NCBA Prepares Producers for Changes in Antibiotic Use 

Cattlemen need to get prepared for some antibiotic changes coming soon. At the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio, National Cattlemen's Beef Association Chief Veterinarian Dr. Kathy Simmons said in less than two years there will be some big changes with how producers can access some products that they once picked up at their local feed store.    


The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is implementing a voluntary plan for the livestock industry to phase out the use of certain antibiotics. This includes antibiotics added to animal feed or drinking water. FDA issued the voluntary guidance documents 209 and 213. Simmons said these directives aim to make medically important antibiotics unavailable to producers for growth promotion uses or what they feel are unnecessary use.


Simmons said products will still be available for treatment, control and prevention uses to maintain animal health under the oversight of a veterinarian.


Part of the agreement is that pharmaceutical and feed companies will be required to change the labeling on these products. Simmons said these label changes will make this a legal and binding use of these antibiotics. She said all of the companies have agreed to change their labels. Simmons said after the implementation date, these products will only be available under veterinary oversight.

This means changes for producers and veterinarians.  Read or listen to the full interview, by clicking here.  

From the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention- Herd Rebuilding, Beef Checkoff and More

The 2015 Cattle Industry Convention hits road gear today as the first General Session is now done, Cattlemen's College is complete- and lots of policy and marketing sessions are on the docket for today.  And- there is always the Trade Show.  It is massive- you could spend at least a full day there and not make it all the way through as you stop and talk with vendors about their product or service for the cattle industry.

The story above is based on an interview that we did with Dr. Kathy Simmons here in San Antonio- and our own Leslie Smith wrote up a summary of that interview and we posted it as one of our stories from the event.  It's an important subject- as Dr. Simmons says that the way you handle medications in feed is going to change and that cattle producers are going to have to that ongoing relationship with a Vet- if you don't already have it established.  Check it out.

However- that conversation that we had with Simmons was only one of a dozen such conversations that we had on Wednesday- and it was not as busy as we expect Thursday and Friday to be.

So- while we will carry home many of those interviews in our little digital recorded and share them in the weeks ahead with you- I am posting three or four things daily that will only be briefly summarized and then it will be up to you if you want to spend the time to listen to those conversations. 

Four such Podcasts are available as of this morning- and more will be coming.

Click on the person's name and that will carry you over to our website where you can listen to our Q&A with these folks.

Colin Woodall is the lead lobbyist for the NCBA and we talk about a variety of issues happening now in DC of importance to the cattle industry.

Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU was one of the presenters at the Cattlemen's College and we talked afterward about a lot of stuff related to herd rebuilding and how he sees this process unfolding from an economic point of view.

Cattle Industry Leader Bob Drake sat down and talked with us on Wednesday about the Beef Checkoff MOU that we have written a lot about- and you can hear his perspective on why its vital that we get a second dollar for checkoff work- but that this MOU probably is not the answer.

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) honored conservation leaders at an awards banquet Tuesday night during the 2015 NACD Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Also at the banquet, the 2015-2016 NACD officer team and members of the Executive Board were sworn into office.


The NACD/NRCS Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award was presented to Mike Thralls of Billings, Oklahoma. The award was jointly created in 2007 by NACD and NRCS to recognize outstanding conservation leadership. Thralls is a lifetime farmer who has served as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission for the past 17 years. For health reasons, Mike was unable to attend. His wife, Donna, and son, Derek, accepted the award on his behalf. The award was presented by NRCS Chief Jason Weller.


"Mike is a pioneer of voluntary conservation in Oklahoma, both in his service to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and on his farm," said Jason Weller, Chief of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. "I am grateful for his leadership in protecting our nation's natural resources and encouraging fellow farmers to use conservation practices that boost soil health, promote clean water and air, and enhance wildlife habitat. Mike has cultivated a strong relationship between the conservation districts and NRCS, which has broadened the footprint of sustainable agriculture across Oklahoma." 

To read more about the other conservation award honorees and meet the new NACD Officer team, by clicking here.  

House and Senate Ag Leaders Meet - Pledge to Work Together

The House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) issued the following statements after meeting to discuss ways they can work together to strengthen the agriculture economy and rural America in the 114th Congress.


"Senator Roberts is a friend and a strong conservative leader in the Senate," Conaway said. "I look forward to working together to promote strong farm policy, advocate for expanded trade opportunities, and eliminate burdensome regulations. His experience as chairman of the Agriculture Committees in both chambers will provide valuable perspective going forward," said Chairman Mike Conaway.


"I am looking forward to working with my friend Chairman Conaway," Chairman Roberts said. "His military service and his business experience make him well suited to lead the House Agriculture Committee, which is no easy task. I know he is committed to being a champion for farmers, ranchers, small businesses and rural communities. Together we will fight burdensome regulations, conduct strong oversight and protect the taxpayer and consumer." 

Merck Animal Health and DVAuction Introduce Cattle Market Central

Merck Animal Health and DVAuction, Inc., announced the most accurate and timely feeder cattle prices in real-time from one website. Cattle Market Central™ (CMC), an extension of the familiar Beef Market Central™, provides feeder cattle class and weight offerings, as well as prices updated automatically throughout the day from more than 45 auction markets.


Cattle producers can test CMC with a free, four-week complimentary trial from Merck Animal Health. Interested producers can simply visit cattlemarketcentral.com to sign up. Qualified Merck Animal Health customers will be offered continued CMC access after the trial or cattle producers can subscribe to the service.


"This site was developed with extensive input from cattle producers and designed to help address their critical real-time needs in this digital age," said Jim Miles, Merck Animal Health senior marketing director. "We've had 275 producers test the site to ensure that it provides what cattlemen want, and we've gotten excellent feedback about its ease of use and value." 

To read more about this marketing tool, click here.  

Have We Lost the Animal Welfare Battle?

One of the classes that many attendees of the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention's Cattlemen's College circled as one that they wanted to check out was conducted by Dave Daley of California State University in Chico. Daley addressed the statement "Why We Lost the Argument on Animal Welfare."

Daley says that animal agriculture has lost public trust on many of the issues surrounding animal welfare, because we often are talking but not communicating. This cattle producer from northern California turned Professor explained the non agricultural mindset that he runs into daily at the University where he teaches. Daley says that farmers and ranchers need to understand how others think and not laugh at others when their viewpoint is different than that of traditional production agriculture.

We have the audio of his presentation posted as one of our Ag Perspectives Podcasts- it's available here and worth your time to take a listen to as we all need to better understand those who are not connected to agriculture but want to know all is well when it comes to how their food is produced and animals are handled.