News Desk
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TSCRA
News Update
VOL. 27 • NO. 9 • MAY 15, 2006
Alert
market inspector exposes theft suspects
Cattle
Raisers will head to Horseshoe Bay for summer meeting
TSCRA keeps lid on
insurance rates
Federal
jury rules against packers
TSCRA
featured in Texas Monthly
McDonald's wants
traceable beef now
EPA
considers regulation of agricultural dust
Signup for
2005 hurricane assistance begins
FDA
plans to regulate hay production and marketing
Investigation
of Alabama BSE-positive cow completed
Partnership
aims to commercialize beef/soy-based cholesterol fighter
Signup underway
for youth veterinary camp
Canadian BSE
cases will delay import rule
Calendar
Alert
market inspector exposes theft suspects
Two
ex-convicts and a third person have been arrested and property has
been recovered by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
field inspectors and investigators from the Matagorda County
Sheriff’s office thanks, in large part, to the sharp eyes of TSCRA
Market Inspector Patricia Harkins at the Columbus Livestock Market.
TSCRA
Inspector Tommy Johnson, District 24, reports he and TSCRA Inspector
Brent Mast, District 22, have closed three cases in an ongoing series
of livestock and equipment theft investigations in the counties near
Houston.
Terence
Sidney, two prior convictions, Bay City, Texas; Clemins Brown, Van
Vleck, Texas; and Ernest Thibideaux, one prior conviction, Bay City,
have confessed to cattle and equipment thefts and are in jail.
Theft
charges have been brought against the three men for stealing a
four-wheel-drive John Deere tractor, valued at $28,000 from Pedro
Olguin, Midfield, Texas, in Matagorda County; six head of cattle,
valued at $5,720 from Edgar Oncken, Navasota, Texas, who ranches in
Matagorda County; and a flat-bed trailer, valued at $8,000 from
Richard Priesmier, El Campo, Texas, Wharton County.
Johnson
said Market Inspector Harkins noticed new brands coming through the
market at which she inspects the identification of the cattle sold.
“She caught the brands and notified me.”
A
week later, cattle were reported stolen from Edgar Onken’s ranch in
Matagorda County. Johnson checked the Onken brand and found it was the
same as the brands that had raised Harkins’ suspicions.
“The
market inspectors get used to seeing the same customers and the same
brands every week,” Johnson explains. “When somebody new shows up
at an auction market, that sends up a red flag. She made this happen
by being observant. Pat caught every number and brand on those stolen
cattle,” he says.
Records
from the sale barn led Johnson to Terence Sidney’s place. While
there, he discovered the flat-bed trailer and found the John Deere
tractor hidden in the woods.
Thibideaux
and Sidney were apprehended in Bay City. They implicated Clemins who
came voluntarily to confess, with the strong encouragement of his
father.
Cattle
Raisers will head to Horseshoe Bay for summer meeting
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association will hold its
summer meeting June 18-20 at the Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott in
Marble Falls, Texas.
Landowners
concerned about the Trans-Texas Corridor should make it a point to
attend the general session on Saturday, June 20. Michael W. Behrens,
executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, will
discuss the latest plans for the massive project.
Committee
meetings will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. on Monday, June 19.
Water quality issues for ranchers will be featured in the Natural
Resources Committee Meeting. Kathleen Hartnett White, chair of the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, will discuss the TCEQ’s
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program to improve water quality in
impaired or threatened water bodies in Texas.
A
TMDL is like a budget for pollution. It defines an environmental
target by determining the extent to which a certain pollutant must be
reduced in order to restore the full use of a water body that has
limited quality for one or more of its uses.
The
Animal Health Committee will hear an update on BSE surveillance and
the reopening of export markets. The Legislative and Tax Committee
will review the special session on school finance reform.
Additional
topics and speakers for other committee meetings and the general
session were still being finalized at press time. An agenda and
registration form will be available on TSCRA’s Web site at
www.texascattleraisers.org or you may call Kristin Hawkins at 1 (800)
242-7820 for more information.
As
is customary for TSCRA’s summer meeting, there will be plenty of
time scheduled for family fun along with the business meetings. The
resort sits on Lake LBJ and features four resort pools, three
championship golf courses, a full-service spa and fitness facility, a
marina, four spectacular Hill Country dining options and a
full-service recreation program for kids ages 4 to 12.
TSCRA
has scheduled a welcome reception for participants at 5:30 p.m. on
Sunday, June 18, and dinner and entertainment beginning at 6:30 p.m.
on Monday, June 19.
