Grazing the Net

This is a pretty detailed look at how BSE wormed its way into the Canadian cow herd. Don't worry. It's old news and it winds up pointing that the problem is, at worst, very rare.

And, in England, they still get the occasional case. But now it's being passed around ,not by beef, but by blood transfusions and medical procedures.

The toll of "closing" the border

Start this review of immigration policy with a read on how desperate immigrants are to get into the U.S. and then continue on to read a bit about Washington's effort to convince voters they are going to do something about it all. Oops. We mean "solve the problem."

Yak. Yak. The farm bill gets another hearing.

The full Senate is undergoing a debate on their version of the farm bill this morning. And yes, they are all paying full attention.

They're blaming the Brazos County e. Coli problem on ground beef

FSIS inspector takes the horse slaughter spotlight

Pollan does some germ gazing

Michael Pollan has a darned interesting piece in the latest edition of the New York Time's Sunday Magazine. He points out that lots of bacteria are important allies in mankind's survival. Here are links to the whole looooong article and a shorter piece in a later paper. The former is worth using a non-subscriber chit.

Gut bacteria that guard against E. coli

As if to reemphasize Pollan's point, these researchers indicate that the right bacteria--already in our guts--can protect us from the effects of E. coli

Good news from USDA

USDA researchers say they've found a way to greatly enhance the identification of FMD virus.

Crazy ants

Everybody who has fire ants would like to find a way to eradicate them. Turns out crazy ants are doing just that. The trouble is, nobody wants crazy ants, either. Some recent coverage:

Fox: Crazy Ants Driving Out Fire Ants

Christian Science Monitor: The South Welcomes Crazy Ants

TAMU: Tawny "Rasberry" Crazy Ant

Offloading cattle in Tasmania

The downunderers are about as dry as the western U.S., apparently, and facing a fall and winter with "too little fodder." So they are "offloading," and facing a bad market as a consequence.

Tyson welfare panel

We suspect you'll hear more from these folks later.

Hard choice: Food safety or wildlife

The Nature Conservancy says that all the efforts to keep poop out of the vegetable fields in California is hampering biodiversity.

Flash: We're getting older every day

Of course this is not news to Kevin Spafford but there are a bunch of agricultural practitioners getting, politely put, "on up there."

Argentina government kills its beef industry

China's government is helping, too.

Protecting their oh-so-safe consumers from that nasty New Zealand stuff.

Federal Reserve: Farmer, gird thy loins. Financially speaking

CNBC had a good take on the recent Federal Reserve report. The rhetorical title of the report is "Farm Investment and Leverage Cycles: Will This Time Be Different?" We suspect that last part is a rhetorical question.

The looming "fix" to MCool

Thursday is the deadline WTO set for USDA to finalize the rules it believes--"believes" being a strong term for it, we suspect--will allow the mandatory country of origin labeling law to meet trade obligations.

If there have been any second thoughts in the agency about its proposed regulations--which interests as diverse as Mexico and Canada, NCBA, AMI and FMI claim will be more discriminatory--there has been no sign of it.

A reminder, as the deadline approaches, can be found here.

Also, our most transparent secretary of agriculture in history produced this statement this morning, after his meeting with one of the claimants. It is Very, Very informative on the matter. NOT!

NPR projection: All meat sales banned in 2050

They were just conjecturing there, but there has been a lot of talk lately about the future of lab-grown meat. If you'd like to consider the prospects of such a future, devote a few moments to the clip sheet of Modern Meadow, the company that plans to make it all happen.

Again with the Record Prices! Record Prices!

Record beef prices are good for the people who make beef. That's us. We should be happy. But we might not want to just continue to remind consumers, day after day. GMC doesn't go to a lot of trouble to scream "Pickup prices higher than ever." That would not be smart marketing.

Thus, perhaps we should fret more about the ubiquitous "beef-prices-at-record" headlines we see in these daily internet scans. It probably is one of the reasons beef demand has deflated this year.

Beef's "iconic" marketing program.

Any one of us could, judging by the cow people we talk to, do a better job than the Beef Board does, but it's hard to argue with beef's inclusion in this list of the most iconic commercials of all time. They must be doing something right.

Couple of takes on the Cattle on Feed report

Bloomberg's take

Oklahoma Farm Report's take

Mosquito repellant reminder

Pinnochios for the HSUS IRS mole

You'll remember we mentioned earlier that the IRS lady is suspected of having greased the wheels for the HSUS tax exemption. If you missed it, here's a reminder from Humane watch and a rather uncomplimentary take on her credibility from the WaPo.

More woes for immigration "reform"

AgWeb: Immigration Encounters Business-Labor Rift that Undid 2007 Bill

NYT: Larger Union Enforcing Immigration Opposes Bill

Climate change this, climate change that.

