don’t
even begin to tell me “McDonald’s is going to demand
it or they won’t buy from us.”
McDonald’s is like every other
food distributor—they will find
any possible marketing strategy
they can without one thought to
the consequences it may cause
to long-term supply. You see
their definition of “sustainable”
is a living one and it will never
be met. As much as I do not
want to give them any more
publicity, it is this statement
from Bob Langert, McDonald’s
Global Sustainability vice president, that really set me off:
He started by saying all food
items sold in their stores would
be sustainably sourced but with
“beef being priority number
one, two and three.” He goes
on to say their sustainability
efforts are based on collaborations within their respective
industries. “We want to do
this right and to do it right we
have to collaborate and get the
right measures in place. We
are determined to let science
lead the way, but we are also
determined to start purchasing
(beef) in 2016.”
Folks, read it again. The
premise is they are not purchasing sustainable beef today.
That is the largest load of bovine
fecal matter you can heap into
one pile.
Worse yet is the fact that our
“grassroots” commodity organizations are falling for this
marketing gimmick and inviting these opportunists to every
possible cattlemen’s gathering
you can imagine so they can
“educate” the producer as to
what we will need to do to become “sustainable.” I must admit that when the first request
came to Cattlemen’s Beef Board
(CBB) to fund a study looking
at beef sustainability, I thought
it would be a good thing to be
able to put some numbers on
our accomplishments and be
able to share those stories of our
success. But no more! That is
clearly not the agenda they have
in mind. We currently have the
same number of beef breeding
animals we had in 1951 yet we
produce three times the amount
of human consumable protein.
What more do you need to
know about how sustainable the
U.S. cattleman is? Furthermore,
while the food companies give
lip service to sustainability, they
are the first to reject technologies that could move us further
down the trail of efficiency.
To really get to your blood
pressure boiling, take a real
good look at the U.S. Senate
Committee on Environment and
Public Works report released
July 30. In a nutshell, all of the
pseudo-environmental groups
that we think we should start
“partnering” with in this sustainability initiative are already
in bed with the Obama EPA!
While I didn’t see reports in
any livestock publications, even
Forbes magazine ran a story on
it with this paragraph included:
“The EPW report titled The
Chain of Command: How a
Club of Billionaires and Their
Foundations Control the Environmental Movement and
Obama’s EPA meticulously details how the ‘Billionaires’ Club’
funds nearly all of the major
environmental non-government
organizations (NGO), many
media outlets, and supposed
grassroots activists. The Billionaire Report continues by
describing the cozy relationship
many environmental groups
have with the executive branch
and the revolving door that
makes this possible. In 2011
alone, ten foundations donated
upwards of half a billion dollars
to environmental causes.”
In case you are wondering, I
am not on the fence on this one.
If the true stewards of the land
do not grab the bull by horns
and direct our industry leaders
to quit sitting down with the
devil and asking for a slower
death, it will come. The bottom
line is that too many people are
currently profiting with NGOs,
and our commodity organizations aren’t run by those who
have skin in the game. Every
day someone in agriculture is
criticizing the global consumer
for going along like a bunch
of sheep believing the antiagriculture propaganda without
thinking for themselves. It’s
time we wake up and take a look
at where we are being led. Quit
believing everything you are
told by these “experts” without
thinking and researching it for
yourself. Is your operation sustainable enough to pass on from
one generation to the next? Take
a hard look at how long it has
been producing food and ask
yourself if you need someone
telling you how to raise food for
the world!
Trent Loos is a sixth generation rancher who travels the
country to promote the people
in agriculture through his public
speaking and radio programs.
He writes columns for several
publications and his work may
be found at www.LoosTales.
com.
ABSOLUTE
Sat., November 15th, 2014 • 12:00 Noon
Directions: From Independence, VA (County Seat of Grayson County) go North on US 21 (Elk Creek
Parkway) approx. 3 miles to property on East side of US 21. Watch for Signs.
2 COMPLETE BROOD COW DISPERSALS
215 MAMA COWS
RURAL RETREAT, VA
2 Complete Brood Cow Dispersals – 215 Mama Cows.
1st Dispersal Sale is for Umberger Farm, LLC with an offering of 90 Spring Calving Cows, mostly black few
cross breds, bred to registered black angus bulls, start calving March 1st for 90 days, 20 coming 2nd calf, 20
coming 3rd calf with the balance of mature solid mouth cows (No Broken Mouths). Preg. checked October. Will
sell in singles and small groups.
2nd Dispersal Sale is for WARDCO Farms, LLC with an offering of 125 Spring and Fall Calving Cows, mostly
black and BWF with a few Char. cross, Approx. 30 calves on ground at press time, bred to registered angus
bulls, 20 Fall Calving mature solid mouth cows, black and bwf. 20 Spring Calving mature solid mouth cows bred
to polled Hereford bulls. 20 Young Solid mouth cows mostly black, spring calving, bred to Charolais Bull.
A Golden opportunity to buy at Absolute Auction!!
Both Herds will be Moved to the Black Lick Cattle Company Complex for the Auctions.
A Golden opportunity to buy at Absolute Auction!!
,t sells to the Highest Bidder and you set the Price!
Announcements made day of sale take precedence over all printed material.
For more info contact: EDWIN WAGONER & ASSOCIATES
WYTHEVILLE, VA OFFICE 276-768-8539 FAX 276-686-0140 MOBILE 276-768-8539
VAAR #3035
FOR PICTURES AND INFO VISIT US ON THE WEB AT
WWW.WAGONERAUCTIONS.COM
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 35
Snapp Dairy Corn Maze & Hay Ride Opened “The Maze of Hope”
The Snapp Dairy Corn
Maze and Hay Ride in Burke’s
Garden will be opened on
Garden Fall Festival Day) and
will be open until Oct 31st on
weekends. We are on West End
September 27 through October 31 “The Maze of Hope to
help find the cure for cancer.
From one of the organizers
of the corn maze, Stephanie
Joyell Boyd-Price:
Snapp Dairy 2nd Annual
Corn Maze and Hay ride in
beautiful Burkes Garden. We
are charging $5 per person if
you just do maze or hay ride
or $8.00 for both (children 6
and under are free) and partial
proceeds will be donated to
cancer charities. Our maze is
called “The Maze of Hope”
this year because we know so
many people– in our family, in
our community, in our county,
that are fighting, have fought
and have been taken from
us by this awful disease. We
will be representing all forms
of cancer and plan to have
information available about
different cancers, especially
those most diagnosed in this
area. This is not only to draw
attention to cancers, though.
We also want everyone to
enjoy a beautiful and fun
day on the farm because we
are proud to be a part of feed
American families. We will
have fun stations for the kids
and pumpkins (growing next
to the corn maze at this very
moment) that we will price
right, there will be cold drinks
and a bake sale.
We open Sept 27th (Burkes
Road in beautiful Burkes Garden, Virginia (we are in Burkes
Garden Fall festival pamphlet).
There will be several signs to
show the way. We have a few
volunteers and a couple of
people have offered to donate
to our cause. We appreciate
them and will make sure that
we thank them properly.
O u r
h i s t o r y :
We started our venture last
year, when Kaleeb Snapp
wanted to cut a maze out to
show people what farm life
is like! Kaleeb was 14 and his
friend, Isaiah Dalton, was 16
when they cut last years maze
by hand. They wanted people
who don’t “live the farm life”
(as Kaleeb says) to see our
beautiful view and enjoy a fun
day in a cornfield. We don’t
have extravagant things, but
we have fun things, things
that represent agriculture and
what feeds America. My son
and his friend wanted and still
want to share our blessing. It’s
a lesson in value and to show
the beauty of Gods creation.
This year they decided to
honor cancer patients, survivors, and those we’ve lost. …
and so, was born ‘The Maze
of Hope’. We will donate a
percentage of our proceeds to
cancer organizations that serve
cancer patients in Southwest
Virginia/ Southern West Vir-
ginia. In hopes of teaching it’s
all about giving back.
It will be larger this year, and
we have a place fixed where
you can take pictures with
your kids. Plus have a picnic
in the field. It’s beautiful! Also
I am willing to help on our
rate if parents have lost jobs,
or large families I will give a
discount rate.
John Michael Knight 2014 Senior Showmanship Champion at the Virginia State Fair.
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PAGE 36, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
NCBA To Oppose Ag Secretary’s Beef Checkoff Proposal
Burt Rutherford,
BEEF Magazine
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it” was the message the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) delivered in
a news conference Friday, Oct.
3, regarding USDA Secretary
Tom Vilsack’s decision to initiate a new, different and separate beef checkoff program
to the current $1-per-head
beef checkoff. According to
Forrest Roberts, NCBA CEO,
the USDA Secretary’s proposed beef checkoff program
would be organized under
the 1996 Generic Commodity
Promotion Act and would
run concurrently with the
$1-per-head checkoff, which
was created by the 1985 Beef
Act and Order.
