Cattlefax Estimates "Pink Slime" Debacle Costing US Beef Industry $15 to $20 Per Head in Lost Value- and Will Cost Consumers in Long Run As Well   

All the hubbub over Lean Finely Textured Beef or "pink slime" comes at a cost both to producers and consumers. Two respected commentators on the economics of the cattle industry have weighed in on the issue and say the disinformation campaign will hit beef producers and consumers in the pocketbook-hard.

Kevin Good with CattleFax says that his organization estimates that the loss to the value of a slaughter animal is between $15 and $20 per head. He adds that if this source of lean beef is not utilized in the domestic pipeline- that there will be a higher cost of ground beef that consumers will have to pay- and that the lean product to mix with beef trimmings that are 50% beef and 50% fat will have to come from imported sources- or by competing with the new value cuts developed by the industry and grinding more of the chuck and round into lean ground beef.

We talked over this past weekend at the 135th Annual meeting of the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Convention with Kevin Good and you can hear the full interview by clicking here.

In addition, OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says the consequences of the "pink slime" controversy will be disastrous to consumers if they don't start looking at the science and getting past the distasteful name for a perfectly healthy product.

"Rejecting LFTB will have consequences that many consumers will not like... This may well contribute to the demise of the dollar menu at your favorite fast food hamburger chain...whether they use LFTB or not. This will also result in increased imports of lean beef, which may be a concern or a consequence that consumers do not like. Given concerns about rising food prices, growing global food demand and food security, we must use beef products in the most efficient manner possible. LFTB is sort of the modern equivalent of your grandmother boiling the soup bones to make beef stock. She could not afford to waste beef then and neither can we today. We have the lowest relative food prices in the world and the reason we do is because we utilize processes like LFTB to capture the maximum value of food production."

Click here for Dr. Peel's analysis from this week's Cow Country News.

National Cotton Council President Mark Lange Calls Out Grains and Oilseeds Over Farm Bill Money Fight 

Mark Lange, President and CEO of the National Cotton Council of America, spoke to growers this last Friday about what he sees in store for the new farm bill. He said that getting such a bill passed is an enormous undertaking and that producers are unanimous that they need a good bill and they need it now. He says where the difficulty comes in is whose definition of "good bill" do you use?

However- Lange says that perhaps the desire to get a farm bill done this calendar year may be one of the few things that the major commodity groups actually agree upon at this point.  During his speech this past Friday to the Plains Cotton Growers in Lubbock, Lange reiterated the mantra of those who represent the crops grown mostly in the south that "one-size-fits-all doesn't work."

And clearly- he threw down the gauntlet with a bluntness that has not been heard from a commodity group head here in 2012. And that bluntness boils down to the finite number of dollars left to write the 2012 bill. "But the commodity groups themselves have made it a little difficult on Congress because the commodity groups aren't giving the Congress a unified voice. And I don't mind telling you, because I speak for cotton--that's my job--that some grains and oil seeds are trying to take your money. And not just our money, but they're trying to take the money that's in the baseline for rice and peanuts and cotton in order to enrich their revenue programs. If they think we're just going to roll over and say 'Oh, yeah, that's just fair,' I don't think so. So Congress comes to us and says you really need to give us better direction, but I'm sorry, as long as the grains and oil seeds are going to try to steal several hundreds of millions of dollars annually in support from rice, peanuts and cotton to enrich their programs, we're not going to speak with a single voice. It's not going to happen."

Read more of Mark Lange's perspective on the farm bill, and listen to his full address to cotton producers by clicking here. 

Crop Weather Update:  Warmest Oklahoma March on Record Speeds Small Grain Growth

Wheat and canola conditions across the state continued to improve and progress was ahead of normal for most stages. All small grains and canola were rated mostly good, with 22 percent of wheat and 19 percent of canola rated excellent.  Wheat jointing reached 85 percent complete by Sunday, 20 points ahead of the five-year average.  Canola blooming was 87 percent complete by week's end, up 18 points from the previous week and 46 points ahead of last year.

Fifty-three percent of the wheat crop was reported in good condition, 22 excellent, 19 percent was in fair condition and only six percent was in poor or very poor condition.

Likewise, 53 percent of the canola crop was in good condition, 23 percent was fair, 19 percent was in excellent shape and five percent was rated as poor or very poor.

Forty-nine percent of wheat in Kansas was listed in good condition, 32 percent was rated fair, 11 percent was rated excellent, and eight percent was rated poor or very poor.

Texas wheat producers reported 33 percent of their crop was in fair condition, 24 percent was classified as good, ten percent was in excellent shape and 33 percent was in poor or very poor condition.

Click here for the latest USDA Crop Weather Report for Oklahoma.

