Oklahoma Beef Council Leverages Funds to Maximize Returns for Beef Producers 

The beef industry is trying to leverage its marketing successes of the last several decades to the next generation of beef buyers, the Millennials. Heather Buckmaster of the Oklahoma Beef Council recently spoke with me about their efforts.  She will also appear on this weekend's "In the Field" segment on News 9, Saturday about 6:40 a.m.

"The Millennials are that generation and that group of consumers that were born between 1980 and 2000 and they are a major priority for the Beef Checkoff," Buckmaster said. "They represent one-fourth of the U.S. population, one-third of the adults. They are the consumers of tomorrow and they are influencing the consumers of tomorrow."

She said a tremendous amount of research has been done on them to understand them to be able to grow beef demand.

One of the things research has found is that Millennials are unsure about cooking beef, about how it fits into a healthy lifestyle and proper serving sizes. Buckmaster said there is a tremendous need for education with this group and, unlike their parents' generation which could easily be reached through television, the Millennials are more likely to get their information from social media and the internet.

The anchor of the checkoff program's efforts are its website, beefitswhatsfordinner.com. It's an interactive site that is full of recipes and a virtual meat case like Millennials would see in the grocery store. The Checkoff's Facebook and Twitter platforms are also popular venues as is its YouTube channel.

You can read more of this story or catch my extended interview with Heather Buckmaster in the latest Beef Buzz.  Click here to go there. 

Anti Animal Ag Groups Sue EPA to Keep FOIA Info Flowing 

A coalition of community, animal welfare and environmental organizations is filing a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency challenging the Agency's withdrawal of a proposed rule that would have allowed EPA to collect basic information, like locations and animal population sizes, from factory farms.   

The Center for Food Safety, Environmental Integrity Project, Food & Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States, and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed the suit in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the Agency's withdrawal of the proposed rule lacks the rational basis required by law. The information at issue is critical to the EPA's ability to protect waterways from pollutants produced by factory farms, one of the country's largest sources of water pollution.

Hugh Espey, executive director at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement said: "While power plants, waste treatment facilities and manufacturers have had to comply with the protective standards of the Clean Water Act, the factory farming industry has managed to evade any meaningful regulation. After over three decades, there is no rational reason for why EPA won't enact the types of Clean Water Act approaches with factory farms that have worked well with all of our other polluting industries."

Click here to read more. 

Next Week Critical for Wheat Prices, Kim Anderson Says

The 20-cent run-up in wheat prices this week has traders excited, but all it did was put prices in the top half of the sideways range they had been trading in. So says Oklahoma State University Small Grains Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson. In his preview for this week's SUNUP show, Anderson says there's just not much going on in wheat markets right now.

"This is the week before a three-day weekend and traders are just getting into position for the long weekend. Next week is going to be the critical price time."

Anderson says he expects the price of wheat in December will be between $7.00 and $7.25. He expects a big crop next year and is betting on $6.00 wheat next June.

Click here for more analysis from Kim Anderson and to see the list of stories on this week's SUNUP program.

United Soybean Board Introduces Sustainability Assurance Protocol at Farm Progress Show

New interactive presentations developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) help educate soybean farmers on how the management systems they are using can meet the sustainability expectations of international customers. The interactive presentations, which highlight the U.S. Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol, are being introduced for the first time at the Farm Progress Show taking place in Decatur, Ill., this week.

U.S. soy exporters will be able to go to a website starting this fall and get an actual certificate of sustainability for the amount of soy they want to export. The certificate will confirm that the U.S. soy was produced with sustainable farming practices for international customers. Measurement of sustainability is based on analysis of existing data that the National Agricultural Statistics Service and other agencies collect regularly from U.S. soybean farmers. The Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol contains no additional requirements or demands of U.S. farmers.

Following Farm Progress, USB will post the presentations on its own website and make them available to other organizations to ensure soybean farmers understand the U.S. Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol.  

You can read the full story by clicking here.

China's Growing Beef Appetite Creates Opportunities for Key Suppliers

Beef consumption in China has risen steadily over the last few years. According to a new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness (FAR) Research and Advisory group, rising incomes, dietary shift and urbanization are driving the increasing Chinese appetite for beef. The report, "The Dragon's Appetite for Beef: Rising Opportunity for Key Beef Suppliers," finds that with local production unable to grow fast enough to meet increasing demand, the Chinese market provides a great opportunity for exporters from the key beef producing countries. These include exporters in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Uruguay, India and potentially the United States, if it's suspension from the Chinese market in the aftermath of the 2004 BSE outbreak is lifted.

"The consumption of beef in China is expected to rise, on a per capita basis, by 24 percent in the coming decade," says Rabobank Food & Agribusiness (FAR) Research and Advisory group analyst, Guilherme Melo. "This is actually below what it should be, as supply shortages and rising prices are restricting demand. Nonetheless, while market share will probably remain flat over the next ten years as a result, the absolute volume will increase by roughly 25 percent, adjusted for population growth."

You can read more of this story on our website by clicking here.
 

Twilight Garden Series Kicks Off Sept. 5th in Stillwater

Oklahoma gardeners who are looking for a fun way to gain insightful gardening tips should make plans to attend the Twilight Garden Series at The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University.

Slated to run each Thursday in September, the Twilight Garden Series is educational programming featuring Payne County Master Gardeners, as well as Mark Fishbein, associate professor in botany at OSU. The series begins Sept. 5 and continues each Thursday throughout the month from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Laura Payne, volunteer coordinator at The Botanic Garden at OSU, said the first of the series will feature Sarah Kimball, former OSU Cooperative Extension waste management specialist and current Master Gardener, who will provide participants with information regarding composting.

Click here to read more.
 

Labor Day Cometh- and Aloha From Our 50th State

We just wanted to remind you of the three day holiday that is now dead ahead- what is considered the final of the big three holidays of summer- Labor Day is this coming Monday- and with heat that is going to be a part of at least the first part of the holiday weekend- lots of folks may be gearing up for a little bit of barbcueing. 

Add to that the first big weekend of college football- and here's hoping lots of red meat consumption happens to clear out the beef, pork and even poultry pipelines.

Like our markets and the banks and Uncle Sam and state government folks- we will be taking a day of rest from producing this email on Monday- our next email will be released bright and early on Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, we have been recharging our batteries in the wonderful land of Aloha- over the last several days we have been on Maui and now have moved on to Kauai. 

In connection with our time in Hawaii- we have done just a little bit of agricultural sight seeing- and that ties into a question we have asked on our Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Facebook page.  For those that either already "like" our page- or will go and "like" it- we have posed a question- as I told our readers that I had just finished touring a facility on Maui that is a part of the largest ag industry now found today within Hawaii.  I have asked folks- what do you think it is? 

Well- go and click here for our Facebook page- "like" us and then tell me what you think it is- I will bring back a few Hawaiian trinkets to ship out to those who get the answer I have in mind (will draw names if several get it right- at least more than what ever I come up with)

The most common answer so far is beef cattle- which has lots of history in Hawaii and remains important today- but is not the one I am fishing for.

Here's a hint- it's not just about sales of ag products for this ag industry- but the number of people employed, amount of ag inputs they use and the impact it has globally on production agriculture.

We'll write a story and reveal the winning answer next Tuesday.