Registration
for the summer meeting is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday
and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
“You
don’t have to be a TSCRA member to attend,” emphasizes TSCRA
President C.R. “Dick” Sherron. “Committee meetings and the
general session are open to all registrants.”
TSCRA
keeps lid on insurance rates
Premium increases for TSCRA’s medical insurance plan remain
well below the industry standard for the fourth consecutive year,
announces TSCRA President C.R. “Dick” Sherron.
The
annual rate increase for the June 2006 through May 2007 contract year
is just 3 percent compared to the average PPO medical trend of 12.38
percent. TSCRA/PPO Trend comparisons were 9.00/13.50 in 2005;
8.90/15.10 in 2004; and 9.75/15.50 in 2003. These figures represent
raw medical trends, not claim usage.
Much
of the credit for keeping increases low belongs to TSCRA members who
buy generic drugs and use network providers. The plan is monitored and
maintained by consultants at The Plexus Groupe Inc.
“Our
plan remains strong and healthy due to these factors,” Sherron
asserts. “TSCRA is committed to providing members with outstanding
insurance protection, while keeping a lid on costs.”
News
Glance
■ A
federal jury ruled against the three largest packers April 12
and awarded cattle raisers $9.25 million. The packers were found
guilty of knowingly using erroneous boxed beef prices to underpay
producers for live cattle. Because of a flawed computer program that
included lower quality beef, USDA misreported boxed beef cutout prices
for choice and select cuts of meat from April 2, 2001, to May 11, 2001.
Three men filed a class action lawsuit seeking almost $43 million from
Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. doing business as
Excel Corp., Swift Beef Co. and National Beef Packing Co. Attorneys
for the packers claimed company officials did not know about the price
reporting mistake until it was announced publicly by USDA. The jury
found National Beef innocent of the charges, but ruled against the
other three. They recommended that Tyson pay $4 million in damages,
Cargill-Excel $3 million and Swift 2.25 million. −Associated
Press
■ TSCRA
is featured in the May 2006 issue of Texas Monthly. A
major feature article details how TSCRA Inspector Scott Williamson
caught “The Last Rustler.” The introduction sets the tone of the
story: “Roddy Dean Pippin was a polite young cowboy who loved Louis
L’Amour novels and dreamed about life on the open range. He said he
was in the cattle business−but he actually led an unlikely gang
of thieves who hit countless ranches across North Texas. And, just
like in the stories from the Old West, he couldn’t outrun the law
forever.” −Texas
Monthly
■ McDonald’s
wants traceable beef now. In a “wakeup” speech to the U.S.
beef industry delivered at the World Meat Congress April 28, a senior
director of McDonald’s Corp. stressed the link between consumer
trust in beef and animal traceback. Gary Johnson, senior director of
worldwide supply chain management at McDonald’s, said animal
traceability is the most important thing the cattle industry can do to
earn and keep the trust of consumers. “Consumer trust in the safety
of the food they eat across the entire food chain, including the
proteins, is the single most critical factor for our industry,”
Johnson emphasized. McDonald’s buys more than 1.1 million
metric tons of beef a year. Other speakers at the congress described
animal traceability as “a critical need” and a “non-negotiable
foundation” for maintaining public trust across all protein sources.
“Any company that can’t build and maintain their public trust
doesn’t have to worry about any other trend in the food
industry−that company simply will not be in business any
more,” Johnson warned. −Dow Jones Newswires
■ EPA
is considering regulating agricultural dust under the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards of the Clean Air Act. If the proposal is
accepted, dust produced by tilling soil, planting and harvesting
crops, driving on dirt roads, cattle romping in feedlots, spreading of
nutrients on fields, outdoor storage of bulk materials and feed mixing
could be regulated by the end of the year. The National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association has been working to defeat the proposal, saying,
“The requirements proposed by EPA are unattainable for nearly all of
America’s farmers and ranchers, and this non-science based proposal
by EPA would put America’s farmers and ranchers out of business.”
