Farm Foundation Leads Initiative on Voluntary Phase Out of Antibiotic Use in Food Animals

Farm Foundation, NFP is leading a new initiative designed to support efforts by U.S. livestock producers and veterinarians to voluntarily phase out the use of medically-important antibiotics for food production purposes in food animals.


Many producers and businesses across the entire food and agricultural value chain have already taken action to reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in food animal production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued two Guidance for Industry (GFI) documents related to the use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals. FDA is also proposing amendments have also been proposed to the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). Successful implementation of the practices is critical to public health, food prices and the future viability of animal agriculture in the United States.


"By the end of 2016, producers and veterinarians need to complete work to phase out the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs to promote growth, as specified in recent the FDA guidances," explains Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin.


Over the next six months, Farm Foundation will convene 10 regional meetings with livestock producers and veterinarians across the country. The intent is to help producers and veterinarians gain a comprehensive understanding of the FDA GFIs, and help regulators understand the challenges of implementing these practices.


"The success of achieving this goal--for both public health and the economic health of animal agriculture--hinges on producers having access to the information they need to adjust production practices, and the capacity of veterinarians to provide the additional oversight needed," says Conklin.
 

Click here to read more about FDA has proposed amendments to its Veterinary Feed Directive and how Farm Foundation will be holding regional meetings this summer.  

Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin Says EPA Ready to Rush WOTUS Out as Final Rule Before Memorial Day 

Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin believes that enough Democrats might rethink their votes on HR 1732- the bill that tells the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA to withdraw their proposed rule on WOTUS (Clean Water Act Changes)- that a Presidential veto could be overridden. Earlier this week, the House passed the Regulatory Protection Act of 2015 by a 261 to 155 margin- well short of the two thirds majority needed to overturn a Barrack Obama veto.

While Congress works to slow down or stop the implementation of WOTUS, the Obama Administration appears to have no intention of stopping or reconsidering the process. The real problem facing the opponents of WOTUS may be the desire of Gina McCarty, Administrator of EPA, to rush a final rule out that she claims addresses all the concerns raised during the comment period of this past year.  

Mullin says "the bad news is that the White House is wanting them to move forward with this- and we actually got word today that they are actually speeding up the process and is wanting to start implementing this as soon as Memorial weekend. They're trying to get ahead of the Senate to keep the Senate from acting, because we all know, that once something is implemented, it is very hard to undo. So, we feel like the next challenge may have to come from the court system."  

The Congressman's comments were made in an interview with Oklahoma Farm Bureau reporter Sam Knipp.  Click here for our full story on what the Congressman is saying about WOTUS and the efforts in the House to stop or slow down EPA regarding the changes being planned for the Clean Water Act.  

COOL Ruling Could Have Consequences for U.S. Beef and Pork Exports

The World Trade Organization is expected to issue a final ruling soon on Mexico and Canada's challenge of the U.S. Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations for red meat. The WTO has ruled against the United States three separate times. The first couple of times were in regards to the 2009 COOL rule. When the U.S. was found noncompliant, the rule was rewritten. Since then, the WTO has also ruled against the updated rule. The U.S. is down to its last appeal and a WTO ruling is expected any day.


Both Canada and Mexico have stated they are ready to retaliate against the United States, if the WTO finds the U.S. noncompliant. U.S. Meat Export Federation regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic Chad Russell said they have meet with government officials in Mexico.


"Mexicans reserve the right to retaliate, if that right were given to them from the WTO," Russell said. "There would be a period of time where the Mexicans and the Canadians would have to demonstrate to the WTO the damage that they incurred because of the U.S. policy. So it probably wouldn't be until sometime in September where by Mexico and Canada might be given the right to retaliate."


If the WTO rules against the United States, that starts the clock. Russell believes Mexico will pursue their rights at least to retaliate.  Click here to read or to listen to this Beef Buzz feature on the potential for U.S. pork and beef to be included on the list of products affected by retaliatory tariffs.
 

House Ag Committee Offers 10 Things to Know About COOL

In the coming days, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to release its fourth and final decision on the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) rule and announce if the United States has been found compliant with trade standards. Should the U.S. lose this appeal, Congress will need to be ready to avoid retaliation from Canada and Mexico, our top two export markets. Here are 10 things you should know about COOL.


1. COOL is not about food safety or traceability.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which enforces COOL, has repeatedly stated that, "the COOL program is neither a food safety or traceability program, but rather a consumer information program."


2. COOL is costly for producers, retailers, and consumers.


According to AMS, the first year-incremental costs for growers, producers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers are $2.6 billion. Furthermore, the estimated cost to the United States' economy in higher food prices and reduced food production in the tenth year after implementation of the rule is $211.9 million.


