The gap is widening between key indicators of demand for premium and commodity beef, according to an updated research paper from Kansas State University (K-State) titled “Defining and Quantifying Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Brand Consumer Demand, 2013 Revision.”

The American Meat Institute (AMI) and seven other meat and livestock organizations filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to block implementation of a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (“COOL”) rule finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in May 2013.

A survey of records of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) cases at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory showed that drug resistance in Mannheimia hemolytica, one of the primary organisms associated with BRD, increased from 2009 to 2011. 

The latest livestock trade data provides additional indication that the Mexican cattle industry is undergoing rapid and dynamic change. Changes in cattle and beef flows between the U.S. and Mexico have significant implications for the cattle industries on both sides of the border. The newest component of the increasingly complex and integrated U.S.-Mexico cattle and beef industries is the rapidly growing imports of Mexican beef into the U.S.

Thursday the House passed a farm bill containing a $1.3 billion reduction in annual farm program spending. The bill is almost the same as one defeated last month, except that a politically charged section of the bill relating to food stamps was dropped just prior to the vote.

Two groups — Zoetis Inc. and The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh — are collaborating on research of Salmonella in cattle. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will contribute 80 percent of funding for the study — close to $1 million — while Zoetis will provide the remaining 20 percent, but also in-kind services via research materials and expertise.

Getting cows through a drought in good body condition is crucial for both the cowherd and its progeny, according to Scott Lake, Extension livestock specialist for the University of Wyoming. This video news is provided by Certified Angus Beef LLC and the American Angus Association.

Exports of U.S. beef moved 3 percent higher in volume in May, and a healthy 9 percent in value, while pork exports dipped 3 percent in volume and 3.6 percent in value, according to statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

This year’s Feeding Quality Forum (FQF), sponsored by Certified Angus Beef, is scheduled for Aug. 20 in Omaha, Nebraska, and Aug. 22 in Garden City, Kansas. Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company, will kick off the event at 10 a.m. with his outlook on the markets for human food protein and livestock feedstuffs.