However, Vilsack’s timing
perplexes NCBA, according
to Roberts. For the past three
years, the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group,
comprised of 11 ag organizations, has been working
to improve the current beef
checkoff, Roberts said. “Over
the past 11 months, there
has been a series of three facilitated meetings where we
looked at how do we set aside
our differences and find ways
to flex to all the needs of all
the organizations so we could
bring forth a solution to the
challenge the Secretary gave
us almost a year ago,” he said.
“The group worked very hard
to achieve that outcome and
over the course of the past 60
days, we were able to develop
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at a draft
level.” According to Scott
George, NCBA past president
and NCBA representative on
the working group, the 11
organizations are considering
the draft MoU. “We are still
waiting for all those organizations to get their input and
come back,” he said.
However, one organization
decided to leave the working
group over its differences in
the language in the MoU and
another group is opposed to
the language, Roberts said.
“From (Secretary Vilsack’s)
perspective, he felt the working group has not yet delivered a solution and therefore,
because of the differences
with some members of the
working group, he was going
to move forward with ideas of
how to bring more resources
into the beef industry through
the creation of a new, separate
and supplemental beef checkoff program,” Roberts said.
The move baffles George,
given that the majority of the
groups in the Beef Check-
off Enhancement Working
Group made some hard compromises to develop a MoU
that most industry organizations could support. It also
baffl es many cattlemen, he
said. “Having participated
in these meetings for three
years, I was really surprised
by the Secretary’s announcement,” George said. “As I’ve
come home and started talking to other producers and
explaining what he is proposing, they’re shocked, quite
honestly, and surprised.”
Roberts concurs. “Today
we see a program that has an
almost 80% approval rating
from beef producers. We see
a program that was just measured in terms of an $11.20
return for every dollar invested,” he said. “A lot of the
feedback I have heard thus
far is that it doesn’t make any
sense. Why not take the pro-
posal that the group has been
working on and bring that
forward to a successful program?” Meanwhile, George
said the working group plans
to move ahead in gaining approval for its MoU. And Bob
McCan, current NCBA president, said NCBA policy directs
the organization to oppose
the Secretary’s proposal. “We
have policy that was passed
by our producer members and
sent out in a mail-out ballot
confirming that our members
are not supportive of any
enhancement to the checkoff
program that is based on the
96 Generic Act,” he said. “We
feel the structure of the 1985
act, that has worked so well
for us for so many years, is
far superior for many, many
reasons. So that is what we’re
basing our actions on going
forward.”
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 37
November Herd
Management Advisor
Scott P. Greiner &
Mark A. McCann
Extension Beef Specialists,
Virginia Tech
Moisture in our region through
early fall has been ahead of normal resulting in improved fall
pasture growth and quality. With
some additional management
and effort this extra pasture
growth can be translated into
extra grazing days and reduced
hay feeding. Research and Extension demonstrations have
consistently shown that strip/
limit grazing of this accumulated
fall growth is a far more efficient
means of utilization as compared
to continuous grazing. Producers
who have utilized strip grazing
do not have to be convinced
to implement it again, as they
have witnessed the efficiency of
utilization along with positive
changes in cattle behavior. In fact,
many add more frequent moves
of temporary fencing to improve
harvest efficiency in succeeding
years. Be aware that fall calving
cows have higher nutritional
requirements, and thus are better candidates for stockpiled
fescue grazing, compared to
spring calving cows which are in
mid-gestation. If you worry that
you are pushing the cows too
hard to cleanup stockpiled forage, put out a bale of average to
below quality hay in the grazed
area. If cows consume the hay
too quickly, then move the fence
and provide access to more forage on more frequent basis. One
Continued on Page 45
Opportunities
Continued from Page 2
everyone to believe.
The secondary beef checkoff being proposed by USDA
Secretary Tom Vilsack under
the authority of the 1996 Commodity Act will garner more
money for beef promotion
in a new collections process
and under the management
of the federal government.
Again the objections of a few
have become the impressions
of many. The success of the
current Beef Checkoff is vast
and the utilization of those
resources have been effective.
There are, as with anything opportunities for improvement,
but discounting the ability of
our industry to find solutions
and instituting another federal program will only deepen
suspicion that our industry
cannot effectively represent its
own interests. There is a page
devoted to more information
about the checkoff issues in
this edition of the paper.
I return to the wisdom of
those I trust often and one of
my now favorite sayings has
become “press on Captain”.
Another requirement of sustainability is to keep working.
Entitlements and legislated
grants make nice headlines but
do not provide long term success. Hard work is a perpetual
ingredient of sustainability.
“While that may be difficult
for some concerned with agriculture to reckon with,” it
is a truth that generations
before us practiced in order to
maintain our free markets and
provide us a safe, wholesome,
affordable, ecosystem respectful, natural resource efficient
and acceptable by the vast
majority of consumers around
the world food system.
Presents
November 20, 2014
Weyers Cave Community Center
682 Weyers Cave Rd, Weyers Cave, VA 24486
8:30 AM — 12:30 PM
Program Fee (prepay requested by Nov.19) includes Lunch: $10
Program Speakers:
Dr. Joe Bouton—Univ. of Georgia
Dr. Bouton is a dis nguished plant
breeder who has been instrumental
in the development of many diﬀerent
forage cul vars, including “Max Q”.
Dr. Bouton is an emeritus professor in
the Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences at
University of Georgia.
To Register: Please Call the Augusta County Extension oﬃce at (540)-245-5750 or
email Ma Booher at [email protected]
Dr. Mark McCann—Virginia Tech
Dr. McCann is the beef ca le nutrion extension specialist at Virginia
Tech. His various extension and research programs focus on improving
profitability of beef ca le produc on.
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Matt Booher at (540-245-5750/TDD*) during business hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event. *TDD number is (800) 828-1120.
PAGE 38, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Hawaii Ranchers Challenged To
Keep Cattle At Home
Wyatt Bechtel
It’s a challenge for Big Island
ranchers to keep their cattle in
the islands while beef prices
but it’s a challenge,” Fukumoto
told chefs and culinary students
at the 19th annual Taste of the
Hawaiian Range and Agricultural Festival at Hilton Waikoloa
have put the local grass-fed beef
industry in growth mode since
the late 1990s.
Nevertheless, 60 to 70 percent
of local beef is shipped out of
To fill the void, grass-fed beef
from New Zealand and Australia is shipped in at lower costs,
and conventional feed-lot beef
is imported from the mainland,
said rancher Jeri Moniz, who
runs cattle on leased land in
Kalopa.
“For the sake of sustainability,
we’d like to keep everything
here. But how do you do that
financially?” Moniz said. “All of
us ranchers would like to keep
our cattle here, but we can’t.”
Less than 9 percent of beef
consumed in the state is local.
Even if all of the beef produced
in Hawaii stayed here, it would
meet less than 40 percent of
demand, Fukumoto said.
Consumer Choices for Best Protein Sources
Which do you feel is the best way to get your protein?
climb to all-time highs on the
mainland, a University of Hawaii livestock expert said
RELATED CONTENT
Rains Give Hope to Drought
Plagued Hawaii Ranchers
2/19/2014 9:04:00 AM
Hawaii’s Second Largest
Ranch Builds a Sustainable
Future 5/14/2014 7:21:00 AM
Drought is gripping beefproduction regions on the
mainland, allowing ranchers
to sell beef there for $2.25 a
pound, West Hawaii Today
reported. That compares with
$1.50 to $1.65 a pound here in
Hawaii.
Some ranchers “commit
from the heart” to leave part
of their herds in Hawaii, even
though they would earn more
shipping the cattle to the mainland, said Glen Fukumoto, an
extension agent with the College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources.
“A small portion of their
cattle will always remain here,
Village.
Beef is a $46 million industry in
Hawaii, and 76 percent of those
cattle are here on the Big Island.
Recent consumer trends toward
local, organic and healthy meats
state. Current infrastructure
can’t support much increased
production in the short term,
Fukumoto said. High water costs
and development pressures also
work against ranchers.
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 39
Secretary Announces Plan to Implement a Second Checkoff
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has made it clear that he intends to create a supplemental beef checkoffunder the authority granted him by
Congress through the 1996 Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act (7 U.S.C. 7411-7425). With a78% approval ratingand a return of
$11.20 for every producer dollar put in, the current Beef Checkoffis clearly a success. As contributors to the Checkoff, it is imperative cattle producers
weigh in on this issue before the Secretary jeopardizes the Checkoff.
Independent research shows the industry’s Beef Checkoff Program enjoys the support of 78
percent of beef producers, as it should. A recent study conducted by Cornell University
shows that it returns $11.20 for every dollar invested. The Office of Inspector General has
audited the program and says contractors are in compliance with the 1985 Act and Order.
