Jeralyn StephensSan Antonio, TexasCommunications CoordinatorBeefmaster Breeders United

Animal Profiling International has launched a new diagnostic procedure designed to detect the Neospora parasite in cows. Neospora caninum, first identified in 1988, is a protozoal parasite that is thought to be a leading cause of abortion and neonatal morbidity in beef and dairy cattle.

Despite the poor driving conditions, 136 producers attended the Driftless Region Beef Conference in Dubuque on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. It was the first effort at a multi-state beef program between Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin Extension since the former Tri-State Beef Days was disbanded a few years ago.

A rancher must be prepared to respond effectively to drought, one of the biggest threats to Great Plains ranchers.

It's been a year since lean finely textured beef entered the media spotlight. Since then, Beef Products Inc. – a producer of LFTB – has closed three of its four plants and lost $520 million in revenue. The South Dakota company's officials blame its decline on a series of ABC News broadcasts that began last March and repeatedly called LFTB "pink slime."

In early February, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned that budget cuts mandated by the sequester would force the USDA to furlough meat inspectors. This would mean an industry shutdown, because federal law prohibits meat plants from operating without a federal inspector. Click here to read more about the initial furlough announcement. Later in February, a spokesman for the CME Group said that the cuts could affect livestock and dairy contracts that depend on USDA grading and inspections, according to Reuters.

Susie Magnuson was named the 2012 Outstanding CattleWoman of the Year by the American National CattleWomen, Inc. at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida.

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And it's happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos.

The Japanese export market has been topping beef industry headlines in recent months. The country’s decision to revise import guidelines to include cattle less than 30 months of age is positive news for U.S. beef demand, but it also brings about changes to age-and-source verification programs.

The big news in the meat industry in recent weeks has involved two of our leading export markets, Russia and China. Neither country allows the production, sale or use of the two beta agonists that are registered for use in the U.S., and in the past few months both have taken steps to enforce their bans on beta agonist residues in imported pork and beef.