beef
Largest November stockpile of frozen meat since 1916
Americans are reluctant to buy high-priced beef at the grocery store, so supplies are building up in warehouses across the country despite a slowdown at packing plants. Frozen pork also is piling up, reflecting a rebound in hog herds and the impact of the strong dollar on exports.
Surge in retail meat prices is running out of steam
Beef and pork prices soared to record highs in the supermarket in 2014 but shoppers are seeing some relief as producers expand cattle and hog herds. Pork prices "continue to fall below 2014 figures as there are signs of industry expansion and a lower volume of exports due to the strength of the U.S. dollar," says the monthly Food Price Outlook.
Retail beef price up 15%, pork up 12% since last summer
Beef prices are up 15 percent from a year ago and pork prices are up nearly 12 percent due to short supplies, said the Agriculture Department in a look at food inflation. Some relief is expected in the remaining months of the year, so USDA forecasts the average beef price this year to be 9 percent higher than last year. Pork would be 8 percent higher.
It’s grueling work and too complex for a robot
Meatpackers may as well put up a sign: No robots need apply, says KUNC's Luke Runyon in a story on the limits of technology and the economics of meat plants.
Consumer Reports: bacteria is common in ground beef
All 300 samples of raw ground beef examined by researchers from Consumer Reports magazine, whether from conventionally or sustainably raised cattle, "contained bacteria that signified fecal contamination."
U.S. says COOL costs Canada and Mexico only $91 million
Canada loses only $43.2 million and Mexico $47.6 million from the U.S. law that requires packages of beef and pork to say where the meat was born, raised and slaughtered.
Senate bill would label GE salmon, block beef imports
Retailers would have to identify transgenic salmon as genetically engineered and imports of raw beef from Brazil and Argentina would be barred under the USDA/FDA funding bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
White House objects to USDA-FDA funding levels and riders
The USDA-FDA appropriations bill awaiting a vote in the Senate "short-changes food safety needs" and "under-funds efforts to address the challenge of child poverty" while carrying harmful "ideological provisions," said the White House budget office.
First mid-year increase in U.S. cattle inventory in nine years
The U.S. cattle herd is rebuilding after years of shrinkage, said the USDA in the semi-annual Cattle report.
Fewer cattle in feedlots will keep beef supply tight
Cattle producers are keeping their stock on pasture, a signal that beef supplies will remain tight this year.
WTO moves closer to decision on U.S. meat-labeling rules
The World Trade Organization has sent an interim report to the three North American nations - Canada, Mexico and the United States - sparring over country-of-origin-labeling rules for cuts of poultry, beef and pork, says a spokesman for the U.S. trade representative's office.
Crucial House vote near on repeal of meat-origin labeling
The House could vote as early as Wednesday on repeal of mandatory country-of-origin labels (COOL) on packages of beef, pork and chicken sold in grocery stores. Meatpackers and the largest cattle and hog groups, who opposed COOL from the start, have their best chance in years to get rid of it. The World Trade Organization has issued a final ruling against COOL as a barrier to imported meat and livestock.
U.S. ban of raw Brazil beef imports in spotlight as Rousseff visits
Few major achievements are expected during a fence-mending visit by Brazil president Dilma Rousseff to the United States this week, including a bilateral meeting with President Obama on Tuesday, says McClatchy.
Canada, Mexico ask $3.7 billion in retaliation for U.S. label law
Canada and Mexico said they will ask the WTO approval for $3.7 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods in their latest response to a U.S. meat-labeling law. "The only way for the United States to avoid billions in immediate retaliation is to repeal COOL," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz of Canada, referring to the country-of-origin labeling law. The U.S. House could vote as early as next week on a bill to repeal COOL for beef, pork and chicken, the three most widely consumed meats.
Key senator proposes voluntary origin labels for beef and pork
The United States can avoid billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs by switching to voluntary country-of-origin labels (COOL) for beef and pork, said the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Record-high beef prices to keep climbing
Beef prices are at record-high levels in the grocery store and will keep climbing, the government forecasts in its new Food Price Outlook. The USDA now estimates beef prices will rise by 6 percent this year, up by one-half point from the previous forecast. Beef prices soared by 12.1 percent throughout 2014, driven by high demand and an historically low number of cattle in the country. Lower feed prices allow producers to fatten cattle to higher weights, which delays marketing, and to rebuild their breeding herds rather than send animals to slaughter now, so supplies remain tight.
“We see clearly what a bust cycle looks like”
On the central California coast, cattle ranches are withering. "Roughly 75 percent of the cattle in San Luis Obispo County have been sold or taken out of state over the last four years to escape conditions in the most drought-stricken region in California," says the Los Angeles Times. San Luis Obispo County, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, also is home to the Hearst Castle, near San Simeon. For decades, ranching was well-suited to the county's rolling and wooded hills. Rainfall was only a quarter of the usual 10 inches last year. Grassland is turning into bare ground.
As WTO rules, a campaign to repeal meat-origin labels
U.S. manufacturers and foodmakers are pressing lawmakers for speedy repeal of the U.S. law that requires labels on packages of beef, pork, lamb and poultry meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. So-called country of origin labeling (COOL) has been under challenge since December 2008 at the World Trade Organization, which has promised a final ruling on the matter by today. The United States lost three previous rulings and was expected to lose this one as well. WTO says COOL distorts trade by discouraging imports of livestock from Canada and Mexico.
Lawsuit challenges ‘climate-smart’ beef claims
Tyson Foods, one of the largest meatpackers in the world, cannot credibly say it produces “climate-smart” beef and should be stopped from making such marketing claims, said a lawsuit filed Wednesday under the District of Columbia’s consumer protection law.