GA Beef at Taste of Atlanta
by Randall – October 13th, 2008
Beef checkoff dollars were hard at work this past weekend as Jim Collins with the Georgia Beef Board said they were able to take part in the annual Taste of Atlanta where a large crowd was on hand.
This past week an Irrigated Intensive Grazing System Tour was held at the Thornton Stanley Farm in Morgan County, Alabama. Pictured are Mr. Stanley and Brian Brown, project leader with the Cotaco Creek Watershed who talked about this unique project.
The Stanley Farm, located in North Alabama, is currently running 60 cows on 40 acres which have been divided into 9 paddocks. To learn more on how a system like this could help your operation, click here: 
The 67th Annual Meeting of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation has been underway this week in Orlando, and FFBF’s Pat Cockrell said when it comes to policy issues, a lot of discussion has taken place concerning input costs which farmers across the state are facing.
The fall season can be an extemely busy time for the Georgia Beef Board as various fairs and events present great opportunities to promote beef to consumers. Carla Kelsoe, president of the Georgia Cattlewomen, says that the GCWA tries to do their part to make sure the consumer is fully informed, especially focusing on women and children with recipes and fun educational materials.
October Beef Month continues in Alabama as a variety of promotional events are underway all thanks to checkoff dollars. Dr. Billy Powell with the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association says part of their efforts include getting the word to students about the benefits of beef.
Beef checkoff dollars in Florida have really been down the past few years, as help from the Federation of State Beef Councils has kept certain programs underway in the state. But with the fact the new national budget had to be trimmed, those dollars may be harder to come by for the new fiscal year.
The Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry is planning a new covered arena to help with the growing number of junior cattle shows. Jim Floyd, director of agriculture and youth, says that the current arena is too small for the amount of cattle the youth have and that the new air conditioned facility should help make the shows more enjoyable for all. Construction is to begin immediately following the 19th annual Georgia National Fair.
In Sarasota, Florida this week John Deere officials displayed hundreds of tractors, many of them new models to become available in 2009, many of them geared toward the ‘lifestyle’ rural crowd and folks involved in things like citrus, nursery, vineyards and other agriculture operations. According to John Deere representatives on hand for the event, the new models coupled with the more traditional larger models target today’s farm equipment consumer no matter what size of the operation. Whether it be for the very large ag operations or the very small, and all in between, John Deere seems to be making a real effort to serve all market segments when it comes to farm and lawn care equipment. 
In this post herein you can listen to interviews and view documents we received from the John Deere folks this week in Sarasota, as they hosted agriculture media along with John Deere dealer representatives from throughout North America. Just click to see the rest of this post and you’ll find links to the interviews and other materials. 
With Country of Origin Labeling underway and more and more producers becoming involved in Animal ID, USDA Under Secretary Bruce Knight says we should see more ID tags being used during this fall’s calving season.
We at Southeat AgNet were honored to be invited to the celebration of the partnership of the World Equestrian Games and Alltech Equine Products. I, Nicholle Saylor, participated in the event on behalf of our company. Being of the equine industry I understand the importance this partnership will bring to Florida as participants gather in our state to condition their mounts for this spectacular event. The Alltech World Eqestrian Games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010 and will be broadcast live on the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) as well as NBC. Spectators will enjoy athletes and horses from several different disaplines ranging from dressage and eventing to reining and even Para-Equestrian. Theses events will spread over 16 days of extraordinary competiton ending in eight world championships. For details on this exciting partnership and tickets to the World Equestrian Games visit 
The Alabama Natural Resources Conservation service reminds producers about an Irrigated Intensive Grazing System Tour coming up this Wednesday in Morgan County.
The Alabama Department of Agriculture reminds horse owners to vaccinate their animals, as State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier says cases of EEE and WNV have been found in the state.
Dyan Kennedy with the Alabama Department of Agriculture runs through this past week’s prices from the cattle markets around the state.
Due to a recent number of cattle thefts in Alabama, Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks held a press conference in Montgomery Wednesday which also included Dr. Billy Powell of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association.
Robert Fountain, Jr. of Adrian, Georgia serves not only on the 
Due to a recent number of cattle thefts in the state, Dr. Billy Powell with the 
Farm thefts have become a real problem again across the Southeast, as Jim Collins with the 
The Florida Cattlemen’s Association invites everyone to this weekend’s Ranch Rodeo Finals and Cowboy Heritage Festival in Kissimmee. It starts Friday night and runs all day Saturday October 3rd and 4th.
The Georgia Beef Board met this past Friday in Macon and passed a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year along with electing new officers. Pictured (l-r) are Gerald Long - Treasurer, Graydon Bobo - Vice Chairman, and Harvey Lemmon - Chairman. Both Lemmon and the Beef Board’s Jim Collins talk about the budget for the upcoming year. 
Dyan Kennedy with the Alabama Department of Agriculture runs through last week’s numbers compiled from the cattle markets around the state.
We are just a few days away from the start of Country of Origin Labeling, and NCBA’s Ashby Green feels most producers are ready.