We ask that you help us enhance the Beef Checkoff Program through the 1985 Beef
Promotion and Research Act, not through heavy-handed, federally-mandated action.
October 14, 2014
The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 200-A
Washington, DC 20250
Sincerely,
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Alabama Cattlemen’s Association
Arizona Cattle Feeders’ Association
Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association
Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association
California Cattlemen’s Association
Colorado Cattlemen’s Association
Colorado Livestock Association
Florida Cattlemen’s Association
Georgia Cattlemen’s Association
Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council
Idaho Cattle Association
Illinois Beef Association
Indiana Beef Cattle Association
Iowa Cattlemen’s Association
Kansas Livestock Association
Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association
Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association
Maryland Cattlemen’s Association
Michigan Cattlemen’s Association
Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association
Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association
Missouri Cattlemen’s Association
Montana Stockgrowers Association
Nebraska Cattlemen
Nevada Cattlemen’s Association
New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association New York Beef Producer’s Association
North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association
North Dakota Stockmen’s Association
Ohio Cattlemen’s Association
Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association
South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association
South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association
Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association
Texas Cattle Feeders Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Utah Cattlemen’s Association
Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
Washington Cattle Feeders Association
Washington Cattlemen’s Association
West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association
Wyoming Stock Growers Association
Dear Mr. Secretary:
State cattlemen’s associations listed below, along with the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association, which represents more than 30,000 members and 58 organizations
representing more than 170,000 cattle producers and feeders, do not support further federal
government control of the national Beef Checkoff Program, or involvement of the beef
industry in the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996. We
respectfully request that you not issue an Order under the 1996 Act, for the following
reasons:
x
The 1985 Beef Promotion and Research Act, which beef producers helped craft
and supported in a 1988 referendum with a nearly 80 percent support level,
assures grassroots involvement through state beef councils. This grassroots
involvement, which was missing from two failed checkoff attempts in the 1970s
and 80s, is also not assured under the 1996 Act.
x
The 1996 Act gives much more control and power to the Federal Government.
While we appreciate government oversight to assure funds are properly spent, we
don’t think the Secretary of Agriculture should have the power to establish the size
of the boards, who sits on them, or whether or not the program should even exist.
x
The 1996 Act adds to bureaucracy. The 1985 Act made it clear that already
existing resources, staffs and facilities should be utilized, while the 1996 Act not
only allows up to 15 percent of administrative expenses (the 1985 Act caps them at
5 percent), but leaves the door open for limitless administration and red tape.
x
The 1996 Act fails to assure a coordinated national/state partnership concept.
We are extremely concerned that Qualified State Beef Councils and their Federation
are ignored in the 1996 Act. State beef council involvement through collection of
the dollar, representation on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee and on
program-recommending joint checkoff program committees is crucial to our
principles.
x
The 1996 Act is too open-ended and subject to government, not producer,
direction. We do not support giving the Federal Government ongoing power to
change industry fortunes through agency Orders and executive action with no
industry input.
dĂŬĞĐƚŝŽŶEŽǁƚŽ^ƵƉƉŽƌƚƚŚĞƵƌƌĞŶƚĞĞĨŚĞĐŬŽĨĨĂŶĚƚŚĞFuture of State Beef Councils
Go to www.BeefUSA.orgtoday and sign a White House petition as well as send a letter to your Representative and Senator asking them to stop the
proposed secondary checkoff. Keep control of the Checkoffwith beef cattle producers and not the federal government.
Beef Checkoff vs. Generic Checkoff
The Beef Checkoff (1985 Act)
Generic Checkoff (1996 Act)
9
Developed by beef producers for beef
producers to increase demand for
beef
Recognizes and protects the role of
qualified State Beef Councils and
Federation of State Beef Councils
Government power limited as outlined
in Act

9
Caps administrative expenses at
5 percent

9
Secretary may appoint only cattle
producers and importers to Board

9
Requires importers to pay
assessments on a per pound basis

9
9

Developed by government to promote
commodities like ƉĞĂŶƵƚƐĂŶĚƐŽƌŐŚƵŵ
ĨŽƌǁŚŝĐŚŶŽůĞŐŝƐůĂƚŝŽŶĞǆŝƐƚƐ
ŽĞƐŶŽƚĂƐƐƵƌĞthe role of State Beef
Councils or the Federation of State Beef
Councils
Government power ĨĂƌůĞƐƐ limited by
Act, withŵƵĐŚŵŽƌĞpower given to
the Secretary of Agriculture
Allows up to ϭϱƉĞƌĐĞŶƚin administrative and functioning expenses
Secretary may also appoint Board
members from general public, ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ
,^h^͕^W/͕WZD, etc.
ŽĞƐŶŽƚƌĞƋƵŝƌĞimporters to pay into
the checkoff
The bottom line: Grassroots producers have been the cornerstone of the Beef Checkoff Program
since it was first enacted in 1985. There is NO REQUIRED ELEMENT of the 1996 Act that
increases grassroots influence in national checkoff efforts. Furthermore, the 1996 Act assures NO
protection to state beef councils, and gives MUCH GREATER POWER to the Federal Government.
PAGE 40, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
An Ethanol Surprise In Iowa?
Robert L. Bradley, Jr.
With polls showing Republican candidate Joni Ernst with
a slight lead over Democrat
Bruce Braley in the Iowa senate race, the Democrats are
anxious to ensure a Braley
victory. In mid-October, they
brought in First Lady Michelle
Obama, who remains more
popular than her husband,
to stump for the Democrat.
One can overlook the fact that
Mrs. Obama repeatedly called
the candidate “Bailey” until
being corrected by the audience. The real story is that desperate Democrats are doing
everything in their power in
Iowa and other states to keep
the U.S. Senate under their
control. With active cronyism
between ethanol industry
representatives and the White
House, an October Surprise to
keep Iowa in the blue column
is rumored. This surprise
would be an increase in the
amount of ethanol required
to be blended into gasoline
this year. And it could be just
the ticket to get Iowa ethanol
producers and corn farmers,
who are harvesting a recordbreaking crop, solidly behind
the Democratic candidate.
Their parochial gain would be
everyone else’s loss, economically and environmentally.
If the ethanol level in motor fuel is raised, it will break
a pledge issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency last year. The EPA
said it would consider reducing the amount of ethanol
required in motor fuels because of the “blend wall,”
the point at which refiners
can add no additional cornbased fuel to gasoline without
exceeding the safe 10 percent
concentration limit. The EPA
was supposed to finalize and
announce the 2014 ethanol
requirement last fall, but the
agency failed to issue the
mandate. Now, with less than
three months remaining in the
year, refiners still don’t have
the information they need
to comply with federal law.
This has set up refiners—and
by extension motorists who
purchase fuel—as potential
victims of the tough political
battle in Iowa, which has been
called the state’s ugliest senate
race in history.
And evidence is mounting
that the White House is planning to drop the ethanol bomb.
On Oct. 8, Sens. Barbara Boxer
(D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to
the president claiming that a
lower ethanol mandate would
increase carbon dioxide emissions and allow “oil companies
to escape obligations under
the Clean Air Act.” By playing
the environmental-protection
trump card and renewing their
tirade against Big Oil, Boxer
and Markey gave the White
House exactly what it needed:
The political cover to increase
the ethanol mandate in 2014
and influence the Iowa election.
This political gamesmanship is
hardly free. If the administration raises the 2014 ethanol
mandate, everyone in the nation and around the world
will pay that much more for
transportation fuel—and displaced food.
Refiners could be forced to
add more ethanol to motor
fuels despite studies showing
that ethanol concentrations
above 10 percent can damage
or destroy vehicles. Consumers could be on the hook for
expensive auto repairs because
their warranties will be voided
by using ethanol-sodden fuels.
And boat owners and farmers,
in Iowa and elsewhere, who rely
on non-ethanol fuels for marine
engines and older tractors,
might discover straight gasoline
harder to find. A higher ethanol
mandate also would turn more
food into fuel, putting upward
pressure on grocery prices in the
United States and limiting the
amount of grain used to feed
people around the globe. Studies by the European Union show
food prices would be 50 percent
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lower in Europe by 2020 and
15 percent lower throughout
the world without EU biofuel
policy support. Research also
shows there will not be enough
food to feed the world’s populations by 2050 as long as food is
diverted into fuel.
The costs of hunger, price
hikes, and poorer transportation fuel might be worth it to
an administration desperate to
retain control over the U.S. Sen-
ate. Citizen voters nationwide,
regardless of party affiliation,
should decry any increase in the
ethanol mandate for 2014—and
beyond. Cronyism and political bribes are no solution for a
democracy in deficit.
Bradley is CEO of the Institute for Energy Research, a freemarket research and analysis
organization, and author of
seven books on energy history
and public policy.
