The Mexican government is in the process of making regulatory changes that allow for import of U.S. beef and beef products derived from cattle of any age. This important development lifts the 30-month cattle age limit for U.S. beef and effectively removes the last of Mexico’s BSE-related restrictions.

On April 29, the House Ways & Means Committee voted 21-14 in favor of legislation H.R. 4457 (sponsored by Ohio Representative Patrick Tiberi and 17 bipartisan cosponsors) that would extend Section 179 expensing allowances, giving businesses the ability to deduct up to $500,000 in equipment costs for a maximum of $2 million worth of property.

Scientists from the USDA and their colleagues have conducted research showing the potential response of rangeland plants in arid regions of the U.S. to the conditions that will occur with climate change, according to a paper published recently in Nature.

Where did the record cattle prices this year come from? That is a question almost all analysts and many cattle producers are asking. It was not so surprising to have record high cattle prices, but the real surprise was the lofty heights of those new records.

Carefully staged “prescribed fire” can reset a rangeland’s biological clock, awaken dormant plants, and breathe new life and diversity into an ecosystem. When fire rolls over a rangeland, it gives perennial sod-forming grasses, which are good sources of forage for livestock, a better chance to take hold.

Clay Zimmerman
Technical Services Manager
Eastern U.S. and Canada
Balchem Corp.

Mark Rose
Nutritionist, Farm Management Support
Ontario, Michigan, New York
Lely North America

Agriculture is often blamed for playing a major role in emitting greenhouse gases that warm the planet, even though other industries emit much more. Public utilities, for instance, emit around 32 percent of the gases. U.S. agriculture: 9 percent, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Curtis Gerrits Sales Manager MARGINSMART Cottage Grove, Minnesota

Adam Kastonek is the new marketing specialist for Vets Plus Inc.