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It forecast beef output next fiscal year at 1.96 million metric tons, down from an estimated 1.99 million tons this fiscal year and down from an actual 2.07 million tons last fiscal year.
Of major overseas markets, they forecast exports to the U.S. next
fiscal year will fall to 348,000 tons from 352,000 tons this fiscal year.
Source: DTN; AgDaily News; Pg 20; June 21, 2004
Biopharming is back in business
Just 18 months after Texas-based Prodigene Inc. was embroiled in a contamination incident, it is again growing pharmaceutical crops in Nebraska.
Several other companies have received approval to test growing of human-use drugs in plants, usually on plots of less than an acre and under extraordinarily tight secrecy and security.
Some critics demand to know how much and where such crops are being grown so "neighboring farmers can be made aware of the risks" and others are asking that experiments be limited to non-food crops such as tobacco.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report;
Vol. 67, No. 23-1; June 4, 2004
USDA releases 2002 Census of Agriculture
Half of America's farms and ranches have Internet access and nearly 39 percent report using a computer for their farm business, according to new data released from the 2002 Census of Agriculture.
Conducted every five years by the Department of Agriculture's National Statistics Service, the Census of Agriculture attempts to reach every agricultural operator in America through a mail survey. Follow-ups by telephone or personal interview are conducted for those who do not respond by mail. Data represent all agricultural operations, defined as any place which sold or normally would have sold more than $1,000 worth of agricultural products during the census year.
Highlights of the census include: the top five states in value of agricultural products sold are California ($25.7 billion), Texas ($14.1 billion), Iowa ($12.3 billion), Nebraska ($9.7 billion) and Kansas ($8.7 billion); 90 percent of farms are operated by an individual or family; the number of corporate farms declined by 18.4 percent from 1997 to 2002; and direct sales to consumers increased 37 percent from 1997, totaling $812.2 million in 2002.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; June 4, 2004
Canadian recruiters are traveling throughout Mexico to find willing workers for farmers in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Manitoba.
About 10,000 Mexicans are employed as migrant workers in Canada on an annual basis.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; June 15, 2004
Brazilian farming attractive, difficult
So… Who owns all the ground in Brazil? Good question!
Even the Brazilian government says some 200 million hectares (about 490 million acres) have no deed. These are acres either being developed or in agricultural use. The Brazilian government is looking to deed this ground so—you know why—it can be accurately taxed.
Perspective: Farming in the "wild west" of Brazil is attractive to many U.S. farmers, but establishing clear ownership of ground in the country can be exceptionally difficult. Also…before diving into Brazilian production, make sure you've got the ability to transfer money from Brazilian banks out of the country.
Source: ProFarmer; Vol. 32, No. 24;
June 12, 2004
Canadian farmers paid for dead cattle
According to news reports, the Canadian government will pay compensation to producers for reporting cattle that have died on the farm or are too sick to enter the food chain.
The Canadian government plans to test those cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy and will implement reimbursement as an incentive to encourage reporting.
Canada's chief veterinarian, Brian Evans, reportedly said if an animal tracked to a certain herd is discovered to have BSE, producers will not lose the rest of their herd.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; June 14, 2004
Genetic markers tag
the tenderness trail
Cargill Inc. recently revealed that through genome research, they've found the genetic markers that indicate whether cattle will produce a tender, juicy steak or just an adequate one.
They say it will allow better breeding and feeding to produce a more consistent product—something the beef industry has longed for.
Cargill says they'll use a prototype blood test the next 18 months to determine calves' potential for desirable traits.
Source: ProFarmer; Vol. 32, No. 24;
June 12, 2004
Midwest will feed
Mexico's ethanol plants
Minnesota agricultural leaders hope more sales for the state's farmers are on the way as Mexico's middle class grows and the country builds two ethanol plants.
Mexico's first two ethanol plants are expected to draw about 70 percent of their corn from the Midwest, said Isabel Lopez, leader of Mexico's ethanol initiative. She said the two plants, in the states of Jalisco and Hidalgo, would have capacity of 60 million gallons a year.
Source: DTN; AgDaily News; Pg 12;
June 21, 2004
Regulations costly to
processing plants
The cost of regulation is readily apparent in a new report from USDA's Economic Research Service on investments made by the meat and poultry processing industry to comply with the 1996 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
From 1996 to 2000 the industry has spent an estimated $380 million annually and made another $570 million in long-term investments to comply.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report;
Vol. 67, No. 23-1; June 4, 2004
South African land
reform inevitable
According to wire reports, most white South African farmers accept that land reform in their country is inevitable.
A survey conducted by a research group found that more than half of white farmers would be willing to sell some of their land to advance the land redistribution process. The South African government has pledged to transfer 30 percent of commercial land to native South Africans by 2015.
Source: AFBF; Executive Newswatch; June 8, 2004
GAO investigates
ineligible payments
Due to the way USDA handles payment limitation rules, they are potentially missing out on "opportunities to recoup ineligible payments." That's the bottom line of a new report by the General Accounting Office (GAO).
The investigative agency looked at farming operations from 2001 and found that in about half of the cases, USDA "did not use" proper tools to make sure payment recipients were "actively involved" in farming.
Source: ProFarmer; Vol. 32, No. 25;
June 19, 2004
