Come and learn the latest risk management

options at an upcoming meeting:

Monday, March 17^th – Goose Lake, Iowa

Millennium Ballroom 7:00 PM

Tuesday, March 18^th – Dyersville, Iowa

Country Junction Restaurant 7:00 PM

Tuesday, March 25^th – Harmony, Minnesota

Wheeler’s 12:00 Noon

To RSVP or for further details call 877.207.1051 or

email info@nexusag.org.

· Which state in the U.S. produces the most beef?  According to a USDA report, Nebraska topped the list in 2007 by producing 7.22 billion pounds of red meat.  Agriculture – namely beef production - is key to the state’s economy with one of every five to seven jobs related to cattle production.

· 2007 was not a year that the beef industry wants to repeat when it comes to E. coli outbreaks.  From 2000 to 2006 the rate for positive E. coli tests dropped from 0.86% to 0.17%.  In 2007 the rate increased to 0.23%.  There is no clear answer for the increase currently, but scientists are studying it trying to determine why.  In order to gain control of E. coli, the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service is making changes to the laboratory methods it uses in the testing procedure.  They will be heightening the intensity of those tests, which will likely increase the positive testing rate.  Currently, there are 600,000 to 1 million samples taken per year giving major packing plants a 95% chance of detecting E. coli.  In the future, that statistic should improve even more and beef that tests positive under the intensified tests will be prevented from entering the food chain.   And, should result in fewer consumer incidences.

· Although Choice beef is grading at its highest point in 10 years – 60.7% the week ending 2/23/08, compared to 57% in 2007 and 57.4% on the three year average – the Choice/Select spread is almost non-existent.  The boxed beef cut-out value on the morning of 2/13/08 were 143.35 for Choice and 143.43 for Select.  Select beef worth more than Choice beef has rarely been seen before.

· This winter in the upper Midwest has been a difficult one, but the pork industry in southern China is facing a disastrous result of the worst winter in 50 years.  Over 4 million pigs died there, most of them when storms knocked out power.  Supplies could be reduced by as much as 7% in June and July because of this.

· The “steak to chicken” phenomenon defined: consumers trading down to lower cost foods and eating out less to reduce food expenditures.   Wal-Mart, Costco, Target and others are seeing changes in consumer buying trends.  People are eating out less, switching to lower quality cuts of beef or buying pork and chicken instead.  And they are also moving away from name brand products to store brands.

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