The maker of lean finely textured beef  says it’s laying off 86 employees from its South Dakota corporate office and company officials point the finger at the campaign of misinformation against the product.

Beef Products Inc. food-quality director Craig Letch said Monday that the company initiated this second
round of layoffs in response to intense negative publicity about its lean, finely textured beef.

The company and outside food-safety experts insist that the product is safe, and BPI has won public support from governors in four states where its plants operate.  Still, the negative publicity led by the media coined term “pink slime” has forced the layoffs.

The company announced earlier this month it was closing its three plants in Kansas, Texas and Iowa, resulting in 650 lost jobs.

A plant in Nebraska will remain open but at reduced capacity.

From the USDA

Agricultural Summary

Seasonal temperatures returned with scattered showers across the state.  Irrigation was in full swing in the southeast district.  Little rainfall allowed 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork statewide with the northern districts observing less than 4 days suitable and the southern districts with nearly a week available.  Topsoil moisture supply was 7 percent very short, 16 percent short, 69 percent adequate, and 8 percent surplus.  The southeast district was 85 percent short and very short followed by the south-central district at 82 percent.  Spring tillage was 92 percent, 23 days ahead of last year, and 28 days ahead of normal (5-year average).

 

Field Crops Report

Corn planted was 93 percent, 15 days ahead of last year, and 20 days ahead of normal.  Corn emergence was 74 percent, 11 days ahead of last year, and 16 days ahead of normal.  Condition was 1 percent very poor, 5 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 59 percent good, and 12 percent excellent.  Rain was needed in the southeast to improve corn condition.  Corn replanting occurred in northern districts.  Army worms were reported in the central and south-central districts.  Soybeans planted were 37 percent, 17 days ahead of last year, and 2 weeks ahead of normal.  Soybeans emerged were 13 percent, 9 days ahead of 2011, and 11 days ahead of normal.  Cottonplanted was 68 percent, nearly 1 week ahead of last year and normal.  Rice emerged was 94 percent, 29 days ahead of last year, and 25 days ahead of normal.  Rice condition was 8 percent poor, 25 percent fair, 64 percent good, and 3 percent excellent.  Sorghumplanted was 41 percent, 23 days ahead of 2011, and 17 days ahead of normal.  Winter wheat headed and beyond at 97 percent and, with the exception of the north-central and central districts, was nearing completion across the state.  Wheat turning color was 46 percent, 16 days ahead of last year, and 22 days ahead of normal.  The northwest and north-central districts were 5 and 4 percent respectively.  Wheat condition was 3 percent very poor, 9 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 50 percent good, and 15 percent excellent with the Bootheel ranking 26 percent poor and very poor.  Alfalfa hay 1^st cutting was half-way complete, 23 days ahead of last year, and 20 days ahead of normal.  Other hay cut was nearly a quarter complete, 22 days ahead of last year, and 19 days ahead of normal.

 

Pasture & Livestock

Pasture condition declined to 1 percent very poor, 9 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 50 percent good, and 11 percent excellent. This was due to dry conditions in the east-central, southwest, and south-central districts as well as the eastern portion of the west-central district.

 

Weather Summary

Temperatures dropped back to normal to 2 degrees below normal.  Precipitation also declined averaging only 0.63 of an inch statewide although Caldwell, Clark, Knox, Cass, Oregon, and Mississippi counties received over 2.00 inches.

For all NASS reports please visit: 
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Missouri/Publications/

Fifty young people representing 24 states have been selected by the National FFA Organization to participate in the 2012 New Century Farmer program. It’s a highly competitive program that develops young men and women committed to pursuing a career in production agriculture. The participants will head to Johnston, Iowa July 8th through the 14th where they’ll learn from each other and industry experts during a series of workshops and sessions. Topics will include the global marketplace, farm financing, demographic trends and risk management.

A special project of the National FFA Foundation – the New Century Farmer program is designed to provide participants with valuable skills and knowledge applicable to their own farming operations. The program is sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred, Case IH, CSX Corporation and Farm Credit, with media partner Successful Farming.

