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Texas Agriculture Archive

March 1, 2002

Beef demand continues to climb

Consumer demand for beef continued its upward trend in 2001, with the Beef Demand Index now having climbed in 12 of the last 14 quarters, on the heels of a decline that stretched almost 20 years.

According to preliminary index figures, demand advanced 5.7 percent year-on-year during 2001, driven by a strong fourth quarter—despite record beef supplies, softened exports to key international markets and general economic weakness.

"It's inspiring to see that producers' efforts to build demand continued to pay off even when the economy was shaky, at best," said newly installed Cattlemen's Beef Board Chairman Dee Lacey, a cow-calf producer from Paso Robles, Calif.

Large beef supplies, food-safety concerns in Japan, and a falloff in restaurant dining and business travel after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. applied downward pressure on fed cattle prices and diminished U.S. exports to Japan, as consumers there curtailed or cut off their beef intake completely. And with additional general uncertainty about the economy, demand for rib cuts lagged that of other cheaper cuts, such as ground beef, putting a further strain on producer profitability.

In the wake, checkoff-funded efforts focused on moving supply by encouraging consumers to take advantage of favorable beef prices, initiating extensive promotional efforts in major markets, urging retailers to continue featuring beef for their shoppers, and expanding partnerships with restaurant chains to add new beef items to their menus.

Public evenly divided on biotechnology

Americans are evenly divided over whether genetically modified food and other agricultural biotechnology products hurt or help the environment when given basic information on risks and benefits, according to a poll released this week by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.

A poll, conducted by Zogby International, was released as part of a panel discussion hosted by the Initiative titled "Environmental Savior or Saboteur? Debating the Impacts of Genetic Engineering."

"Despite a long and often fractious debate about the environmental risks and benefits of biotechnology between critics and supporters, a majority of the American public agrees with neither position," said Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the Initiative. "Initially, people tend to feel slightly more strongly about the risks of the technology, but react more positively when additional information is presented to them. Simply put, it looks like the jury is still out."

House gives ARPA high marks

A year and a half after the implementation of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (ARPA), the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management met to assess the progress of the implementation of the Act.

Subcommittee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) noted that since the enactment of ARPA "a lot of time, money and work have been invested by the Risk Management Agency, the Farm Service Agency and industry into the ongoing implementation of this law. Reforms in ARPA have strengthened the federal crop insurance program.

"It has become a successful, popular risk management tool for producers, and we hope to continue to see more producers utilize it."

The Bush administration recently announced that Ross J. Davidson, Jr., will be the new administrator for the Risk Management Agency.

Property rights rally set

The Pineywoods Agricultural Producers Rally in support of private property rights will be held at the Lufkin Civic Center, 601 N. Second Street, at 6:30 p.m. on March 14.

"Through this rally we hope to renew support for property rights, said Nolan Alders, a private property owner from Nacogdoches County. "We anticipate that several hundred concerned property owners, industry representatives and others will come out and support this effort."

Scheduled speakers will address future state and federal laws that will impact private property rights in Texas, including wood certification and a new program implemented on Jan. 1 by the TNRCC, which will allow private citizens to submit evidence on environmental violations.

"If we lose the right to manage our property—whether it be growing timber, raising chickens, crops or whatever Texas demands—because of extreme environmental movements or absurd regulatory programs, the state of the economy in Texas will be threatened," Alders said.

For information contact the Texas Forestry Association at (936) 632-TREE or Alders at (936) 564-1096.

Notable Quotables

"One response to Mexico's unfair and illegal tax on high fructose corn syrup would be to enact a similar tax on a Mexican product, such as mescal (tequila is a type of mescal that comes from the agave plant). So far, I have not pursued this sort of retaliation. I still hope that Mexico will respect its international trade commitments, and repeal this legislation permanently. But, Mr. President, let me make this very clear. My patience is limited."

—Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who recently threatened to impose a "tequila tax" in retaliation to Mexico's 10 to 20 percent tax on soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Most soft drinks sold in Mexico are made with HFCS from the United States. The tax puts drinks containing HFCS at a competitive disadvantage compared with soft drinks made with sugar produced in Mexico, which are not subject to the tax.