Records for Red Meat Exports Underscores Importance of Trade Agreements

Dan Beef, Cattle, Exports/Imports, Livestock, Marketing

U.S. red meat exports reached unprecedented levels in 2021. And according to a story from Joe Schuele, trade agreements played a major role in this success story.  A detailed summary of the 2021 red meat export results is available from the USMEF website. 2021 Beef Exports Shatter Previous Records; Pork Export Value Also Reaches New High U.S. beef exports greatly exceeded previous …

Organizations Ask EPA to Withdraw Proposed New WOTUS Rule

Dan Legislative, Pork, Water

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) was one of the organizations asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw their proposed new WOTUS rule. Last week, NPPC signed onto two sets of comments asking the EPA to withdraw it. Submitted by the Waters Action Coalition (WAC), of which NPPC is a member, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the comments detail …

Florida Lawmakers Discuss Veterinary Telemedicine

Dan Cattle, Equine, Florida, Legislative, Livestock, Pork, Poultry, Sheep-Goats

Week five of the Florida Legislative Session saw various issues discussed once again, but there is a bill that has been of interest to some in agriculture across the state. Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) Director of Governmental Affairs, Sam Ard, explains what the bill is about and where it currently stands. The 60 day Florida Legislative session will run until March 11th. Sponsored ContentFlorida …

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Case in U.S. Confirmed

Dan Poultry

A case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed at a commercial operation in Indiana. According to a story from Rod Bain, this is the first such detection in the U.S. since 2020. Koren Custer, with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services, discusses the recently confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at an Indiana …

New Records for Beef Exports, New High for Pork Export Values

Dan Beef, Cattle, Exports/Imports, Pork, Sheep-Goats

According to year-end data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), U.S. beef exports in 2021 exceeded previous volume and value records surpassing $10 billion for the first time. That same reports notes while pork exports finished slightly below the record volume reached in 2020, they did set a new value record topping $8 billion …

USDA-NASS Reports 2 Percent Drop in Sheep Inventory

Dan Sheep-Goats, USDA-NASS

Increased slaughter of mature sheep in 2021, thanks to drought and high mature ewe slaughter prices, played a role in a 2 percent decrease in the American sheep inventory as reported by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). As of Jan. 1, the American sheep and lamb inventory totaled 5.07 million head. Breeding sheep inventory was 3.71 million head, down 2 …

USDA Providing Disaster Assistance

Dan Cattle, Livestock, Pasture, USDA-FSA

USDA provided an update on upcoming disaster assistance during last week’s Cattle Industry Convention. The assistance is for agricultural producers impacted by weather-related disasters in 2020 and 2021. While speaking at the annual event Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, Robert Bonnie, said “Over the past two years, as agricultural producers have struggled with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have …

New Anti-Competition Reporting Tool

Dan Cattle, Livestock, Poultry, USDA

Last week, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Justice (DOJ) launched a new tool where farmers and ranchers can anonymously report potentially unfair and anticompetitive practices in the livestock and poultry sectors. This can be done online at farmerfairness.gov. “This new online tool will help USDA and the Justice Department address anticompetitive actions and create livestock and poultry markets that …