3. There is no increase in consumer demand for origin labeling information as a result of COOL.


According to a study by Kansas State University, there is no evidence of a demand increase in beef, pork or chicken products when the COOL label is present. Other economic and academic studies show no evidence mandatory country of origin labeling in the U.S. retail meat markets has increased consumer demand. Click here to read the study.  

Click here to read the other seven things to know about COOL.

Price Not Only Factor Influencing Beef Purchases

High cattle and beef prices provide quite a case study for the entire industry. The beef industry has learned a lot about consumers over the last decade. Certified Angus Beef ® brand president John Stika said with higher beef prices, they thought consumers would respond by choosing to always lower their quality standards, by just focusing on price.


"As an overall beef industry, we've learned a lot," Stika said. "Consumers don't just buy on price alone. They buy on price in relation to value. As you look at that, it's really created a lot of opportunity that U.S. cattlemen have really taken advantage of as we've ramped up the quality of product that we produce for consumers over the last decades."


Beef grading has reached record high levels at the same time when cattle inventories hit rock bottom. That might dilute the signals, but they're still there, Stika says.


Capitalizing on consumer demand starts at the ranch level.  Click here to read more or to watch a video news release from the CAB and the American Angus Association.   

National Geographic Fostering Conversations About the Future of Agriculture and Food Production

National Geographic launched an effort in 2014 to initiate a conversation about growing enough food to feed an ever increasing world population through a series called the "Future of Food". National Geographic Magazine Executive Editor Dennis Dimick said getting to that topic was evolutionary. He said the magazine had spent a decade studying the effects of climate change and how energy choices are tied to these issues. That tied into stories about preserving genetic diversity in the food system, fresh water and the end of plenty after the food price spikes of 2007 and 2008. Then in 2014, National Geographic published a yearlong series that addressed the implications of having a world population of seven billion people.


"I think the problem that we faced was, it's a huge issue," Dimick said. "So you have to break it down into sort of almost into palatable sections, so you can find interesting stories to tell."


In speaking at the the recent Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholder's Summit in Kansas City, Dimick said he felt there hasn't been a good platform for a national dialogue on producing enough food in a sustainable way for the next several generations. In looking at the media coverage of food nationally, he said people are disconnected from those that grow food and the challenges the U.S. will face in the future.


"We live in a culture of abundance, we take food for granted," Dimick said. "It's inexpensive, we've had for a long time there has been a policy of trying to produce food cheaply in this country. So we don't think about it, we maybe spend ten percent of our income on average (on food). So it's not something we think about because it's always there." 

I caught up with Dimick at the Stakeholder's Summit.  Click or tap here to listen to my interview.  

So many Oklahomans are all about helping when they see or hear about a need- and this week- we saw that happen in the Seminole area as a rancher worried about how he was going to save his cattle from starving to death because of high waters.   

Larry LeRay ranches east of Bowlegs- and part of his cattle were stranded after waters rose in the river that cuts through his ranch. He could not reach them for four days- they had no feed and he did not expect the river to drop anytime soon- especially with more rain forecast.   

So he called the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. And they got the Army National Guard involved. The Oklahoma Army National Guard loaded a Chinook and dropped 12 bales of hay and 12 sacks of feed to the cattle on Tuesday.  

You can read more- and see a News9 video feature on the story by clicking here. 

Good Job!!! 

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As part of its commitment to support growers throughout the Great Plains and worldwide, Bayer CropScience Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its Beaver Crossing Breeding and Trait Development Station near Lincoln, Nebraska. Research and development activities at the $17 million state-of-the-art facility will serve to help Bayer CropScience deliver breakthrough wheat and soybean varieties with improved technologies and genetics.


"Wheat and soybean crops play an integral role in strengthening Nebraska's agriculture industry and its economy," said Frank Terhorst, global head of Seeds for Bayer CropScience LP. "Through Beaver Crossing, we are expressing our commitment to using the latest scientific research and development to support the continued health of these valuable crops."


Click here to read more about the Beaver Crossing Breeding and Trait Development Station, situated on 400 acres of farmland.  This is a cornerstone in Bayer's commitment to invest more than $1 billion in wheat research and development over 10 years.  

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More than 2,100 producers across the country became Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified thanks to the recent program supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). That is the highest number in the program's four-year history, and means that nearly 22,000 producers have taken advantage of these free offers to sign up for the BQA certification program.

The checkoff-funded BQA program is important to the cattle industry, as it provides producers a set of best practices for producing quality beef. It also assures consumers that the beef they eat is both safe and wholesome.

More on this successful effort to grow the ranks of the BQA are available here.