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 41
Beef Demand Exceeds Expectations
Laura Landoll for National
Provisioner
Over the past year, anyone in
the business of selling or marketing food has encountered higher
food costs. Proteins in particular
have challenged purveyors to
consider how to continue offering the products their customers
want. Various strategies are being used to mitigate the impact
of higher prices, but at the same
time consumers continue to
want and expect to get their
favorite protein, beef, where
and when they want it. Its price
has risen because of a variety of
factors, including devastating
drought conditions in the most
productive cattle regions.
Yet, at the same time, an unexpected phenomenon is occurring: Demand for beef is growing, despite its increased price.
This goes against conventional
thinking — that as price goes
up, the quantity demanded
goes down —since, in reality,
demand for beef is so strong
that consumers are willing to
pay more for it. And that’s good
news for retailers, suppliers and
foodservice operators.
According to Kansas State
University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor, beef demand
in the second quarter of 2014
was the strongest in 10 years,
and 2014 beef demand has
remained stronger than it was
in 2013. In fact, while speaking
at the 2014 K-State Risk and
Profit Conference on Aug. 21,
he said beef demand this year
has been stronger than most
industry watchers expected,
including him. “If the price of
beef was up 3 percent, I would
have said demand was flat,” he
said. “But prices have been up
10 percent, and people are still
buying beef.”
Consumer research supports
this notion. Overall, 90 percent
of consumers enjoy beef on a
monthly basis at home and in
restaurants, with 75 percent
eating the same amount of
beef as last year, and 14 percent
saying they are eating more.
For foodservice operators and
retailers, this demand for beef
means the consumer continues to purchase beef in stores
and restaurants, and they will
continue to do so. Though beef
presents a challenge when it
comes to price, it also presents
immense opportunity. In retail,
beef makes more money for
stores than any other protein.
When looking at dollar sales,
beef alone delivers what other
proteins do combined. Beef also
adds value to the basket; when
either steak or ground beef is in
the basket, it makes up nearly 20
percent of the total basket value,
and consumers purchase more
other products, as well, when
these beef products are in their
baskets.
Though beef has a higher
price tag on it, many retailers
are seeing success in merchandising programs that address
the needs of their shoppers with
offerings and solutions such as
value packs, portion sizes, crossmerchandising, on-pack labeling
and in-store educational efforts.
Highlighting beef’s convenience,
taste and nutrition helps shoppers understand beef’s value
and makes it worth paying more
for. Oklahoma State University
tracks shoppers’ willingness to
pay through its monthly Food
Demand Survey (FooDS). In
its most recent study, consumers said they are willing to pay
28 percent more for steak than
chicken breast, and 41 percent
more for steak than pork. What’s
more, the reports’ authors said
for the first time since FooDS began, more consumers plan to buy
more beef than plan to buy less.
In restaurants, beef remains
the No. 1 protein in volume,
market share and dollar sales.
According to Technomic’s 2013
Usage and Volumetric Assess-
ment of Beef in Foodservice,
beef volume in foodservice grew
by 79 million pounds in 2013
alone, to a total of nearly 8 billion
pounds. Beef growth has outpaced growth of the foodservice
industry over the past five years,
and consumers’ love for beef has
led it to become the No. 1 earning
protein for restaurant operators
since the recession began in 2009.
Beef has made more money for
operators in the last few years
than any other protein. And it’s
all because patrons have — and
will continue to find — steak and
other beef dishes “worth it.”
Continuing to grow demand
This strong demand in both
retail and foodservice is sending
a signal to the U.S. beef farmers
and ranchers to increase the beef
supply, which they are doing,
particularly in regions that have
had enough rain. That being said,
future herd expansion will need
some help from Mother Nature,
and given the production lifecycle for beef, a calf born today
will take two years to enter the
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market, meaning that tight beef
supplies are expected through
the next couple years.
While America’s beef farmers and ranchers stay focused
on rebuilding their herds and
continuing to raise the quality,
nutritious beef consumers want,
they value the partnership of
businesses that identify creative
and efficient ways to leverage
the strong demand to sell and
market the beef products that
consumer’s desire.
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PAGE 42, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Big Green Groups Have Self-serving Bargain
With Government
Randy T. Simmons,
contributor, and Jordan
Lofthouse, The Hill
In 1980, Congress passed
the Equal Access to Justice Act
(EAJA) to protect the “little
man” from government agencies that break their own rules.
Under EAJA, if the courts find
that the government violated
its own policies, the government pays the litigation costs
to the winners. A loophole
in the law has enabled “Big
Green” environmental groups
to broker a self-serving bargain
with the government. Wealthy
nonprofits receive millions in
EAJA reimbursements, no matter how much money those
organizations are worth, completely defeating the original
intention of the law. This law
promotes widespread injustice
and is harming the very people
it was intended to help.
After Congress passed the
Sunset Act in 1995, reporting
provisions for EAJA payouts
disappeared. Currently, EAJA
lacks any sort of recordkeeping,
which means no government
agency knows which organizations are receiving payouts
or how much they are receiving. With no records, nonprofit
groups are taking advantage of
the fact that no one would know
how much money the groups
are making by suing federal
agencies. Politicians from both
parties are trying to combat
EAJA’s shortcomings. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) is spearheading legislation to address
the lack of recordkeeping and
place limits on reimbursements.
In 2013, Lummis stated, “[EAJA]
was a good idea when it passed
Congress. It remains a good idea
today so long as it is operating
as Congress intended.” But with
no records on where the money
is going, Lummis continued,
“litigious environmental groups
use EAJA to fund repeated
procedural lawsuits. Whether
those lawsuits result in a $1 or $1
million reimbursement, it is contrary to Congressional intent.
EAJA was written for the little
guy to fight a once-in-a-lifetime
substantive lawsuit.”
The multimillion-dollar Sierra
Club Foundation is one of many
organizations using the EAJA
loophole. From 2000 to 2009, the
Sierra Club requested fees in 194
cases and was awarded more
than $19 million. No one knows
the exact amount because in
two of the cases, the reimbursement amount remains totally
unreported.
EAJA is also hurting average
Americans. Tim Lequerica is
a full-time rancher living on
his 320-acre ranch in Malheur
County, Ore. His company holds
a permit to graze 444 cattle on
Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) land and uses water from
the protected Owyhee River. In
1998, two environmental groups
found a BLM paperwork error
and sued the BLM to review the
grazing practices on Lequerica’s
allotment. They also sued the
BLM for “fail[ing] to protect
streams, fish, sage grouse, and
other Owyhee resources” by allowing ranchers to use the river
to water their cattle. The groups
ultimately won their case, and
Lequerica had to stop watering
his cattle at the Owyhee, where
his family had grazed and watered their cattle for nearly a
century.
In the end, Lequerica paid
over $42,000 of his own money
in legal fees fighting to protect his business. Those environmental groups, however,
had their legal fees, totaling
$128,000, voluntarily paid for
by the government under EAJA.
Lequerica said, “My tax money
paid for every part of the liti-
gation. I paid my personal attorneys to represent me. My
tax dollars paid the federal
government who failed to do
all the paperwork correctly;
and my tax dollars paid [the
environmental groups] to sue
the federal government.” EAJA
has become antithetical to its
own name. It does not promote
equal access to justice; rather, it
promotes self-serving organizations’ access to easy government
money.
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 43
A Dirt Road Diary
A Cowboy’s
Thanksgiving Prayer
Animal Agriculture Alliance CEO
Appointed to VDACS Board
Virginia Governor Terry
McAuliffe has appointed Animal Agriculture Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson
Smith to the Board of Agricul-
Steve Lucas
ture and Consumer Services.
The board promotes the agricultural interests of Virginia by
advising the Governor on the
state of the Virginia agriculture
industry and working with
state and federal agencies to
implement programs that will
strengthen agriculture in the
Commonwealth.
Beef Checkoff Launches
New Website
The Beef Checkoff has
launched a redesigned web
site, MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The new site provides payers,
leaders, staff and media with
an easy-to-navigate selection
of checkoff resources and information to highlight checkoff
programs and results, officials
said in a news release. The
site also will display photos
and profiles of both Beef Board
members and members of the
Federation of State Beef Councils who serve on checkoff program committees. This will tie
into a new “Meeting Center”
that incorporates information
from the old MyBeefCheckoffMeeting.com blog with
new ‘visual rosters’ to help all
checkoff payers better understand who represents them on
each committee. The meeting
center will offer committee
materials and reporting from
and photos of the meetings.
The remade site makes everything accessible from dropdown menus at the top of every
page. In addition, the site is
“responsive,” which means it
views the same on all electronic
devices, from computer to
laptop to tablet to smartphone.
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PAGE 44, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Virginia Livestock Hall of Fame 2014 Inductees
William E. Blalock
Baskerville, Virginia
Mecklenburg County
native and Virginia Tech
alumnus, Bill Blalock, is a
visionary agricultural and
civic leader and an outstanding dairy farmer and
breeder of Holstein cattle.
