The 2009 annual convention of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association was held recently at Amarillo. About 500 persons in attendance heard from various speakers on several issues.
Perhaps tops on the list was a discussion on the retail sector of beef sales. Managers from two top retailers joined Jim Henger, executive director of channel marketing for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, for the panel.
Cathy East, group director of perishables for Safeway, and Dave Weaber, economic analyst for Food Lion, were the participants. Both have extensive experience in dealing with the beef industry.
Overall, beef consumption remains steady but the retail industry has seen an increase in its share of beef consumption, to more than $430 billion in sales. Fewer pounds of beef are being eaten away from home, as more people are eating at home to save money in this time of recession.
"Beef, by far, is the biggest contributor to retail meat department sales," Henger said. "Retailers realize this, and that's why they promote that department and beef so heavily in their advertising, to help bring people into their stores." [Read More]
Texas A U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded project being led by Texas A&M University has brought Iraqi agricultural personnel to Texas for training and to introduce them to new technologies and methods that may be applied in Iraq. The 13 Iraqis--10 from Iraq's Ministry of Agriculture, two from the University of Baghdad and one from the University of Babil--are receiving agricultural instruction at Texas AgriLife facilities throughout the...
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Nebraska It's been said that the variation in climate between Lincoln and Scottsbluff is greater than between Lincoln and the East Coast. That's why the Scotts Bluff Experimental Substation was established in 1910--so agricultural research could be conducted under local conditions, not those of eastern Nebraska.
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Colorado The annual Colorado Ag Classic will be held Dec. 9 and 10 at the Thomas M. McKee Building at The Ranch in Loveland, Colo. The fifth annual Colorado Ag Classic is the joint convention of the Colorado Association of Wheat Growers, the Colorado Corn Growers Association, Colorado Sunflower Administrative Committee, Colorado Sorghum Producers, Colorado Seed Growers Association, and Colorado Seed Industry Association.
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Nebraska ag groups oppose some proposed cuts LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)--Nebraska agriculture groups don't like the fact that Gov. Dave Heineman has proposed taking some of the money farmers contribute to checkoff funds to help balance the state budget.
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DENVER (AP)--Airborne nitrogen pollution from vehicle exhaust and farm fertilizer is turning algae in the alpine lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park into junk food for fish, a study says. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Sweden and Norway, according to the study of about 90 high-elevation lakes set to be published in the journal Science on Nov. 6. Arizona State University professor James Elser, the study's lead author, said the effect ...
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Dr. Qingyi Yu, Texas AgriLife Research plant molecular biologist in Weslaco, will be part of a $3.1 million National Science Foundation grant to study the sex chromosomes of papaya. The study, led by Dr. Ray Ming, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign plant biologist, aims to determine the sex of a papaya plant prior to its flowering. That would enable breeders to help develop better producing varieties for ...
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Missouri The Missouri Livestock Symposium has announced its lineup of speakers for this year's Beef Cattle Section, and according to Symposium Chair Garry L. Mathes, the program includes several "big hitters." The lineup includes Lee Leachman, Leachman Cattle of Colorado, who will give two talks.
The American Soybean Association Nov. 10 communicated to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk its priorities for restarting World Trade Organization negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda on a foundation that offers an improved opportunity for a successful outcome for U.S. farmers. "In our view, a successful agreement must include significant improvements in market access, greater commitments by developing countries with world-class ...
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)--Opposition to Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman's plan to use some crop checkoff dollars to balance the state budget may be working. Nebraska Farm Bureau President Keith Olsen has been asking state lawmakers whether they support Heineman's proposal to take about $750,000 from the corn, wheat, dry bean and other funds to help deal with a projected $334 million revenue shortfall. Olsen said on Nov. 6 that he hasn't heard "any senators...
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP)--The Albany County Commission has approved a permit for a wind farm that will straddle the Albany County-Carbon County line. The commissioners on Nov. 3 approved the permit for 28 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for the North Rim wind farm that will be owned and operated by AES Wind Generation.
Missouri Farmers and ranchers can learn how to write and submit proposals for grants to promote sustainable agriculture practices at a Nov. 3 workshop at the August A. Busch Conservation Nature Center in St. Charles, Mo. Funding for the grants comes from the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.
Colorado Lester Brown will give a free public lecture--presented by the Institute for Livestock and the Environment and the Monfort Professor-in-Residence program--at Colorado State University at 7 p.m., Nov. 19. Brown was hailed as "one of the world's most influential thinkers," by The Washington Post.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Oct. 9 was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md. The Georgia 4-H nominated Sen. Chambliss for the distinction for his leadership and exemplary service to 4-H. This year, fifteen men and women from across the country displaying strong ...