Please contact your congressional representatives and urge them to
contact the Environmental Protection Agency, opposing this proposed
regulation. −NCBA
■ Signup
for 2005 hurricane assistance begins May 17. Secretary of
Agriculture Mike Johanns has authorized the use of $250 million to
fund four producer-aid programs: the Livestock Indemnity Program, Feed
Indemnity Program, Hurricane Indemnity Program and Tree Indemnity
Program. To be eligible, a producer’s loss must have occurred in one
of 261 counties that received a primary presidential or secretarial
disaster designation due to 2005 Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Ophelia,
Rita or Wilma. Assistance is unavailable with respect to losses in
contiguous counties. A list of eligible counties in Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas is available at
http;//www.usda.gov/HurricaneInfo.xml . Fact sheets on each of the
four assistance programs are available at http:
//disaster.fsa.usda.gov/agas06.htm . −U.S. Department of
Agriculture
■ FDA
plans to regulate hay production and marketing. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration announced recently that farms that produce,
market and transport hay in the United States will be required to
comply with FDA documentation and recordkeeping requirements under the
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act of
2002. Congress specifically exempted farms and ranches from the
requirements of the act, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association is working diligently to maintain that exemption. In a
letter to FDA, NCBA said, “Unfortunately, counter to the intent of
Congress, the FDA has chosen to redefine farms as ‘facilities that
pack or hold food, provided that all food used in such activities is
grown, raised or consumed on that farm or another farm under the same
ownership.’ This definition excludes virtually all farms from the
exemption. This is clearly inconsistent with the intent of
Congress.” NCBA added that it knows of no data that “hay
represents, in FDA terminology, a ‘threat of serious adverse health
consequences or death to humans or animals.’ Consequently, requiring
a complex and costly system for hay traceablility does not represent
an appropriate expenditure of Federal, state, local government or
farmer’s financial and human capital resources.”
−NCBA
■ End
to 10-year British beef ban. The European Commission’s ban
on British beef exports has officially ended. The ban was imposed in
1996 to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Live
cattle born after Aug. 1, 1996, can now be exported, as can beef from
cattle slaughtered after June 15, 2005. Restrictions will remain for
beef containing vertebral material and for beef sold on the bone.
−BBC News
Investigation
of Alabama BSE-positive cow completed
Investigations have been completed on the Alabama cow that
tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in March.
Officials from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted the
investigations in collaboration with the Alabama Department of
Agriculture and Industries.
USDA
Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford said the index animal was a red
crossbreed that was non-ambulatory on the farm and was examined by a
local, private veterinarian.
The
veterinarian returned to the farm the following day, euthanized the
animal and collected a sample, which was submitted for BSE testing.
“The
animal was buried on the farm at that time and did not enter the
animal or human food chain, in accordance with APHIS protocols,”
Clifford emphasized.
Officials
excavated the index animal’s carcass and through dentition
determined that it was more than 10 years old.
“It
was born prior to the implementation of FDA’s 1997 feed ban that
minimizes the risk that a cow might consume feed contaminated with the
agent thought to cause BSE,” Clifford added.
Officials
investigated 36 farms and five auction houses and conducted DNA
testing on herds that may have included relatives of the index animal.
They were unable to find any related animals except for the two most
recent calves of the index animal.
The
most recent calf was located at the same farm as the index animal and
the second calf died the year before. The living calf is currently
being held at APHIS’ National Veterinary Services Laboratory in
Ames, Iowa, for observation.
“APHIS’
investigation did not reveal the BSE-positive animal’s herd of
origin,” Clifford reported. “However, this was not entirely
unexpected due to the age of the animal, along with its lack of
identifying brands, tattoos and tags.
“Experience
worldwide has shown that it is highly unusual to find BSE in more than
one animal in a herd or in an affected animal’s offspring, he
added.”
FDA
conducted an investigation of local feed mills that may have supplied
feed to the index animal after the 1997 feed ban.
Clifford
said the investigation found that all local feed mills that handle
prohibited materials have been and continue to be in compliance with
the FDA’s feed ban.
Partnership
aims to commercialize
beef/soy-based cholesterol fighter
Developing a new cholesterol-lowering food additive made from
beef tallow and soybeans is the aim of a partnership between the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Beef Products Inc.
Tim
Carr, a nutrition scientist in the university’s Institute of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, invented the compound, which the
university is patenting.
BPI,
based at Dakota Dunes, S.D., is the world’s leading manufacturer of
boneless beef with plants in four states. The largest is in South
Sioux City, Neb. Under the agreement, BPI will provide $500,000 to
fund a human clinical study of the tallow/soybean compound’s
cholesterol-lowering power, slated to begin in mid-May. If the
compound proves effective, BPI has the option to commercialize it for
food applications under a university agreement.
The
compound, which performed well in animal studies, is the outgrowth of
Carr’s basic research on fats’ roles in heart disease.
Soybeans
and other plants contain sterols, which scientists have long known
reduce cholesterol. Tallow is a rich source of stearic acid, a
saturated fat. Carr’s research revealed that stearic acid actually
lowers cholesterol.
Exploring
ways to put this “good guy” fat to work, Carr devised a way to
blend specific amounts of stearic acid with plant sterols.
“Combining the two actually boosts the cholesterol-lowering
power,” he said.