He serves his county and
beloved dairy industry
with a passion. The way he
handled the responsibilities
thrust upon him early in
his career molded him into
strong, decisive leader. He
has worked tirelessly and
selflessly throughout his career to improve the welfare
of dairymen in and around
the Commonwealth of
Virginia. He was recognized
as Virginia’s Distinguished
Dairyman and the Lancaster
/ Sunbelt Expo Southeastern
Farmer of the Year.
Patricia Ann
(Keller) Douglas
Berryville, Virginia
Patty Douglas, a North
Dakota native, has lived in
Virginia and served the Angus and large beef industry
most of her adult life. She
and her husband, Gar, raised
five children and managed several Virginia cattle
farms. She furnished vibrant
leadership to the Virginia
Angus Association as board
member president the office
manager. She is known for
her diligent work and is
widely respected throughout
the Virginia cattle industry.
Patty has fondly earned the
nickname, “The First Lady
of Virginia Angus,” and was
inducted into the Virginia
Angus Hall of Merit in 1998.
Arden N. Huff
Dugspur, Virginia
Dr. Arden Huff provided
exceptional leadership and
educational programming
for both adults and youth
as Virginia Tech Extension
animal scientist and state
horse specialist. He was a
beloved horse and livestock judging team coach to
hundreds of Virginia 4-Her’s
with unparalleled success
in national competition. He
Virginia Livestock Hall of Fame 2014 Inductees from left: John H. Parker, Dinwiddie; William E. Blalock, Baskerville;
Patricia Ann (Keller) Douglas, Berryville; Arden N. Huff, Dugspur and Louis Andre (Andy) Swiger, Blacksburg.
is recognized nationally for
program innovation, industry
development, and promoting
young people, many who are
leaders today. He is a civic
leader in his native Carroll
County. His many awards
include the Animal Science
National Extension Award
and the Virginia Agribusiness
Council Extension Award.
Dr. Andy Swiger, an Ohio
native, is widely known as a
teacher, researcher, administrator and friend of those
involved in animal agriculture. He was a string leader
as dean of the Virginia Tech
crue from his work applying
genetic principles to improvement of farm livestock
for economically important
traits. He received the American Society of Animal Science
National Rockefeller-Prentice
Memorial Award in Animal
Production and Genetics.
Valley Feed Company
316 New Hope Rd
Staunton, VA 24401
Email: [email protected]
Toll Free: 1-888-886-2311
John H. Parker
Dinwddie, Virginia
John Parker has devoted
a lifetime of leadership and
service to the livestock industry. He served more than 40
years (1972-2014) as executive director of the Virginia
Pork Industry Association,
overseeing the Virginia’s pork
check-off program. He earlier
served as county and area
Extension agent and North
Carolina Department of Agriculture livestock marketing
agent. He is active with 4-H
and FFA youth livestock programs and with the Virginia
Farm Bureau and the Virginia
Agribusiness Council. He
received the Virginia Pork
Industry Service Award and
the Virginia Tech Block and
Bridle Honor Award.
College of Agriculture and
Life Science and the head
of its animal and poultry
sciences department, following service at The Ohio State
University, the University
of Nebraska and the USDA.
His many accomplishments
and honors and awards ac-
Louis Andre (Andy) Swiger
Blacksburg, Virginia
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 45
Herd Management
Continued from Page 37
last item to recall about limit
grazing tall fescue is that once
it is consumed, the pasture area
is prepared for frost seeding of
clover.
Spring Calving Herds
(January-March)
General
Implement marketing plan
for calf crop, synchronize postweaning grazing and feeding
program as well as vaccination
program with marketing plan.
Calculate break-evens on various winter and spring marketing options and consider risk
management strategies.
Schedule and conduct pregnancy diagnosis with veterinarian. Plan a marketing strategy
for open cows which takes advantage of seasonality in cull
cow price.
Finalize winter feed and forage supplies and options. Conduct forage tests to determine
nutritional content of hays.
Nutrition and Forages
Body Condition Score cows
at weaning and separate thin
cows
Use palatable feeds and high
quality hay to background
calves.
Continue stockpiling tall
fescue and begin strip grazing
accumulated growth if needed.
Continue to manage first-calf
heifers separately; give them
the best forage. Thin mature
cows could be added to this
group.
Continue to feed high Se
trace mineral salt. A forage
analysis can reveal what other
minerals should be supplemented.
As warm season grasses go
dormant, manage grazing to
utilize dormant residue before
too much weathering occurs.
Begin to shop and compare
winter supplement options.
Herd Health
In consultation with your
veterinarian, finalize vaccination and preconditioning protocol for calf crop.
Reproduction
Conduct pregnancy check
of cow herd with veterinarian.
Cull open, old and thin cows
and cows with problem udders,
eyes and soundness issues.
Genetics
Collect weaning weights on
calf crop at appropriate time
(AHIR age range 120-280 days),
along with cow weights, hip
heights and body condition
scores (cow mature size data
taken within 45 days of calf
weaning measure).
Identify replacement heifers using objective measures
including genetic background,
dam performance, individual
performance, along with phenotype. Keep only heifers born
in defined calving season.
Fall Calving Herds
(September-November)
General
Calving season is winding
down for most. Continue to observe cows frequently. Address
calving difficulties early.
Tag, tattoo, record birth
weight, calving ease score, teat/
udder score and mothering ability of dam. Keep accurate records
at birth.
Monitor young calves for
scours. Prevent scours by keeping calving area clean and well
drained. Moving 2-3 day old
pairs out of calving area to
separate pasture (reduce commingling of newborn calves
with older calves) help reduce
exposure to scours.
Finalize winter feed and forage supplies and options. Conduct forage tests to determine
nutritional content of hays.
Finalize plans and schedule
for breeding season.
Nutrition and Forages
Evaluate growth of yearling
heifers with goal of reaching
60-65% of mature weight by
breeding. Depending on forage quality, supplementation
maybe needed to meet weight
gain target.
Offer high magnesium mineral. Generally, fall calving cows
are not as predisposed to grass
tetany.
Reserve high quality hay and
stockpiled pasture areas for cows
post-calving. Use strip grazing
as a tool to increase the efficiency
of utilization of cool season pastures by cows post-calving.
If available, utilize crop aftermath.
Use grazing management to
utilize the residue of dormant
warm season pastures.
Herd Health
Ensure colostrum intake first
few hours of life in newborn
calves. Supplement if necessary.
Newborn calves need 10% of
body weight in colostrum first
24 hours of life.
Provide selenium and vitamin
A & D injections to newborn
calves
Castrate commercial calves
at birth
Monitor calves closely for
scours and pneumonia, have
treatment supplies on hand.
Finalize and conduct prebreeding vaccination schedule
for cow herd and yearling heifers. Plan early to allow 30-day
vaccination window prior to
breeding season.
Reproduction
Reproductive tract score and
measure pelvic area on yearling
replacement heifers.
Finalize plans and protocols
for breeding season. Establish
calendar to map timing of synchronization program to be
used during breeding season.
Confirm schedule with AI technician, have supplies and semen
are on hand..
Breed heifers 2-4 weeks ahead
of mature cows to allow longer
post-partum interval prior to
second breeding season
Conduct breeding soundness
exams on herd sires, including
annual vaccinations. Do so prior
to fall/early winter bull sales
to allow time to secure replacements as necessary.
Breed heifers 2-4 weeks ahead
of mature cows to allow longer
post-partum interval prior to
second breeding season.
Manage newly acquired herd
sires properly to prepare them
for the breeding season. Yearling
bulls often lose 100+ pounds
during their first breeding season. Adjust them to the feed and
environment of their new home,
and commingle bulls of same
age/weight for a period of time
prior to turnout. Ample exercise,
in combination with a proper
nutritional program, is essential
to make them physically fit for
the breeding season
Genetics
Collect yearling performance
data (weight, height, scrotal,
ultrasound) in seedstock herds.
Make plans for spring bullbuying season. Evaluate potential sources for bull purchase.
Using herd genetic goals, establish benchmarks and selection
criteria for bulls to be purchased.
Secure new natural service sires
in ample time to acclimate to
your management and environment prior to breeding season.
PAGE 46, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
WTO Rules Against COOL Program Again
Doug Palmer and
Bill Tomson, POLITICO
The World Trade Organization
on Monday handed the United
States another loss in a dispute
with Canada and Mexico over
country-of-origin meat labels.
The decision brings the United
States closer to facing potentially
billions of dollars in trade retaliation unless it quickly reforms the
measure to the satisfaction of its
two neighbors.