Lamar Smith worries that all the hype is, in and of itself, bad for the economy.

Good news: Japan's hearty beef appetite

JBS says demand for beef in Japan is robust and profitable.

Slimed BPI struggles on

How to get out of the cattle business

(A)Go check the electric fence with your tongue

(B)Read this

(C)Read this

(D) Do the math

Does HSUS have a mole in the IRS?

That Zombie farm bill

Give credit to this Grist writer for recognizing the "walking undead" nature of the farm bills that recently worked their way out of committees in Congress.

Speaking of zombie legislation, the immigration reform bill is still wiggling, too

CBS News: Immigration Deal Reached in House
ABC News: Immigration Reform Stand

Do we need—as in "need"-- national standards for chicken care?

Why we believe climate change is so biased

Headlines that are funny if you read them aloud to a 5th grader:

Fox News: Scientists Study Violent Winds of Uranus, Neptune

COOL Poll shows consumer support a mile wide; of unknown depth

Hey. That sounds like us cow people

NBC News: How to Tell if the IRS is Eyeing You

Free advice on naming BBQ events: Avoid the word "pony."

Mama of the year

Anaplasmosis. Learn it. Live it.

A nice story about a ranch family we can all envy
 

The general media didn't much notice the Senate farm bill Monday, but Tuesday's House farm bill had a shiny object: More restrictions on food stamps. So, it gets more coverage. This story is not, of course, over. Not even close. The Senate passed a farm bill way back last year, but the House rejected it. These guys don't always agree with each other. 

If Obamacare makes you sick

You might want to spend the 1.5 hours--yes, 1.5 hours--watching this video about how employers can live with upcoming changes in health care requirements. Expect to be in a bad mood later.

Lori Bell xoxoxo Her Non-Cafo Pig

NPR xoxoxo Vilsack

Bad idea: Making your friends play vegan

Grist has a lady trying to get her friends to stay vegan for a month. Turns out it's more hard than fun

Good idea: A hamburger eating club

This bunch of folks makes a regular event out of looking for better hamburgers. Let's all join clubs like that.

Bobby calves in Australia

Dairy calves aren't worth much in Australia. And it's always fun to see how Australians talk.

JBS is doing fine

Tyson: Lower beef demand

The company plans to do more product innovation, but says high chicken feed prices, reduced beef demand and a supply-demand imbalance in pork are impacting profits.

A job we may not want

Here's a look at the bottom rung of the chicken business

You've got to go looking if you want to read about the Senate Ag Committee's new farm bill. None of the major papers have anything out front this morning. Too much news on Angela Jolie to waste space on an object so unshiny, we suppose.

You can read what Official Cowdom thinks of this dough from which Congress will eventually knead a policy that will impact all of agriculture--including the eating segment--for the foreseeable future here.

Preach to the mirror. Please

It's seldom that we'd recommend the New York Time's beefaphobic columnist Ken Bittman to anybody seeking advice, but we hope he read his own column this morning. He begins by warning against snap judgments based on intuition and incomplete evidence and, without taking back any of his anti-beef crusade, actually says that even sugar has its place.

That's good. That's true. It's like he's preaching to his scare-mongering ownself there for a minute. But then, darned if he doesn't turn around and do it again. This time on Monsanto and the dreaded "superweeds."

They aren't "superweeds." They are resistant to Roundup. They still die if you plow them or hoe them, just like they did before Roundup. And the ground behind the plow still washes away or blows away, just like it did before Roundup made reduced tillage workable.

Oops. "Scientific consensus" does another U-turn

Now they tell us to take even their salt advice with a grain of salt.

USDA puts our money where its mouth is

Well, we suppose that headline could be construed as negative, but it shouldn't be. The government in general needs to spend less time talking about climate change and more time getting ready for it.

McDonald's new burgers. With beef this time.

Talk about your encouraging news. McDonald's has some new products that actually involve hamburger.

Beer fed cows

We've no idea how beer affects beef flavor, but this idea strikes us as important in at least two ways. The animal rights groups can hardly complain about "unhappy cows" if you keep them drunk and mellow. And, this would make the cow farmer's beer deductible, wouldn't it?

NBC notices wild horses again

We all know what fine medicine for low ratings the government's mustang roundups are, and NBC News has been giving us a good dose this week. You've got to love it when you get these debates between celebrities-who-feel-something and experts-who-know-something.

John Deere's quick outlook

Just a set of slides, but it says it all

Secretary Vilsack likes organic farming

Go vegan or go home? That's a choice?

Department of Very Practical Ideas:

Let's all surround our cows with red ribbons!

A main stream reporter we might like.

He says "Ever since then, steak has been at the top of the list of what Americans eat when they go out to celebrate." Well, yes.