TheBeefSite Newsletter - 7 April 2010

TheBeefSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 7th April 2010

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Increasing Beef Markets

It has been a good week for the US beef industry, as news of opening markets in Asia provides further opportunities for US beef exports.

Campaigning by the US beef industry in South Korea is paying off. Results from the campaign have shown a dramatic increase in the amount of US beef purchased by Korean consumers.

Late last week, Taiwan approved selected categories of beef offal for import from the US, further expanding their markets in Asia.

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is visiting Japan to help strengthen the agricultural trading relationship between the two countries.

Due to BSE scares, Japan only allows beef products from cattle under 21 months of age to be imported. The National Cattlemen Beef Association predicts that this costs US producers roughly $1 billion a year in lost export revenues.

In the UK, the National Farmers' Union is urging retailers to show more commitment to sourcing British beef.

Although AsdaÂ and Sainsbury's did increase the amount of British beef on sale they are still not sourcing 100 per cent. The availability of British beef at Tesco decreased slightly compared to the last report published by the English Beef and Lamb Executive.

China isÂ likely to become a net importer of beef this year as imports from Australia, Uruguay and New Zealand are set to increase.

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Impacts of Increasing Meat Consumption
Continuing along the existing global trajectory of increasing meat and dairy consumption is likely to lead to further agricultural intensification of both crop yields and farm animal production systems plus, in the case of the â€˜western high meatâ€™ diet, massive land use change, according to the report, Eating the Planet for Compassion in World Farming.

Match Cow Size To Forage Resources
Commercial cow-calf operators must become more cost-efficient to maintain or improve profit margins, making matching animals to forage resources more important than ever.

Controlled Grazing
Interest in controlled grazing is increasing throughout the United States. Controlled grazing systems are economically feasible and are now more easily managed because of developments in fencing and water technology, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA).

New Zealand Livestock And Products Semi-Annual Report 2010
The forecast for total cattle slaughter in 2010 was reduced by 4.8 per cent to 3.74 million head, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Beef production is forecast to fall by just one per cent due to good pasture conditions and an expected increase in carcase weights. Domestic consumption is expected to be 120,00 tons for both 2009 and 2010. It is expected exports will drop 1.35 per cent.

Company News

VIV Europe Will Welcome Global Animal Industry
NETHERLANDS - VIV Europe is about to open its doors for the international animal protein industry. VIV Europe 2010 takes place in Utrecht on 20 to 22 April.

Global Beef Cattle Industry News