“Today’s WTO compliance
panel’s report re-affirms Canada’s long-standing view that the
revised U.S. COOL measure is
blatantly protectionist and fails
to comply with the WTO’s original ruling against it,” Canadian
Trade Minister Ed Fast said in a
statement. “The WTO’s clear and
consistent findings in support
of Canada’s position effectively
supply a clear message to the
U.S.: End this protectionist policy
that creates economic harm on
both sides of our border, and
comply with your international
trade obligations.” The WTO
compliance panel, in its findings, said changes made by the
U.S. Agriculture Department
to the COOL program in 2013
actually made it more difficult
to export livestock to the United
States than the original rules. As
a result, the United States is still
in violation of provisions that
bar it from treating imported
products less favorably than it
treats its own domestic products,
the panel said. In particular,
the panel found the USDA’s
amended COOL rule continues
to violate WTO rules that prohibit technical regulations from
causing imports to receive less
favorable treatment. By requiring labels that show, with more
detail, where an animal was
born, raised and slaughtered, the
rule necessitates a greater segregation of meat and livestock and
more record-keeping burdens,
the panel found. As one small
consolation for the U.S., the
panel determined Mexico and
Canada did not prevail in their
argument that the new COOL
rule was more trade restrictive
than the previous rule. However,
the panel did not preclude the
possibility that four alternative
measures offered by Canada and
Mexico could provide a solution
and urged the two sides to consult further on the matter.
“While the WTO continues
to affirm the right of the United
States to require country of origin labeling for meat products,
we are disappointed that the
compliance panels have found
that the country of origin labeling requirements for beef and
pork continue to discriminate
against Canadian and Mexican
livestock exports,” a spokesman
for the office of the U.S. Trade
Representative’s Office said.
“We are considering all options,
including appealing” the latest
decisions, he added.
Congress passed the COOL
program as part of the 2008 farm
bill, and Canada and Mexico
immediately challenged it as a
violation of global trade rules. A
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WTO panel agreed with Canada
and Mexico in November 2011,
ruling that COOL treated imported livestock less favorably
than U.S. livestock, particularly
in the labeling of beef and pork
muscle cuts and that the program did not meet its objective
to provide complete information to consumers on the origin
of meat products. A year later,
the WTO Appellate Body again
ruled that the COOL program
treated imports less favorably
than domestic products, but it
sided with the United States on
the issue of whether the program
met its objective of providing
helpful information to consumer. USDA complied with the
negative portion of the Appellate
Body decision by issuing a new
rule in May 2013 requiring meat
labels to show where the animal
was born, raised and slaughtered
and by also prohibiting the commingling of muscle cut meat from
different origins. Both Mexico
and Canada protested the new
regulations, with support from
U.S. meat processors who argued
they were overly burdensome.
COOL not going away soon
Representatives of the U.S.
livestock and meat sectors responded quickly to Monday’s
ruling. The United States Cattlemen’s Association, a COOL proponent, is calling on the United
Continued on Page 47
Your Beef Checkoff
Continued from Page 21
American National Cattle Women $350,800, Meat Import Council $ 222,500, American Farm
Bureau Foundation for Agriculture $222,500, and National
Livestock Producers Association
was budgeted $45,000. So you
can see: the BPOC is spreading
the wealth.
But you have to understand
that NCBA is the only group
that has built their organization around catering to the Beef
Checkoff; they essentially are
what the National Livestock and
Meat Board was in Chicago 25
years ago.
These other groups that are
having a problem with NCBA’s
association with the Beef Checkoff simply want to weaken
NCBA’s policymaking effort
by disqualifying them from
contracting to the Beef Checkoff
program. I’d have to say that
this Beef Checkoff is a speeding
train and if you like it, get on it.
If you don’t, get out of the way
because you’ll get run over— it’s
working. — PETE CROW
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 47
WTO
Continued from Page 46
States Trade Representative to
appeal while also asking the
USDA to look for new ways to
implement COOL that will appease Mexico, Canada and WTO
arbiters. “While we will continue
to review the WTO’s decision,
we urge the U.S. Trade Representative to consider appealing
the ruling if there are meritorious grounds to do so,” USCA
President Danni Beer said in a
statement given to POLITICO.
“In addition, we ask USDA to
review the ruling to determine
whether additional regulatory
changes may permit the U.S. to
come into compliance without
weakening COOL.”
Similarly, National Farmers
Union President Roger Johnson
suggests the USDA can make
any changes necessary to satisfy
the WTO. “Under the guidance
of USDA, any changes to COOL
to ensure full compliance with
today’s decision should be able
to be made administratively,
while maintaining the integrity of
COOL labels,” Johnson said in a
statement released this morning.
Beer also caution again congressional action, noting that there
“may still be many months before
the WTO process reaches a final
result.” “Today’s ruling provides
no basis for false alarms about
repealing the COOL statute itself,” Beer said. “Congress should
continue to resist such premature
and unfounded calls to weaken a
law that enjoys such strong support from America’s consumers,
ranchers and producers.”
It could be a year before any
changes are made to COOL, advises Chandler Goule, NFU’s senior vice president of programs.
Now that WTO has ruled, there
will need to be further hearings to
determine the economic impact
of the COOL requirements on
Canada and Mexico and what if
any retaliatory measures may be
permitted by the injured countries. Appeals may be made at
each step of the process. It’s still
possible the WTO will determine
that neither country has suffered
any damages, blaming losses on
the state of the economy, and
there will be no cost for the USDA
rule to remain in place as is, Goule
said. Also, once retaliatory fees
are determined, the U.S. could
simply try to settle the case as it
did in a recent dispute with Brazil
over cotton subsidies.
Members of Congress ready
to spring
But major business groups,
including the U.S. Chamber of
Congress and the National Association of Manufacturers, are
urging both Congress and the
Obama administration to act
quickly to avoid retaliatory duties on U.S. exports.
“Canada and Mexico are the
two largest markets for U.S.
exports,” John Murphy, senior
vice president for international
policy at the U.S. Chamber said
in a statement. “The disruption
of these trade ties by WTO noncompliance and the resulting retaliation by our North American
neighbors will have a devastating
economic impact on U.S. industries including food production,
agriculture and manufacturing.”
Congressional action is what
the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association asserts is needed.
“The announcement today by the
WTO dispute panel on the U.S.
Country of Origin Labeling rule
brings us all one step closer to
facing retaliatory tariffs from two
of our largest trading partners,”
said Bob McCan, president of
the rancher group, which is adamantly opposed to COOL. “Our
producers have already suffered
discounts and faced the closure
of a number of feedlots and
packing plants due to the effects
of this short-sighted regulation.”
The group, unlike USCA, said it
believes there is no good way to
fix COOL, implementing it in a
way that would make it WTOcompliant. “We look forward to
working with Congress to find
a permanent solution to this issue, avoiding retaliation against
not only beef, but a host of U.S.
products,” McCan said.
Several members of Congress
seem willing to spring into action. House lawmakers like Rick
Crawford (R-Ark.), Jim Costa
(D-Calif.), Randy Neugebauer
(R-Texas) and others have been
vocal critics of the COOL law,
and Costa threatened recently to
introduce a bill to repeal it. “This
ill-conceived law has created economic disruption on the livestock
industry and set the stage for a
potential $2 billion in retaliation
as a result of a WTO dispute
with two of our most important
trading partners, Canada and
Mexico,” Crawford said in an
April hearing held by the House
Agriculture Subcommittee on
Livestock, Rural Development
and Credit.
Beef: It Really Does Do A Body Good
Suzanne B. Bopp
What should we eat? It seems
like the experts’ dietary advice
is always changing, thanks
to the incremental nature of
scientific progress. But the latest results, in both nutritional
research and animal-science
research, provide lots of good
news for the beef industry.
What’s not news is that beef
is an excellent source of highquality protein — of course,
that’s been known for some
time — or that it contains all
the essential amino acids, while
most plant proteins lack at
least one. And beef also brings
many other important nutrients to the plate: iron, zinc,
B vitamins, choline. “It’s a
nutrient-dense food relative to
its caloric value,” says Penny
Kris-Etherton, a distinguished
professor of nutrition at Penn
State University. Nevertheless,
many doctors and nutritionists
in recent decades have advised
cutting back on beef because
of concerns about its saturated
fat content.
Here’s the news that may
start to turn that around. First,
some researchers are starting
to question whether saturated
fat is really the culprit driving obesity and heart disease.
We’re also finding out that lean
beef doesn’t actually contain
that much saturated fat: A
3.5-ounce serving of lean beef
only has 4.5 grams of saturated
fat. (On a 2000-calorie diet, the
daily recommendation for saturated fat is 13 grams.) Finally,
new animal-science research
is showing that there are approaches (genetic choices, feeding regimens) producers can
use to change the nutritional
profile of beef, making its future
even healthier.
