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CapitalPress.com
June 24, 2016
Dairy/Livestock
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U.S. meat exports sluggish but improving
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
U.S. meat exports, January through April
Volume (U.S. tons)
Many challenges in in-
ternational markets continue
to weigh down U.S. meat ex-
ports, but the beef and pork
industries are also making
inroads to new markets, ac-
cording to oficials of the U.S.
Meat Export Federation.
Exports of beef and pork
January through April held
steady in volume but were
down 13 percent and 9 per-
cent, respectively, in value
year over year.
Lamb exports were 19 per-
cent higher in volume but 8
percent lower in value.
Lower values relect gener-
ally lower prices.
Those comparisons follow
tough times for U.S. meat
exports in 2015 — beef was
down 12 percent in volume
and 14 percent in value, pork
was up 3 percent in volume but
down 15 percent in value and
lamb was down 9 percent in
volume and 30 percent in val-
ue, according to USDA statis-
tics compiled by USMEF.
“We face many, many chal-
lenges. The export landscape
is always changing, it’s always
becoming more complex,”
USMEF President and CEO
Philip Seng said in a confer-
ence call with the media from
the USMEF board of directors
meeting and product showcase
in St. Louis.
Russian impact
The closure of the Russian
market has had a major impact
in recent years, but markets
have also been affected by a
strong U.S. dollar, trade agree-
ments and growing competi-
tion, he said.
“Our prices have trended a
little bit lower recently, and so
I think that’s relected in these
export numbers, but I think the
encouraging thing is our num-
bers are up,” he said.
Some milestones have been
reached, with U.S. beef gain-
ing access to Israel and U.S.
lamb gaining access to Taiwan
in the last six months and U.S.
beef and pork being shipped
to South Africa in the last 60
Item
2015
2016
Beef 376,910 378,287
Pork 800,390 796,580
Lamb 3,062 3,654
Value ($ millions)
Percent
change
2015
2016
Percent
change
0.4
-0.5
19.3
2,121
1,933
6.6
1,839
1,766
6.1
-13.3
-8.6
-7.6
Source: USDA; USMEF
days, he said.
“So I think we’re encour-
aged by those moves,” he said.
Asia returning
U.S. exports faced several
headwinds in Asian markets
last year, including currency
issues, mountains of avail-
able pork from the EU and an
abundance of low-priced Aus-
tralian beef, said Joel Haggard,
USMEF senior vice president
for the Asia Paciic region.
“It looks a little brighter
this year in Asia for the United
States. In overall trade, I think
we’re going to see some posi-
tive developments,” he said.
Rising domestic beef prices
in Japan (up 15 percent to 20
percent) and South Korea (up
30 percent), two big markets
for the U.S., should lead to
U.S. beef being substituted for
both domestic beef and Aus-
tralian beef, he said.
In addition the dificulties
that have faced U.S. beef in
South Korea related to Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy
have largely faded, he said.
And while U.S. pork ex-
ports to Japan are down, it’s
a high-value market for the
U.S. and its irst quarter pork
imports hit a record pace —
despite higher domestic pork
production, he said.
While China’s beef imports
don’t directly affect U.S. ex-
ports, which are still denied
access, the country is the fast-
est growing beef market in the
world — with direct imports
of beef rising 85 percent in the
irst quarter , he said.
On the pork side, China’s
pork shortage has it buying
pork all over the world, about
10,000 containers a month.
China’s pork imports are go-
ing to be massive this year.
Even for the U.S., with a lim-
Capital Press graphic
ited number of plants export-
ing, USMEF is forecasting
an additional 200,000 tons of
U.S. pork will be exported to
China, he said.
Mexico’s potential
The largest buyer of U.S.
beef, Mexico decreased its
year-over-year imports of
U.S. beef 7 percent last year
and 14 percent in the irst quar-
ter of this year. The country’s
economy hasn’t yet fully re-
covered from a recession and
the devaluation of the peso
has put U.S. beef out of reach
for too many consumers, said
Chad Russell, USMEF region-
al director for Mexico, Central
America and the Dominican
Republic.
