A meeting over U.S. Country-of-Origin Labeling will be held in mid-September in Geneva, Switzerland. Canada, Mexico and United States will be meeting with World Trade Organization officials over the level of retaliation that will be permitted. The U.S. has already lost its case over COOL several times.

National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall believes the only way out, is for total repeal of mandatory COOL. Over the last week, he has had meetings with the Canadians and Mexicans and nothing has changed.

"It is still very clear that they are not backing down, that they are going to pull on the trigger on retaliation," Woodall said. "The question of course is, what monetary level will they be able to use?"

In a 47-page brief to the WTO, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) demonstrated that Canada overstated their losses related to COOL. In the brief we have linked to as well as a separate brief on the Mexican request for retaliation- the USTR determined that the maximum amount that Canada and Mexico could possibly claim as a result of the United States' implementation of mandatory COOL is less than $91 million annually. That's much lower than the $4 billion impact claimed by Mexico and Canada combined. In analyzing the US claims, Woodall said the USTR didn't take into account many of the costs of COOL to our two trading partners.

"We have discovered in our review or analysis of that USTR submission, is that they were only looking at implementation at the retail level," Woodall said. "They did not take into account all the other impacts on the chain."

Once the WTO sees that, Woodall thinks they will put their focus back on the retaliation figures submitted by both Canada and Mexico. NCBA thinks they can show that information to U.S. Senators, like U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and begin to push for action quickly. Right now, Stabenow is still wanting to put a voluntary COOL program in statute. Woodall said that concept doesn't have support from Canada or Mexico.

We talked with Colin early this week and featured him on this Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen as Woodall discusses why a voluntary program is unnecessary.

It's a plan based on a possibility.  Daily, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) continues to solidify its response should a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) be reported and confirmed in Oklahoma.


HPAI is a serious poultry disease and is highly contagious among birds. There have been no reported cases of HPAI in Oklahoma. The millions of egg laying hens and turkeys killed in mostly Iowa and Minnesota are associated with infection from birds flying the Mississippi Flyway- which is east of the Central Flyway that includes Oklahoma.


However, since late 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed several cases of HPAI in the migratory bird paths known as the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways. The disease has been found in wild birds, as well as in a few backyard and commercial poultry flocks. 

Click here to read more about the concerns with wild migratory waterfowl, like ducks and geese and planning efforts by ODAFF.

Getting outside for the start of the hunting season is never far from the minds of Oklahoma sportsmen and sportswomen.


Over the next couple months food plots will be planted, and with the help of a new app from Oklahoma State University, anyone interested in wildlife management now has food plot information at their fingertips.


"The OSU Food Plot app includes information regarding white-tailed deer, wild turkey, northern bobwhite, mourning dove, ring-necked pheasant and waterfowl," said Brian Arnall, associate professor in OSU's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. "Over 30 agronomic plants are described, including planting dates, planting rates, fertility requirements and wildlife species benefited."


The app is free and available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch by searching for "wildlife food plots" in the app store. Future versions will be compatible with Android.  Click here to read more on how this app will aid landowners in planting decisions if they choose to use food plots.

When retail beef prices are high, who is striking it rich? Probably nobody, says Brent Eichar, Certified Angus Beef senior vice president.


"A lot of our beef producers, they eat their own product," Eichar said. "They don't need to go to the grocery store to buy beef. So I think at times, there's maybe a bit of a disconnect from between how we go from about $1.60 cattle to that $14.99 ribeye steak."


Walking through the rough proportions can shed light on the basic math behind beef prices.


"Certainly, we know that through processing, we drop 35 percent of the weight of the animal," Eichar said. "As we take that through a side of beef down to a retail cut, we drop another 50 percent. So, you know out of 30-35 percent of the live weight actually beef."


If the product doesn't sell before its freshness date expires, the other beef sales must cover that cost, too.  Click here to read more or to watch this video news release provided by CAB and the American Angus Association.

Class 23 of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association's (OCA) Cattlemen's Leadership Academy had their initial meeting Aug. 10-12. The three-day session was the first of four to take place over the course of one year. Each session has a different focus. Session one focused primarily on Beef Production and began at the OCA Office located in historic Stockyards City.

OCA staff facilitated orientation, discussed OCA structure and current industry issues.  On day one, participants learned the ins and out of the futures markets, had a crash course in table etiquette and professional introductions and traveled to Buffalo Feeders in Buffalo, Okla.  CLA members then went on to Dodge City, Kan. where the remaining two days of the session took place.

Members of CLA, Class 23 include: Sara Brannan, Marietta; Shawn Arthur, Claremore; Brett Bowden, Mulhall; Jeramy Burch, Davis; Dana Church, Sentinel; Sam Halverson, Pauls Valley; Bill and Kyndra Haney, Calvin; Odie Heck, Tupelo; Kade Howard, Ringling; Rebecca Hunter, Poteau; Casey Kelso, Konowa; Jean Lam, Pauls Valley; Kyle Robinson, Sparks; Blake Shropshire, Sparks; Johnny and Sherry Walton, Ada; Benji White, Putnam; Russell and Dana Zook, Kingfisher.  Click here to read more about the first session of the OCA's Cattlemen's Leadership Academy.

 

 

Earlier this week, current US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack threw his support to Hilary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee for President in 2016.   

 

He made known his support for Mrs. Clinton in an Op-Ed article in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa newspaper. In that statement of support, he called her a friend and one that is always loyal. The only are that Vilsack, the former Governor of Iowa, mentioned in his statement of support that had anything to do with agriculture was this comment son the Renewable Fuel Standard- "Expanding and strengthening the middle class starts with quality jobs. Too often the discussion of good jobs fails to include the unique challenges faced by rural Americans. Hillary Clinton understands that some of the deepest and most pronounced poverty exists in rural areas of the country. Her strong support for the Renewable Fuel Standard and bio-based manufacturing as important parts of a revitalized rural economy makes clear she will work hard to promote meaningful economic opportunity throughout the country."

You can read Mr. Vilsack's comments on his support for Hilary by clicking here.