Changing view of saturated
fat
The saturated fat research
story has become very complicated in recent years. It’s been
vilified for decades, but now its
reputation may be undergoing
a rehabilitation. Research published last March in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine
did not find that people who
ate higher levels of saturated
fat had more heart disease
than those who ate less. The
lead author of the study, Rajiv
Chowdhury, a cardiovascular
epidemiologist at Cambridge
University, told the New York
Times, “My take on this would
be that it’s not saturated fat that
we should worry about.” A few
months later, on June 23, 2014,
Time magazine ran a cover
story titled “Eat Butter,” which
argued that saturated fat is not
really the enemy — carbohydrates and sugar are.
Scientists understand that
the early saturated fat literature
evolved from population-based
research, which has many limitations. “If you go back in the
literature and look at how these
recommendations were made,
there wasn’t a lot of science
there,” says Susan Duckett,
Ernest L. Corley Jr. Trustees
Endowed Chair in the Department of Animal and Veterinary
Sciences at Clemson University.
“Some of the first studies were
Continued on Page 48
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PAGE 48, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Beef: Does A Body Good
Continued from Page 47
basically correlations between
what people said they ate and
their blood cholesterol levels. They were from different
countries, with differences in
lifestyle and smoking habits.
Now they’ve figured out it’s
more complicated than that:
Simply eliminating saturated
fat from your diet is not going
to eliminate the problem.”
But this is not to say that we
can eat unlimited saturated
fat, and some criticize the latest studies. “The research that
is coming out now is from
epidemiological studies, which
cannot tell cause and effect,”
Kris-Etherton says. Only controlled clinical trials can say a
relationship is causal, she says,
and controlled clinical studies
have shown that saturated fat
increases LDL cholesterol (the
bad kind). She points to the
most recent dietary guidelines,
which came out in November
2013 from the American Heart
Association and American
College of Cardiology. They
recommend that saturated fat
be decreased to decrease LDL
cholesterol. “No government
or health organizations are
saying don’t worry about saturated fat anymore,” she says.
What the scientific community can agree upon, she says,
is that when saturated fats are
replaced with polyunsaturated
fats, there are health benefits.
“But when refined carbs are
substituted for saturated fat,
it’s just a wash,” she says.
“Low-fat diets are not going
to be of benefit.”
While researchers continue
to work out questions around
fats — which are certainly
complicated by the fact that
there are many unique fatty
acids within the saturated/
unsaturated categories, and
they may not all have the same
properties — what we can say
is that lean beef does not actually contain very high levels
of the saturated kind. “With
intramuscular fat, about half
is saturated fat,” says Raluca
Mateescu, associate professor
of quantitative genetics and
genomics at the University
of Florida. “The other half is
mostly monounsaturated,
with about 5 percent polyunsaturated fat.” Those monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the same kind found
in olive oil, avocados and fish
and have well-documented
positive effects on human
health. “Of the saturated half,
about 30 percent is stearic acid,
which is neutral, so it doesn’t
really change the level of bad
cholesterol. So you really have
very little of the bad saturated
fat,” she says.
Most experts still agree that
a lot of fat — any kind — is not
good for you, she adds. “But
a lot of the nutritional recommendations now are saying
lean beef is really great be-
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cause you have a lot of protein,
you’ve got all the minerals and
vitamins, and you’ve got just
a little bit of fat, and that’s not
bad,” she says. “As humans,
we do need fat in our systems.”
Lean beef benefits
In her studies, Kris-Etherton
has found even more reasons
to eat lean beef. She was a
lead researcher for a study
funded by the Beef Checkoff
and the National Institutes of
Health-supported Penn State
General Clinical Research Center, published in the June 19,
2014, issue of Journal of Human Hypertension. She found
that a heart-healthy diet could
include lean beef and actually
have a beneficial effect on the
two major risk factors for heart
disease: high cholesterol and
high blood pressure.
This diet, which the researchers called BOLD+ (beef in an
optimum lean diet) included
5.4 ounces of lean beef a day
in a heart-healthy diet that was
low in saturated fat (6 percent
of calories). Their first study
showed that this diet elicited
a cholesterol-lowering effect.
In a more recent study, they
showed the BOLD+ diet caused
decreases in blood pressure
compared with the average
American diet.
The diet had other advantages as well. “Beef brings
to the diet a lot of nutrients
you’re not going to get from
a lot of plant proteins,” she
says. “Beyond that, being able
to include it helps people follow heart-healthy guidelines.
When people are told to avoid
beef, they have a hard time following dietary recommendations. Showing them how to incorporate it into a healthy diet
will really help people adhere
to current dietary guidelines,
rather than telling them to cut
it out of their diet completely.”
Change the feed; change
the fat
Duckett is among the animal
scientists researching ways to
make beef even leaner. Her
recent project evaluated the
impact of different production
systems on the meat’s fatty acid
composition: feeding grass versus grain, as well as the timing
of different feeding regimens.
“We typically found that the
fat content of the meat would
be lower in those finished on
grass, usually 40 to 50 percent
lower,” she says. “It becomes
very comparable to other protein sources like chicken in
terms of fat content.”
She found another benefit
of the grass-finished beef: increased levels of the desirable
omega 3 fatty acids. “There
was a lower ratio of omega 6
to omega 3. Typically health
professionals want that to be
4:1 or less,” she says. “Grassfed
beef is about 1.5:1. Grain fed is
about 5:1.”
Duckett also experimented
with changing the timing of
feeding regimens — starting
some on grass and some on
grain and then switching — to
see how such changes would
affect fat levels in the beef.
What she found was those that
went into the feedlot early and
then finished on forage developed the optimum levels of fat.
“It appears that early exposure
to grain feeding helped to
Continued on Page 49
December 13, 2014
12 Noon
THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 49
Beef: Does A Body Good 2014 Culpeper Senior Bull Sale
Continued from Page 48
stimulate marbling deposition,” she says. “And then by
finishing them on pasture we
could get a very acceptable
product. The ratio of omega 6
to omega 3 was about 2:1. We
got the best of both worlds
with 100 days in the feedlot
and then about 200 days on
pasture.”
Change the genetics;
change the fat
Are genetics another route
to change the composition of
nutrient levels in beef? That
possibility inspired a research
project at the University of
Florida, Iowa State University
and University of CaliforniaDavis, in which researchers
asked: How much natural
variation is there in the fatty
acid and mineral composition
of beef? If there is natural variation, how much of it is due to
genetics? Can we identify the
genetic mechanism which is
controlling these traits? The
answers they found: quite a
bit, a moderate amount and
yes.
“Of course, the goal is to
develop tools we can use to
select for more nutritious
beef but also tasty beef. We
do not want to change that,”
says Mateescu, who worked
on the project and presented
the results of the research at
this year’s Beef Improvement
Federation convention. “If we
could have genomic-enhanced
EPDs for selecting for favorable fatty acid profile, lower
saturated fat, higher concentrations of minerals and
vitamins — that’s what we are
looking for.” Mateescu and the
team have already succeeded
in identifying genomic regions
for many of the healthfulness
traits they looked at, and these
may start showing up on EPD
charts one day. “We can use
the markers we have for a
selection program right now,”
she says.
All three researchers agree
there are strong arguments
today for keeping beef on the
plate. “If you take lean beef
out of your diet, you’re taking a lot of other things out
too,” Mateescu says. “If it’s
lean, it’s really beneficial for
you.” Duckett hopes the latest
research will help spread that
news. “I think some of these
things are helping to give beef
a more positive message,” she
says. “We need to educate consumers and the medical field
about the positives.”
Read more, including articles on beef quality and
safety, in the September digital
edition of Drovers/CattleNetwork.
Double J Livestock LLC
WEEKLY BUYING STATION
4176 Silling Rd., Dayton,VA
7145 Polly Pitcher Hwy, Greencastle, PA
Scott P. Greiner
Extension Animal Scientist,
Beef, Virginia Tech
The 57th annual sale of the
Virginia BCIA Culpeper Senior
bulls will feature approximately 60 fall-born yearling bulls
on Saturday, December 13,
2014 at 12:00 noon at the Culpeper Agricultural Enterprises
located on Route 29 just south
of Culpeper, Virginia. These
60 fall-born bulls represent
the top end of the 97 Angus,
SimmAngus, and Braunvieh
Hybrid bulls currently being
developed.
The majority of the bulls
selling are sired by trait-leading, highly proven AI bulls
of each breed. All bulls selling meet minimum genetic
requirements (EPDs) to sire
calves for the VQA Purple
Tag Feeder Calf Program.
Bulls have been screened for
reproductive and structural
soundness, and sell with the
BCIA enhanced guarantee for
soundness and fertility. Complete performance information
will be available on all bulls,
including growth, maternal,
and carcass EPDs, detailed
test performance information,
and ultrasound data. Many
of the bulls will sell with
genomically-enhanced EPDs,
and all SimmAngus bulls will
be genotyped for homozygous
black status.
