Latest News From Sara Brown

Cowboy boots trekked across Capitol Hill this week, as members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) visited legislative officials to share how harmful “fake meat” could be to the beef industry.

The sudden death of more than a dozen cows leads a Kansas ranch on a frustrating odyssey.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists show how injection–site blemishes can diminish the value of beef carcasses at the recent Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Convention in Fort Worth.

Moisture came to about two-thirds of the country last week, dropping heavy precipitation from the southern Great Plains northeastward into the northern Appalachians. But many areas remains in significant drought.

What originally began as a criminal raid, turned into an immigration operation at a Tennessee packing plant.

Just when U.S. beef gets the steaks rolling to China, trade wars and threats of tariffs begin.

If we don’t drive our cattle properly, their minds are on going back to where they came from and be looking for a way out. We need to show them this is their new home. 

There’s a revolution taking shape in America’s food industry—one that will greatly influence livestock production.  

In his cow herd, Missouri rancher Mike John uses a long-acting injectable and pasture rotation to keep parasites under control.

Producers should focus more on parasite control and less on medicated feeds for dealing with diseases. 

The U.S. is the biggest market for Mexican beef exports, accounting for 89% of that country's total exports in 2017. Mexico is also a major market for U.S. beef exports, taking 14.7% of total U.S. beef exports in 2017

Large red meat and poultry supplies suggests pressure on prices, which would likely influence herd numbers going forward.

Beef cow numbers increased 510,000 head in the Jan. 1 report, which was about half the increase seen last year.

Cattle conditioning or flesh is probably one of the largest contributing factors to reduce value at time of sale.

The very narrow spread between CAB and Choice product, reduced even further from last week, represents a great buying opportunity for the premium brand.

"Beef demand has been good, but it will have to remain robust or else we're going to continue to backlog cattle," Top Third Ag Marketing broker Jeff French said.

A herd of least 150 feral cattle have become more than a nuisance in one of Southern California’s popular hiking areas.

A western Missouri beef company’s expansion plans have ignited a controversy among nearby residents. It’s a battle often found in once-rural communities that are now under the influence of urban sprawl.

Producers are being asked to provide input on their experiences of livestock raised without antibiotics, "no-not ever" production programs and the impact on animal health and welfare.

Key to the feeder cattle and calf price outlook is the feeder cattle supply (estimated from cattle inventory), forage conditions, feeding margins and feedlot demand and thus, fed cattle prices.

With GE-EPDs, the added DNA speeds improving traits, whether for maternal or meat market ends. Beef-cow herd owners will learn new ways to raise better calves at three University of Missouri meetings in March.

A 14-month-old Angus bull became the highest-priced bull ever sold at public auction last week, fetching $800,000 from two ranchers based in Missouri and Oklahoma. The previous record, set just last year, was $750,000.

Control of leptospirosis in cattle requires a comprehensive approach, such as reducing Leptospira exposure, vaccination, and selective antimicrobial treatment to clear carriers.

Limited studies in the U.S. estimate herd prevalence of the serovar Hardjo strain to be near 60% in dairies and 40% in beef herds, says Dan Grooms, veterinarian, Michigan State University.

Mud and cold, wet conditions are much more difficult to manage than just the bitterly cold.

USDA's Inventory report is just one piece of the industry's puzzle.

Uncertainty in trade agreements have four of the five top beef markets in jeopardy.

Jim O'Haco accepts his ranching operation's national recognition as winner of the 2017 Environmental Stewardship Award Program.

President Trump made no definitive statement on NAFTA renegotiations, but recent positive feedback is making farmers hopeful for a quick resolution.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association today unveiled its 2018 Policy Priorities, which will guide the group’s lobbying efforts in Washington over the coming year.

Beef purchasing decisions have become less sensitive to retail beef prices, but the industry must focus on beef quality aspects of taste, appearance, convenience and freshness.

An independent survey of beef producers found 74 percent continue to approve of the Beef Checkoff Program.

David Dahlberg, a fire prevention technician with the U.S. Forest Service, was honored by President Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

Cattle herd expansion continued in 2017, although at a much slower pace than 2016.

Cargill Protein is investing $4.2 million at its Columbia, S.C. plant to expand beef grinding capabilities for consumers in the East Coast.

Angus Genetics, Inc., launches the first foot score research EPDs in the U.S. beef industry.

Critics say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's plan to restore the Mexican wolf in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico by 2043, is flawed and are suing to reverse the plan.

December placements were up 0.8% year over year, slightly more than expected. This follows large year over year placement increases in September, October and November.

As meat supplies in 2018 edge toward a new record, analysis is centered almost exclusively on demand and trade.

The Livestock Marketeers inducted Tim Lackey and Mark Smith into the organization's Hall of Fame on Jan. 13.

U.S. cattlemen fear the U.S. backing out of the Trans Pacific Partnership was a "missed opportunity" to gain access to foreign markets.

The 97 steers that finished the Missouri Steer Feedout on Nov. 14 and Dec. 19 ended up with an average per head loss of $134.76. There were fourteen different owners from across the state in the feedout this year.

Beef consumption in Japan is expected to grow nearly 4% this year after two straight years of decline.

A group of Canadian grad students have an intriguing idea: Cities that want to ‘green up’ their ecological footprints, should consider local beef production.

Drought in the central and southern Plains is causing a higher than normal risk of wildfire through April.

Texas chef Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, offers four tips to attendees at Camp Brisket at Texas A&M University.

Ranchers in western Texas want local culinary students to know more than how to cook a gOod steak.

There are a lot of skilled people cowboy poet Baxter Black admires. He’s fairly skilled in some areas (he is a veterinarian and rancher), but he lacks in others.

Beef supplies will continue to grow in 2018, but robust demand keeps all sectors modestly profitable.

Drought and dryness is continuing to expand across the Great Plains and southwestern states.