Industry Reacts to Senate Passage of the Coronavirus Stimulus Package

The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package is expected to pass in Congress. The Senate passed the legislation Wednesday evening and the House is set to vote today. The bill includes $250 billion to make unemployment insurance available to more categories of workers and to extend the duration of benefits. About $150 billion will go to states, distributed according to population size. Another $349 billion will be used as loans for small businesses.

Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said, "Companies that were investing, growing and contributing to a vibrant economy just a few weeks ago have been thrust into survival mode through no fault of their own." The Federation spoke on behalf of the retail industry in a press release by expressing appreciation for the efforts by leaders in Congress and President Trump to...

ANALYSIS: Record Cattle Basis – Driven By Steep Losses in CME and Retail Buying Support

Assuming April live cattle close limit up today, March 19, 2020 at $95.10, that is a $17.90 spread from yesterday's $113 live trade in the South compared to...

NPPC Tells Congress Oversight for Gene-Edited Livestock Should Be Under USDA 

Thanks to innovation and continuous improvements, U.S. hog farmers are the world’s leading suppliers of high-quality, safe and affordable pork. However, America is in danger of losing its leadership standing due to significant flaws in its current approach to regulating emerging animal breeding technologies, Iowa Pork Producers President Dr. Michael Paustian testified this morning before the Senate Agriculture Committee. Oversight should be under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), not the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Gene editing technology, which allows for precise changes within an animal’s own genome, offers tremendous promise to combat animal disease while producing safe food in a more sustainable fashion. “Livestock producers need...

PODCAST: Meet Courtney - Futures, Cattle, and Cats

This week Courtney Shum joined Laura to discuss her new role at Urner Barry reporting the cash markets for livestock, futures, and more. She gives insight into her contacts and the wealth of information they share with her...

North American Meat Institute Issues Statement on USDA’s Proposed Rule for Meat and Poultry Markets

The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) made the following statement regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service proposed rule on meat and poultry markets:

“We will review the proposed rule and work to ensure livestock producers have a variety of tools available to market their animals and to ensure meat and poultry markets remain competitive,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “Any rule must protect marketing agreements between packer/processors and livestock producers, which provide stability to the industry and benefits consumers with lower prices and...

NCBA Applauds Introduction of Hours of Service Legislation

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association today applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation by U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D – 2nd Dist., Minn.) and Lloyd Smucker (R - 11th Dist., Penn.) that would provide flexible and common-sense relief from Hours of Service (HOS) rules for agricultural haulers.

The Responsible & Efficient Agriculture Destination (TREAD) Act would ensure that the current Hours of Service exemption that applies to the 150-air-mile radius from the source of an agricultural commodity adds the same 150 air mile radius flexibility to the back end of a trip, or the destination. The bill also clarifies that...

USPOULTRY Releases Report of Antimicrobial Use Across U.S. Broiler Chickens and Turkeys

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association announced last week the release of the U.S. poultry industry’s first-ever report quantifying antimicrobial use on broiler chicken and turkey farms. The new report shows dramatic reductions of turkey and broiler chicken antimicrobial use over a five-year timeframe. As part of its commitment to the transparency and sustainability of a safe food supply, the poultry industry aims to strike a balance between keeping poultry flocks healthy and the responsible use of antimicrobials, especially those medically important to human health.

Under the research direction of Dr. Randall Singer, DVM, PhD, of Mindwalk Consulting Group, LLC, this report represents a five-year set of data collected from 2013 to 2017 regarding the use of antimicrobials in U.S. broiler chickens and turkeys throughout their lifetime, from hatchery to day of harvest. It was prepared through a systematic collection of on-farm antimicrobial use data to capture the...

USDA Market News Revises Regional Swine Market Reports 

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will revise its Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) direct swine reports to provide more continuous coverage of the regional negotiated swine markets.

Since the implementation of LMR in 2001, the volume of barrows and gilts purchased on a negotiated basis has declined from 17 percent of the market to about 1 percent today. The thinness of the negotiated market has made it increasingly difficult for AMS to publish regional market information while maintaining the confidentiality requirements set forth in the statute.

As requested by the pork industry, AMS will publish only weighted average prices for carcass and live basis negotiated barrows and gilts and not show the daily volumes or price ranges on...