Carr’s
compound outperformed commercially available plant sterol-based food
additives in three hamster studies. It lowered LDL, or bad,
cholesterol as much as 79 percent compared to about 10 percent
reduction with commercial plant sterol additives.
It
also appeared to work at least as well as widely prescribed
cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
The
tallow/soybean-based compound, like plant sterol food additives, works
by blocking cholesterol absorption in the small intestine. Typically,
the body absorbs 50 to 60 percent of cholesterol in the intestinal
tract. Excess cholesterol winds up in blood where it can contribute to
heart disease. Carr’s combination reduces absorption to around 5
percent or less.
“The
beauty of this is that our compound passes right through the
gastrointestinal tract and takes cholesterol with it,” Carr said.
“It’s a dietary supplement, not a drug, and it’s never absorbed
into the body so there are no toxicity issues or side effects.”
The
human clinical trial to test the compound’s effectiveness is
expected to begin in mid-May in cooperation with MDS Pharma Services
of Lincoln. Initial results are expected by fall.
Signup
underway for youth veterinary camp
Texas Cooperative Extension’s fourth annual “West Texas
Youth Veterinary Science Workshop” is taking applications for this
summer’s session. This year’s workshop will be June 25-29 at the
Sutton County 4-H Center in Sonora.
Pascual
Hernandez, Extension agent for Sutton County and the workshop’s
coordinator, said the camp was designed to introduce high school
students to veterinary science careers. Instructors will include
university and research faculty members, Extension and Texas Animal
Health Commission personnel, and veterinarians.
Course
topics will include zoology, the Beef Quality Assurance Program,
toxicology, parasitology, anesthesiology, anatomy, nutrition, first
aid, beef feedlot health management, large and small animal practice,
dairy cattle health management, necropsy and horse medicine. The
workshop will cover classroom study, lab work and field excursions.
The
workshop is limited to 30 students, Hernandez said, but participants
from throughout Texas are welcome to attend. Participants must be of
high school age, have an interest in veterinary science and be willing
to work in teams.
Applications
must be submitted to the Extension office in Sutton County by June 2.
Participants will be informed of their acceptance by June 10.
Individual registration is $175, due on June 16. In the event of
cancellations, refunds will be offered in full until June 20. The fee
is non-refundable after June 20.
For
more information, call the Extension office in Sutton County at (325)
387-3101.
Canadian
BSE cases will delay import rule
Two cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy confirmed in
Canada during 2006 will delay plans to lift restrictions on importing
older Canadian cattle, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in an
April 24 news conference.
USDA
has been working on a rule to resume importation of Canadian cattle
over 30 months of age as early as September. Johanns implied that the
new Canadian cases may delay that until 2007.
Imports
were banned after BSE was found in the United States in dairy cow that
had been imported from Canada. However, because the United States and
Canada have implemented similar safety measures against the spread of
BSE, USDA determined that there is no scientific basis to continue the
restrictions.
BSE
was confirmed Jan. 22 in a six-year-old crossbred cow born and raised
in Alberta. A thorough investigation found no further infection. The
most recent case was confirmed in a six-year-old dairy cow from
British Columbia.
The
traceback investigation revealed that cattle from positive cow’s
feed cohort were exported to the United States. On April 28 USDA
reported that 15 animals of interest entered Washington state; one of
the animals had been located and was to be tested for BSE.
Johanns
emphasized that the United States maintains a series of interlocking
safeguards, which protect human and animal health. These include the
removal of specified risk materials from the food supply and the Food
and Drug Administration's 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban.
Calendar
June
18-20−TSCRA Summer Meeting, Horseshoe Bay Resort, Marble
Falls, Texas. 1 (800) 242-7820.
July 10-13−National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Summer
Conference, Reno, Nev. (303) 694-0305.
July 17-20−Beef 706 hands-on beef training
seminar, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas.
(512) 355-2333.
Aug. 7-9−Texas A&M University Beef Cattle Short
Course, College Station, Texas. (979) 845-6931.
Sept. 14-24−State Fair of Oklahoma, Fairgrounds, Oklahoma
City, Okla.
Sept. 18-22−Beef 706 hands-on beef training seminar,
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
(512) 355-2333.
Sept. 28-Oct. 8−Tulsa State Fair, Tulsa, Okla.
Sept. 29-Oct. 22−State Fair of Texas, Fair Park, Dallas,
Texas.
Oct. 11-13−TSCRA Fall Meeting and Texas Cattle Feeders
Association Annual Convention,
Amarillo Civic Center, Amarillo, Texas. 1 (800) 242-7820.
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