“But there is reason to be
optimistic,” he said.
Mexican producers shipped
a record amount of feeder cat-
tle to the U.S., due to a severe
drought a couple of years ago.
There are not many cattle in
Mexico and not as much do-
mestic beef for sale. In addi-
tion, Mexican packers are un-
der considerable pressure due
to high prices for feeder cattle
and imported grain.
But Mexico is a beef-cen-
tric culture. Once prices align,
Mexican consumers should
start consuming more beef, he
said.
“We think there’s pent-up
demand that won’t be able to
be met by the domestic indus-
try,” he said.
Mexico is also the largest
buyer of U.S. pork, although
shipments were down 11 per-
cent in the irst quarter fol-
lowing four years of record
shipments. But the market is
turning and U.S. pork exports
to Mexico should be up for the
remainder of the year, Russell
said.
Butter rising star in the ‘Milky Way’
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
C
ash butter ended Friday
at $2.3675 per pound,
16 3/4-cents above
the previous week and 45
1/4-cents above the previous
year, with 25 cars exchang-
ing hands at the CME. It has
gained 30 1/4-cents in three
weeks.
However, the spot inched
back a half-cent both Mon-
day and Tuesday, slipping to
$2.36.
Dairy Market News says
Central region butter pro-
duction was mixed. Cream
is tightening and cannot be
found at discounts as in re-
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
cent weeks. End users report
actively searching for bulk
butter, but are not inding
sellers with ease.
Western butter output is
at seasonal levels with churn
schedules running below
plant capacity. Spot cream
loads are less available as
butterfat components trend
lower.
CME cash block Ched-
dar cheese hit the highest
price since Dec. 3, 2015, on
Wednesday but then retreat-
ed on offers and closed Fri-
day at $1.5150 per pound,
up 4 cents on the week and
the ifth consecutive week of
gain, but 18 1/2-cents below
a year ago.
The barrels climbed to
$1.5550 Wednesday, then
eased back to $1.5450 Fri-
day, up 3 1/2-cents on the
week but 11 1/2-cents below
a year ago. Four cars of block
traded hands on the week and
13 of barrel.
Cheese was unchanged
Monday with no activity, as
traders awaited Tuesday af-
ternoon’s May Milk Produc-
tion report and kept an eye on
the thermometer in California
and the Southwest.
Soap sales help 4-H member
raise money for her projects
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
ANDERSON, Calif. —
Twelve-year-old
Madeline
Evans was raising dairy goats
as a 4-H project for the local
fair and had to igure out what
to do with all of the milk.
Food-safety rules make it
dificult to use dairy products
unless the milk is produced at
a Grade A or Grade B dairy,
but you can use it to make
cosmetics, said Madeline’s
mother, Heather Evans.
Madeline started making
soap out of goat’s milk last
year, and she’s already earned
more than $1,000 from sales
at an area children’s store to
put back into her projects.
“We found ourselves
throwing away a lot of milk,
and I thought it would be fun
to make soap,” Madeline said
as she showed her goats at the
Shasta District Fair in An-
derson. Her family lives on 3
acres in Redding, Calif.
“It’s really nice,” she said
of the soap. “Goat’s milk has
similar pH to humans so it
really absorbs. It’s rich in vi-
tamins A, B, C and E. It has
zinc, alpha hydroxy acid and
amino acids.”
Madeline Evans has been
raising dairy goats for six
years and has been in 4-H
four years. She learned how
to make soap at a “goat day”
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
4-H member Madeline Evans, in front, 12, of Redding, Calif.,
shows one of her dairy goats June 17 at the Shasta District Fair in
Anderson, Calif. She uses milk from her goats to make soap, for
which she’s earned more than $1,000 to put toward her projects.
at the University of Califor-
nia-Davis, and she’s sold
more than 300 bars of soap.
The proceeds helped her
replenish her herd after a dog
got into the pen last year and
killed four goats, her mother
said.
“Livestock trauma is dif-
icult,” said Heather Evans,
a small-animal veterinarian.