USDA Farm Bill Implementation Progress Update

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced an update on the implementation status of the 2018 Farm Bill. President Trump signed this Farm Bill into law on December 20, 2018, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) promptly began implementing key programs. In addition, USDA held several listening sessions with stakeholders and the public specific to each agency’s respective mission areas. 

“America’s farmers, ranchers, foresters, and producers depend on the certainty and availability of USDA’s programs and assistance. That is why we are working diligently to implement the 2018 Farm Bill with efficiency and accuracy,” said Secretary Perdue. “We have listened to our stakeholders and consulted with our customers. As we continue to implement the Farm Bill, USDA is committed to focusing...

NPPC Supports Executive Order to Keep America First in Agriculture 

Based on recommendations by the administration’s Rural Development Taskforce, President Trump today signed an executive order to streamline regulations for agriculture biotechnology, a development welcomed by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).

“Agriculture is one of the crown jewels of the U.S. economy,” said David Herring, NPPC president and a pork producer from Lillington, North Carolina. “Today’s executive order paves the way for common sense regulation to keep America first in agriculture so that we remain the global leader in an economic sector that has offset the U.S. trade imbalance for decades and that is so critical for the prosperity of our rural communities.”

The executive order (EO) provides a framework to support leadership in emerging technologies such as gene editing for livestock, an innovation that promises to eliminate costly diseases that...

Developing Alternatives to Antibiotics Used in Food Animal Production

Antibiotics are a lifesaving technology widely used in human and veterinary medicine. However, the use of antibiotic drugs, by humans or animals, can also create selective evolutionary pressures that can spawn microbes and genes resistant to the drugs. Antimicrobial resistance has become a global human health concern, with widespread public and private initiatives aimed at managing resistance. Livestock agriculture is a major consumer of antibiotics and, thus, a contributor to antibiotic resistance.

As the agricultural use of antibiotics becomes a greater focus of policymakers and consumers, animal pharma—the industry that develops and markets antibiotics for food animal use—is altering its outlook on developing as well as investing in new antibiotic products. Rising awareness of antibiotic resistance has generated a number of effects, including regulations on the use of...

Beef Quarterly Q2 2019: Changing of the Guard in the Beef Trimmings Market

The world’s largest beef importer, China, is at the centre of growth in beef trade in general, and trimmings trade specifically. Many of the cuts imported by China have been to satisfy the local cuisine. But as diets and foodservice change, this now includes a growing trend in trimmings trade.

The growing demand for trimmings from Asian countries will create additional competition for the US but it is not expected to shift the market yet. Suppliers of trimmings into the global market should be conscious of possible changes in the trade. While steady growth is evident in the Chinese market to date, a short-term demand increase across all proteins as a result of African Swine Fever will likely cause a spike in demand for trimmings...

Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials

Travelling can be stressful experience—whether it be to a vacation spot or business destination. The stress of travel also extends to piglets, such as when they’re weaned from their mothers and transported to nursery barns.

Now, instead of using dietary antibiotics to help the piglets cope and avoid illness, scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are investigating a naturally occurring amino acid known as L-glutamine.

Initial laboratory studies in 2017 showed glutamine-fed piglets gained just as much weight as antibiotic-treated ones, among other health benefits. But the researchers, led by ARS animal scientist Jay Johnson, wanted to try and...

USDA Releases Baseline Data on Antimicrobial Use by Beef and Swine Operations

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is releasing the results of two national studies that examine antimicrobial use and stewardship on beef feedlots and on large swine operations during 2016.

The data USDA collected and studied will help animal health officials – as well as the human health community and consumers – better understand how antimicrobial drugs are used on livestock farms. The studies include details on what antimicrobials were used, why they were used and how they were administered...

PathProven from Performance Food Group Providing First-Ever DNA Trace Back System from Farm to Plate in North America

Nearly 93 percent of all consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand when it commits to full transparency, according to a 2017 Label Insights study from the Food Marketing Institute. The survey also revealed 74 percent of consumers would switch from the brands they usually buy to ones that provide more in-depth product information beyond the physical packaging. In Europe, the fresh meat industry has been moving toward this goal for twenty years. In the U.S., Performance Food Group Company (PFG) has been working with European technology innovator, IdentiGEN, for 10 years to align supply chains, building the first complete DNA Trace Back System to the farm. PFG has connected the information loop to provide greater accountability, improve sustainability, ensure quality, and...