Senators Call For an End to the Destructive Death Tax

One of the issues that continues to crop up in the field hearings being held by the House Agriculture Commitee is the death tax. Farmers, ranchers, ag producers and small business owners across the country are raising their voices for the tax's repeal. Recently, Senator John Thune joined with several of his colleagues introduced a bill to repeal the tax permanently. This is an editorial written by Sen. Thune, a Republican from South Dakota:

I joined with 34 of my Senate colleagues to introduce the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act (S 2242). This legislation will permanently abolish the federal estate tax, better known by ranchers, farmers, and family business owners across America as the "death tax." I believe the death tax is destructive, misguided, and inefficient, and that our economy, small businesses, family farms, and ranches that are expected to be transferred to future generations will benefit enormously from its demise.

America's family businesses, farmers, and ranchers were spared from the wrath of the federal estate tax in 2010, but unfortunately this was merely a short reprieve. The current rate of 35 percent on estates worth more than $5 million per individual expires at the end of the year and will be raised to 55 percent on estates worth more than $1 million. Successful entrepreneurs and small business owners across America are once again subject to a punitive tax on their hard work, making planning and passing on farms, ranches, and businesses to the next generation even more difficult. As it stands today, more than 70 percent of family businesses do not survive to the second generation, and nearly 90 percent of family businesses do not survive to the third generation.

Click here to read more of Sen. Thune's editorial on ending the death tax.

Boxed Beef, Finished Cattle Prices Down Again Last Week - Audio with Ed Czerwien

In this week's beef report, according to Ed Czerwien, USDA Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas, said we saw the choice cut market end the week of March 30 down once again. Choice ended the week at $183.37 cwt, down about $4.00 from the previous Friday. The total load volume was also lower last week, indicating retailers are a little reluctant right now to buy too far ahead.

As far as the finished cattle trade last week, the trend was a dollar lower with business in the Southern Plains mostly at the $125 cwt mark. Business was mostly $202 cwt in the meat.

The average live weight of the cattle harvest from the Texas Panhandle was 1,026 pounds, down about 16 pounds from the previous week.

You can hear Czerwien's complete weekly report by clicking here.

EU Policy Shuts Off Pumps on U.S. Biodiesel, Costing Farmers $1.1 Billion

A soy checkoff study shows a European Union renewable-energy policy would ultimately cost U.S. soybean farmers money by lowering U.S. soybean prices.

The study, funded by the United Soybean Board (USB), shows the EU's Renewable Energy Directive, which currently excludes biodiesel made from U.S. soybean oil in renewable energy quotas, could decrease U.S. soybean prices by as much as 35 cents per bushel. If left unresolved, the regulation would cost U.S. soybean farmers more than $1.1 billion per year.

The checkoff contends the policy unfairly singles out biodiesel made from U.S. soy. USB Immediate Past Chair Marc Curtis says the checkoff continues to work with the American Soybean Association (ASA) on efforts to gain inclusion for biodiesel made from U.S. soy.

"The EU is the second-largest market for U.S. soybeans, and that market is at risk due to this regulation," says Curtis, a soybean farmer from Leland, Miss. "We can use this study to show allied organizations and the U.S. government how much of an impact this regulation would have on U.S. soybean farmers. It will also give the U.S. government facts to demonstrate to the European Commission that the regulation needs to be based on sound science."

Read more about how the EU's policy costs U.S. soybean farmers by clicking here.

State Representative Phil Richardson of Minco Will Not Stand for Reelection This Fall

State Rep. Phil Richardson announced today his plans to retire from the Oklahoma House of Representatives after this legislative session. Richardson is the current Chairman of the Oklahoma House Ag Committee. The Republican lawmaker is from Minco. 

"It has been an honor to serve the people of House District 56 and I look forward to seeing them around the district as friends and neighbors," said Richardson. "I turned 70 this year and decided it was time to return to my farming and cattle operations and let someone else step up to represent the district." 

During his tenure at the Legislature, Richardson has focused on rural issues. He authored bills that created the Feral Swine Control Act, preserved the Oklahoma Wildlife Diversity Program, lowered the cost of hunting licenses for minors, strengthened trespassing laws, banned computer-assisted remote hunting and permitted individuals to protect their property and livestock from wildlife. 

With the word out that Phil Richardson plans to step down at the end of the 2012 session- praise for the lawmaker quickly came from Roy Lee Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council. "Rep. Richardson has done an outstanding job representing his constituents and all of rural Oklahoma during his 8 years in the legislature," said Lindsey. "As a livestock producer, farmer, and a veterinarian, Dr. Richardson brought a unique perspective to the legislature that will be hard to replace. He has been an excellent chairman for the House Agriculture, Environment, and Wildlife Committee and co-chair of the Joint Water Committee."

Click here for more on the Richardson announcement on his retirement from his service in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.