NEWS

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced July 1 that USDA has finalized tougher new standards for ground beef purchased by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for federal food and nutrition assistance programs, including the National School Lunch Program.

Beef Improvement Federation members and industry experts heard new genetic advancements and technologies that embody the cutting edge of profitable solutions during the BIF Research Symposium at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

The National Angus Conference & Tour will be held Sept. 14-17 in Bozeman, Montana. Three of the event’s participating speakers provided Progressive Cattleman some pre-event comments about their presentations. Learn more at www.nationalangusconference.com

The following is a summary report of the July cattle supply marketings as reported by USDA Livestock & Grain Market News.

Feeder cattle marketing in July usually starts with a full-week shut-down for the Fourth of July, but this year the industry was not in total agreement on which week to take its break (with Independence Day falling on a Sunday).

Since the announcement in spring that the U.S. would re-evaluate imports of fresh beef from Brazil, it is probably worth taking a look at what we already import from Brazil.