However, it’s sometimes a
part of raising animals, and
Madeline used it as a learning
experience, her mother said.
Madeline brought seven
goats and two bunnies to the
Shasta fair. She had the junior
champion dairy goat and her
Polish buck rabbit was best of
show. Her 7-year-old sister,
Charlotte, is also in 4-H and
has started raising dairy goats
and bunnies.
Madeline has shown ani-
mals at two other shows this
year and plans to go to the
state fair in Sacramento in
July.
“She works really hard at
this,” Heather Evans said.
When she’s older, Made-
line plans to get a university
degree in veterinary medicine
with a major in nutrition, then
go to work as a veterinary
technician with an emphasis
on nutrition, she said.
Proper management of
riparian areas beneits all
By DOUG WARNOCK
For the Capital Press
A
main concern for man-
agers of rangelands, both
public and private, is to
protect the streams from dam-
age by animals and humans.
More streams are being
fenced off from the rest of
the property than ever before.
Whether the riparian area is
fenced or not, the more im-
portant factor is how it is
managed.
If livestock are totally ex-
cluded from the stream, the
manager loses grazing as a
tool in management. Grazing,
used properly, is very effec-
tive in restoring downgraded
range areas and stimulating
ecosystem resilience.
When grazed properly and
monitored, the forage plants
and browse in riparian areas
can be stimulated to regrow
and be vigorous, helping to
hold surface soil and provide
healthy habitat for ish and
wildlife. Plants are stimulated
by the periodic removal of
a portion of their stems and
leaves.
This requires getting the
26-2/#4N
Greener
Pastures
Doug Warnock
animals in at the proper time
and getting them out before
plants are overgrazed. To do
this successfully requires a
higher level of management
input, but pays off in terms of
better ecosystem health.
The grazing process helps
break up capped soil, stim-
ulates the incorporation of
plant tissue into the soil re-
sulting in increased organic
matter and adding minerals to
the soil from dung and urine.
Grazing can also help con-
trol growth of woody plants
that, over time, tend to shade
out desirable grasses and
forbs. These grasses and forbs
can be effective in holding the
soil on stream banks and il-
tering out soil particles during
periods of high water.
Grazing is also an effective
way to help in the control of
undesirable plants, when they
are grazed at an appropriate
time in the plant’s life cycle
to impede its recovery. So,
fenced riparian corridors can
be used favorably, if grazing
is not eliminated from the
manager’s toolbox.
Beth Burritt, livestock be-
havior specialist with Utah
State University, reminds us
that understanding and chang-
ing animal behavior offers a
means to reduce the harmful
effects of livestock spending
too much time in riparian
zones.
On rangelands where
streams are not fenced, it is
possible to change livestock
behavior so that animals learn
to spend only enough time
there to drink before returning
to higher ground away from
the riparian zone.
Over time, this can be done
with one or more riders. To be
successful, the riders must
be persistent and consistent.
Also, there needs to be pos-
itive consequences for the
livestock. Getting animals to
stay in a different place works
best when low-stress handling
techniques are used.
It is important to take time
to make sure that cows and
calves are paired up before
moving them and to keep so-
cial groups together during
the move.
Otherwise, the moves can
be much more stressful for
both animals and riders. The
timing of the moves needs
to coincide with the animals’
normal routines in order to
have the most success. Hav-
ing good feed, available salt
and water at the new site also
helps to foster positive results
when changing grazing pat-
terns.
Livestock managers can
play a major role in protecting
waterways and improving ri-
parian ecosystem health. The
results can be healthier soil,
enhanced wildlife habitat and
greater forage production.
The key element to suc-
cessful management is know-
ing what your actions are
producing in terms of animal
behavior and plant response.
This means spending time to
plan, to monitor and to adjust
in order to keep plants vig-
orous and productive, while
promoting the health of the
riparian zone.
Doug Warnock, retired
from Washington State Uni-
versity Extension, lives on a
ranch in the Touchet River
Valley, where he consults and
writes on grazing manage-
ment.
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