 Iowa: Joshua Hitzhusen, Rob Mensing

Kansas: Trisha Goetz, Colton McNinch, Kip Smith

Missouri: Benjamin Potter, Andrew Perry, Alex Nuelle, William Keller

Nebraska: Travis Poppe, Megan Rice, Andrew Stech

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack will commemorate USDA’s 150th anniversary Tuesday (May 15). President Abraham Lincoln founded the department in 1862 and called it “the People’s Department.” With a diverse portfolio that boasts strong support for American agriculture and local and regional food systems – as well as critical nutrition assistance, food safety, conservation, rural development and research programs – and more – it is said that sentiment still rings true today. As USDA commemorates 150 years of accomplishments – the department also looks to the future. Continued work on food, agriculture, economic development, science, natural resource conservation and other issues will ensure USDA still fulfills the vision of President Lincoln – touching the lives of every American, every day.

The 150th anniversary celebration begins at 9:30 Central time Tuesday, May 15th. To watch the celebration live – visit www dot usda dot gov slash live (www.usda.gov/live). More information on the 150th anniversary celebration is available at www dot usda dot gov slash usda150 (www.usda.gov/usda150).

National Farmers Union wants those discussing the Trans-Pacific Partnership to ensure any multilateral trade agreement includes benefits for U.S. agriculture and promotes societal goals of healthy communities, feeding the poor, economic justice, human rights and a sound environment. NFU President Roger Johnson says the group supports fair trade that mutually benefits all of the nations involved and allows agriculture to compete on a level playing field. With Congress working on new farm policy this year – Johnson notes that under any trade agreement – the U.S. must be able to write a farm bill that provides family farmers and ranchers with an ample safety net. He says the World Trade Organization has denied the U.S. the right to protect farmers and ranchers time and again because of the structure of trade agreements. He says having the ability to write a farm bill that helps farmers in times of need – when prices collapse and disaster strikes – is critical for the survival of family farms and rural America.

Economic Policy Analyst with the Truth About Trade and Technology Ross Korves believes there are four key reasons U.S. agricultural groups should pay attention to the Trans-Pacific Partnership FTA talks. For one thing – though Korves says U.S. agriculture doesn’t have a lot to gain directly from the FTA immediately – he says it could take five to 10 years for another opportunity to develop if these talks don’t move forward. Second – he says there is potential to develop compatible regulatory systems. A standard set of regulations for this agreement based on sound science – Korves says – could be used as a template for other trade agreements. Then there’s the fact that the countries currently part of the talks have reached consensus on a broad outline of a high standards agreement. To be “high standards” – Korves says the agreement would need to be comprehensive and cover all industries and all goods and services within industries. He says too many FTAs have exempted certain politically sensitive ag products – like poultry and dairy for Canada in NAFTA. Finally – if labor and environmental issues could be resolved within the agreement – they too could become a template for other agreements. Korves says any agreement that would meet the diverse needs of the nine countries involved may have wide applicability to other free trade deals.

Food Seminars International is working to counter the misinformation circulating about Lean Finely Textured Beef with a video that separates myths and reality. FSI’s Aaron Brown selected the LFTB topic because of its prominence in the news recently. He says most of the coverage has been weak on facts – noting social websites latched onto the initial, factually incorrect reports and rebroadcast them extensively. Dr. Keith Warriner – a professor of food science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada – is featured in the video. Warriner says this controversy is a good example of how the mass media or social media like Facebook and Twitter have provided a means of misinformation. He says it means producers and suppliers must go beyond just educating consumers.

Warriner tries to address the myths and realities so that the facts of LFTB are on the table and consumers can make science-based choices. He decided to clear the air and lay the groundwork for solid decision making because there will be more examples of food safety issues being blown out of proportion and spread within the social media groups in the future.

The video is available on YouTube (www.youtube.com). Just search for ‘LFTB myths and reality’ and look for the video by FoodSeminars.