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Reburn-Julia Associates, LLC - P.O. Box 567, 10220 Dixie Beeline Highway, Guthrie, KY 42234 Ph: 270.483.9855 ● Fax: 270.483.9833 ● Cell: 270.404.0046

AASRP - P.O. Box 611, 10220 Dixie Beeline Highway, Guthrie, KY 42234 Ph: 270.483.2090 ● Fax: 270.483.9833

(Please note this is a new location effective May 1, 2008)_______________________________________________________________________________________

AASRP in Español! Click here to view the Spanish version. Please remember that not all web elements will convert at this time.

USDA Issues Final Rule for Livestock Mandatory Reporting
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday issued the final regulation to re-establish and revise the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) program. The rule to once again implement mandatory price reporting of domestic and imported product has been anxiously awaited by the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI).
    "The mandatory reporting program has been one of the most progressive advances in the U.S. lamb market in this decade, and we are pleased it will once again be fully implemented," state Burdell Johnson, ASI president. "Our industry has been at risk for the two-and-a-half years since the initial law expired. This risk is not just from the loss of market reporting but also from the fact that our livestock risk protection program for lamb is based on this market reporting."
    Johnson added that he was pleased to know that this summer all companies will resume reporting markets, including the lamb importers that steadfastly refused to provide price information unlike the domestic lamb companies that continued reporting during this voluntary period.
    The statutory authority for the program lapsed on Sept. 30, 2005. At that time, AMS sent letters to all packers required to report under the 1999 Act, requesting they continue to submit information voluntarily. The packers' cooperation has allowed USDA to publish most reports.
    ASI Executive Director Peter Orwick commented that LMR for lamb is without question a key factor to the steady lamb market over the past six years.
    "Mandatory reporting, once finally operating in 2002, did what we hoped and that was to avoid the serious volatility we saw in the lamb markets of the 1990s," commented Orwick. "The mandatory program is the only way to have price reporting on imported lamb made public. While it is disappointing that we have more than a two-year gap in price report data due to delays in the final reauthorization and rules, the industry looks forward to the program's full implementation."
    Johnson expressed support to the domestic companies that continued reporting during the voluntary period and appreciates a more equitable situation where meat importers are now standing the same costs of reporting that domestic companies bore throughout.
    The final rule will become effective July 15, 2008, and is available in the Federal Register at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-10185.htm.

Red Meat Production to Decline
    Tighter supplies of cattle will force beef production to decline in 2009, and pork production will decline due to reduced farrowings later this year and next year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday in its latest World Agriculture Supply and Demands Estimates.
    Beef production in 2009 is forecast at 26.5 billion pounds, compared with 26.8 billion pounds in 2008. Pork production in 2009 is forecast at 22.9 billion pounds, compared with 23.5 billion pounds in 2008. Total red meat production in 2009 is expected to reach 49.8 billion pounds, down from 50.6 billion pounds in 2008.
    The entire report is available at www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf.

Clark Names NWRC Director
    Larry Clark of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS) program has been named director of WS' National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo.
    "Clark has an impressive history with the WS program and the research center," said William H. Clay, deputy administrator of APHIS' WS program. "His knowledge of wildlife, research coupled with an understanding of WS' stakeholders, is a great asset to APHIS. He establishes high standards, drives results and promotes collaboration within and among NWRC programs."
    Clark began his career with APHIS in 1991. Prior to accepting his current position, he served as NWRC's assistant director and was responsible for managing the center and its field stations, setting internal policies and directives and promoting collaborations among research programs. Over the past 17 years, Clark has been instrumental in establishing NWRC's wildlife disease research capabilities and has held positions as both an APHIS science fellow and research scientist. In 1995, he became one of the first NWRC staff members to establish cooperative relationships with the Colorado State University community.

Abortion in Sheep. Click here to view a presentation by John Plant, Veterinary Specialist.

Goat and Sheep Production and Marketing in the AMHARA Region of Ethiopia. Click here to view the report by Judith Moss, Small Ruminant Specialist.