| Indian Beef Is About to Capture a Large Slice of the Indonesian Market Dr. Ross Ainsworth, Beef Central | July 19, 2016 When the Indonesian government officially permitted the importation of Indian buffalo beef on the 8th of June 2016, it triggered events that will result in a tectonic shift in the Indonesia beef industry with significant but less dramatic impacts in Australia. Beef industry Works to Dispel Myths at Stampede 2016 Amanda Stephenson, Calgary Herald | July 11, 2016 In the aftermath of the Earls debacle, Alberta ranchers at this year's Calgary Stampede say they are more aware than ever of the need to promote their industry and clear up the misconceptions of city slickers. Less than three months after Vancouver–based Earls ignited a firestorm of controversy by announcing it would turn to Kansas instead of Alberta to meet customer demand for Certified Humane beef, the Stampede has unveiled an expanded and redesigned Cattle Trail exhibit. The interactive display — sponsored by UFA Co–operative Ltd. — takes visitors on a journey through each step of the beef production cycle, from pasture to plate. "I don't think consumers know what we do on the farm every day. They don't know that all beef produced in Canada is raised in a humane manner," Virgil Lowe, with the Stampede Beef Cattle Committee, said Sunday. "It is the most important part of beef production — educating the people who buy beef about what we do." Here's an article and video showing what AA Co in Australia are doing to market their beef; it relates to the story above from Canada about consumers' increasing interest in where their product comes from. AA Co Launches Suite of New Beef Brands Jon Condon, Beef Central | July 14, 2016 Shareholders at the Australian Agricultural Co's AGM this morning were treated to a sneak preview of a new suite of commercial beef brands, designed to further consolidate the company's transformation from large–scale cattle producer to fully–integrated global beef marketer. See 2:45 Video here. We have been seeing articles from Europe for some time like the one below, and I certainly don't include all of them in Connect. However here is a Canadian academic putting forward their opinions in the mainstream media there on the subject of the environmental and health impacts of beef. This is why GRSB needs a concerted program on community acceptance or social license. Food Policy Must Address the Issue Of Meat Trevor Hancock, Times Colonist | July 13, 2016 It's not a good time to be an Albertan. Not only is there growing opposition to the oil industry in general and the oilsands in particular, and to the pipelines needed to get their product to market, but their second iconic industry — beef cattle ranching — is also coming under attack. And as with the oilsands, the reasons are that the industry has adverse impacts upon both the environment and health. According to the latest inventory of greenhouse–gas emissions in Canada, animal and crop production accounted for eight per cent of total emissions in 2014, an increase of 21 per cent since 1990. (This is not as bad as it might seem, since the population grew by 28 per cent in the same period.) Grazing management is certainly essential to increase soil carbon and thus soil moisture retention; here is a technical approach to further increasing the ability of soil to take up moisture using new grass varieties with enhanced root structures. Grass Roots Project Targets Solution to Flooding Farming UK | July 18, 2016 Deeper rooting forage grasses being developed at leading research establishments in the UK may offer a sustainable solution to some of the more damaging consequences of climate change. So says Paul Billings, managing director of Germinal GB, in response to the recently published Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 (CCRA) that high lights future threats to infrastructure, agriculture and wildlife as a consequence of flooding. Historic Breakthrough for Nam Beef in US Markets Deon Schlecter, New Era | July 14, 2016 Namibia yesterday became the first African country in history whose sought–after beef qualified for the lucrative export markets of both China and the United States of America. Exports to the USA could start as soon as September, it transpired yesterday. The US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service yesterday confirmed the eligibility of Namibia to export meat products to the United States. The approval of the Namibian beef industry's entry to the US market followed mere hours after a Meatco announcement that it is in the process of finalising the trade licence with the regulatory body in China before exports to that Asian country can commence. Don't be misled by the headline: the article below is actually about silvo pastoral grazing systems in Colombia. What's Your Beef? Why It Might Be Time Give Livestock A Break Neil Palmer, CIAT | June 21, 2016 Noelí comes from a long line of cattle producers. Up until 2007, like his parents, grandparents and neighbours, he let his cattle graze the wild grasses that spring up each year. But these weren't particularly nutritious or resilient when the rains failed. Productivity and earnings were low. Then everything changed. Active in his local farmers' association, scientists from the University of Cauca and CIAT asked Noelí if he would be willing to try silvopastoralism – a rotational grazing system that combines nutritious forage grasses, herbs, bushes and trees. As well as the promise of increasing the productivity of both cattle and land, silvopastoral systems can also weather drought, help restore degraded soils and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with cattle farming. | |