Meat Production Continues to Rebound

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Beef, Cattle, Florida, Georgia, Poultry

The USDA recently raised its estimates of red meat and poultry production. The numbers in its newest WASDE report show production levels three billion pounds higher than the agency predicted after COVID-19 shut down meat plants in April and May. An article on agriculture.com says the meat outlook brightened for the second month in a row. “The beef production forecast …

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Vaccine Bank Part of FMD Preparedness Strategy

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Cattle, Florida, Georgia

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the initial purchase of a vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB). APHIS will invest $27.1 million in foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, which the Agency would use in the event of an outbreak to protect animals and help stop spread of …

Red Meat Exports Trend Lower in May

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Beef, Exports/Imports, Florida, Georgia

U.S. beef and pork exports trended lower in May, due in large part to temporary interruptions in slaughter and processing. Beef exports dropped well below year-ago levels, while pork exports remained higher than a year ago, but were the lowest since October 2019. Joe Schuele with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has the details. “As protective measures related to …

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Legislation Introduced to Improve Meat Processing Capacity

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Florida, Georgia, Industry

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants (RAMP UP) Act, which provides federal incentives to improve beef processing capacity. The RAMP UP Act authorizes federal grants up to $100,000 for existing meat processors to become federally inspected. Currently, state inspected and custom exempt processors cannot sell meat in interstate commerce …

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NCBA on Finalization of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Cattle, Florida, Georgia

The Trump Administration’s new and scaled-back Waters of the U.S. rule became law June 22 after last-minute attempts to block it. But a federal judge denied an effort to prevent implementation of the new regulation, which is now called the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Environmental Counsel, Scott Yager, discusses the NWPR, which went …

Largest Meatpacking Union Confirms Growing COVID-19 Impact on Workers

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Florida, Georgia, Industry, Pork

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union held a press conference highlighting the impact and growing danger of COVID-19 on frontline workers. The union represents 1.3 million employees. The UFCW says that during the last 100 days, 238 UFCW frontline workers have died from COVID-19 and nearly 29,000 workers have been infected or exposed. UFCW International President Marc Perrone …

Senators Question Meatpackers About Exports, Shortages

Clint Thompson Alabama, Beef, Florida, Georgia, Industry, Poultry

Two Democrats in the U.S. Senate are questioning top American meatpackers about past shipments to China while America went through meat shortages in grocery stores across the country. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker want to know by the end of this month how much pork, beef, and chicken those companies shipped to China during the coronavirus outbreak while warning …