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PAGE 50, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
Stacking Technology In Stockers Adds Up To More Pounds
Wes Ishmael, BEEF Magazine
Unless cattle are destined
for a natural program — and
enough price premium is secured to compensate for the
performance loss — stocker
producers who forego implanting and feeding an ionophore
are leaving lots of money on
the table.
“The beauty of implants and
ionophores is that the mode of
action for each is completely
unrelated, so the benefits from
them are additive; using one
doesn’t compromise the benefit
of using the other,” emphasizes
Jason Sawyer. He’s an associate
professor and associate department head for operations in
Texas A&M University’s animal
science department, and superintendent of the department’s
McGregor Research Center.
In a study at the University of
Arkansas (UA), steers grazing
wheat pasture and receiving an
implant and Rumensin (ionophore containing Monensin)
gained 39 lbs. more than steers
not receiving the implant or
ionophore. “There was no
interaction between Rumensin
supplementation and implanting, indicating that the use of
these technologies is additive,”
says researcher Paul Beck, a UA
Extension livestock and forage
specialist.
High returns at low cost
Depending on the research
summary you’re looking at,
implants increase average daily
gain (ADG) in growing cattle
by 10%-20% and improve feed
efficiency by 8%-10%. Figuring that a single implant costs
about $2/head if you include
the cost for facilities and labor,
Sawyer says the return on investment is beyond 1,200% in
today’s market. If you consider
only the implant cost, the return
balloons beyond 2,000%. “The
other way of looking at it is that
if I decide not to implant, then
I need to be able to recover at
least $40/head by some other
means,” Sawyer says. “Realistically, I’m not sure there’s a
way to do that today.” Yet, according to a survey conducted
at Oklahoma State University
several years ago, only 59%
of stocker operators surveyed
implanted steers. For producers
dependent on stocker income,
it was 71%.
Even fewer cow-calf producers implant calves. According
to the National Animal Health
Monitoring System’s most
recent “Beef” study published
for 2007-2008, only 11.9% of
operations surveyed had implanted any calves prior to or
at weaning during the previous
year. Even for producers with
200 cows or more, only 31.1%
reported implanting at least
some calves. Likewise, data
from Superior Livestock Auction — compiled by researchers at Kansas State University
(KSU) — indicate that fewer
implanted calves are being offered these days.
• In 1995, 64.3% of the lots
sold through Superior Livestock were implanted.
• In 2009, only 26.5% were
implanted.
• In 2011 and 2012 combined,
31% were implanted. Data for
those last two years include
11,350 lots and 1.11 million
head of cattle, says Michael
King, a KSU research assistant.
King has provided the analysis
since Superior first began sharing the data in 1995. Merck
Animal Health sponsors the
analysis.
One reason producers may
dismiss implanting is that it’s
hard to see the added pounds.
“If I turn out a set of calves and
implant all of them, I have no
basis for comparison,” Sawyer
says. “If your calves weigh 30
lbs. less than they could have at
the end of the grazing season,
you don’t necessarily recognize
that. You never saw it, so you
don’t miss it,” explains Ryan
Reuter, an associate professor
in beef cattle research at the
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, OK. Some
buyers also fear that buyers
will discount implanted cattle.
According to this myth, cattle
receiving implants ahead of the
feedlot gain less in the feedlot
and produce carcasses of lower
quality. “The performance in
the feedlot will be the same,”
Sawyer says. He suspects the
fallacy has roots in the simple
fact that heavier cattle are less
efficient than lighter ones.
That’s true whether or not
cattle receive an implant. Likewise, used alongside proper
management, implants used
in the stocker phase should
not impact carcass tenderness.
That’s another belief some producers harbor, especially when
it comes to implants containing
trenbolone acetate. “I’ve never
had an order buyer tell me he
would change the bid price
based on whether or not the
calves were implanted,” Sawyer
says. In fact, the prices paid in
the Superior data mentioned
earlier were the same, regardless of implant status.
Heading into last year’s annual KSU stocker conference,
Reuter reviewed the scientific
literature concerning the potential impact of implant use
in the stocker phase on subsequent feedlot performance.
“Stocker production decisions
don’t seem to affect finishing
or carcass performance much,”
Reuter says. “Producers can
and should maximize their economic return during their time
of ownership.” That includes
feeding ionophores. “Cattle
receiving an ionophore either
gain more on the same amount
of feed or gain the same on less
feed,” Sawyer explains. “Generally speaking, with stocker
calves on pastures of reasonable
quality, we expect an increased
rate of gain of 8%-12%, so
maybe an extra 20-25 lbs. in a
typical turn of stocker calves.”
Reuter typically recommends
that stocker producers utilize
ionophores, but explains that
the logistics of delivering ionophores to the cattle make it a
more complicated decision than
implanting.
When it comes to using implants and ionophores with the
same cattle, Beck says, “I think
some people are resistant to
thinking they will get the full
benefit of both technologies.
It seems almost too good to be
true. But, it is true.” In 2012,
Noble Foundation studied the
additive effects of implants and
ionophores on steers grazing
rye pasture for 84 days. “We
calculated that stacking the two
technologies significantly improved net return,” Reuter says.
Specifically, ADG for implanted
steers was 2.53 lbs./day, vs. 2.07
lbs./day for non-implanted
steers. Meanwhile, steers receiving Rumensin gained 2.49
lbs./day compared to 2.07 lbs./
day for those not receiving an
ionophore. Combined, steers
receiving both technologies netted $60/head more than those
receiving neither technology.
Of course, either one or both
technologies means added
cost, too. “Mainly, I think it
comes down to seeing the additional upfront cost rather than
thinking about the net return,”
Reuter says. “If a producer
strictly focuses on minimizing
costs, they don’t consider these
technologies. Producers should
evaluate the use of these technologies independently from
each other, then pick and choose
Continued on Page 51
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THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN, NOVEMBER 2014, PAGE 51
Iowa Farming Officials Seek Punishment For Thieves
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa farm officials are seeking to
enforce a mandatory minimum
sentence for the felony theft of
livestock and crops.
Delegates of the Iowa Farm
Bureau Federation met last week
to discuss proper punishment
for people who steal cattle, hogs,
corn, soybeans and other farm
property, The Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/1qQLN6T
) reported.
Some states, including Texas,
Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska
and North and South Dakota,
are seeing an increase of cattle
thefts since prices for the animals have reached record highs.
Experts said the problem could
soon make its way to Iowa since
the state is expected to raise
more cattle in light of low corn
prices and a drought in Texas,
the leading producer of cattle
in the U.S.
“The rise in cattle numbers,
the rise in prices, you could definitely see a rise in cattle thefts,”
said Corey Schultz, a region
executive officer for the Livestock Marketing Association and
works with livestock auctions
in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Iowa is the top corn-producing state with nearly 2.2 billion
bushels last year, and is ranked
sixth nationally for cattle.
Novice thieves usually don’t
steal livestock, according to
Larry Gray, executive director
of law enforcement for the Texas
and Southwestern Cattle Raisers
Association.
“Anyone can kick down the
door to a house and steal a flat
screen TV,” he said. “But to steal
Stacking Technology
Continued from Page 50
those that will work for them,
knowing they can use the technologies together and receive
the full benefit of each one.”
Beck agrees. “You’re better off
to spend money intelligently
and increase performance as
much as you can,” he says.
“I know calves cost a lot of
money these days, but feeder
cattle are pretty valuable, too.
If we [stocker producers] can
add body weight, we can increase net returns a lot. These
technologies are powerful
when the value of gain is less
than it is today. Now, they’re
even more powerful.”
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cattle - first you have to have
the ability to transport those
cattle. Then you have to have
the knowledge to market the
cattle. You can’t run down to the
local pawn store and get some
money for them.”
The recession has driven
many farm-related thefts, and
even though cattle theft isn’t
a new problem, the high price
of cattle makes them more attractive to thieves, according
to Gray.
“Now, a 20-foot goose-neck
trailer loaded with cattle can
be worth upwards of $25,000,”
he said.
Myron Ehresman, a farmer
in rural northeast Iowa, had 18
cattle stolen from his farm last
summer and was able to catch
the thief with recently installed
security cameras. Although the
man stole about $30,000 in cattle, he was only fined $1,000 and
wasn’t sentenced to jail time.
“If you don’t fear God or
aren’t concerned about your
good name, there’s not much to
deter” thieves, Ehresman said.
Depending on the severity of
the crime, livestock thieves in
Iowa typically can face between
30 days to 10 years in prison,
plus a fine between $200 and
$10,000. Officials hope to eventually enforce stricter penalties,
such as Texas’ mandatory thirddegree felony carrying penalties
of two to 10 years and a maximum fine of $10,000, and up to
life in prison for more serious
thefts carried out by habitual
criminals.
PAGE 52, NOVEMBER 2014, THE VIRGINIA CATTLEMAN
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