D2-Lancastar Fanning Saturday ,(Jctober2s, f Siti Miller Charolais Wins In Maryland ■ i Paul Miller of Spring Grove escorted his heifer, SMR Sasha 3025, to grand champion female honors in the Charolais Association's Eastern National Area 7 show in Timonium, Md. The show was judged by Or. Gary Minish of Virginia Po|y- Technic Institute. Red Meat BY RICHARD BARCZEWSKI University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. - As we are all aware, the average consumption of red meat in the American diet is declining. How much further this decline goes is anybody’s guess, but will be determined in part by health concerns, misconceptions about meat and the influence of other groups including animal rights activists. Red meat is an excellent source of protein, B vitamins and many other nutrients essential for a healthy body. One of the biggest problems we face in the swine industry is the public’s miscon ception of red meat. Recently one campaign, “Meat Out,” was held to discourage meat consumption. How serious are these campaigns? Very serious. How effective? That remains to be seen, but remember, consumption is going down. There are many people in America who have chosen not to eat meat because of the cost, fat or cholesterol content, or for religious or philosophic reasons. Why do certain groups get so vocal? Some strongly object to the slaughter and processing of animals for consumption. This is an attitude that the livestock industry better get used to. The Move Away From Ag The bulk of our population is urban or suburban. And con sidering some of the current economic problems agriculture is facing due to overproduction, this non-farm sector is going to grow. After a few generations away from the farm, people become ac customed to purchasing food in a grocery store without any regard to where it came from. Because they’re no longer ex posed to the production and processing of livestock, some people are appalled to realize that animals are slaughtered to produce meat in the grocery store. Livestock producers and meat packers may be viewed as villains, and- some vocal individuals may begin to speak out against the entire livestock industry. I know this all sounds a bit far fetched, but I feel the single most important issue the red meat in dustry faces with regard to reduced consumption is the I \ > I I K\ \ \\ lON V «v« V $ A Nutrient-Rich Food public’s misconceptions about red meat and a lack of contact with the rural sector. There are people out there who have never seen a pig, cow or sheep except through cute pictures that occasionally run in the v newspapers. These pictures depict animals in unnatural human settings (such as the 600-pound sow on the sofa I recently saw). So what can we in the livestock industry do? Obviously we must respect the right of people who don’t want to eat meat. This is a personal choice and one that everybody is entitled to; however, we can make sure that consumers know that meat is good for them. Contrary to the bad press it has received recently, meat is actually one of our most nutritious foods, but it is not essential in the human diet. However, there are few, if any, better sources of protein, B vitamins (including B-12) and certain minerals, especially iron and zinc. The iron in meat, called heme iron, is absorbed by the body and also helps the body use non heme iron from plant sources. Victim of Misinformation Some of the claims made about meat are untrue. Meat is not ex cessively high in fat and cholesterol. Most cuts of lean meat contain less than 80 milligrams of cholesterol for a three-ounce serving, making it possible to National Charolais Show Scheduled KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The American-International Charolais Association, along with the Ken tucky Charolais Association, is finalizing plans for the 18th National Charolais Show and Bth National Charolais Sale to be held Nov. 18-19 in Louisville, Ky. Beginning at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 18, Charolais breeders from across the country will lead out the top Charolais in the nation. Ric Hoyt of Burns, Ore., and Dr. Donald Boggs of the University of Grorgia at Athens, will evaluate the cattle. On the following morning at 10 a.m., Nov. 19, the Bth National Sale gets underway, offering 28 cataloged lots from the top herds in Lyng Names Pork Board DES MOINES, lowa Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng’s recent appointment of the new 15-member National Pork Board sets the stage for the official start-up of the new national pork producers legislative checkoff Nov. 1. Secretary Lyng selected the appointees from a list of nominees elected last month by the Pork Producers Delegate Body. The 15- member Board will have the Simmental Sire Selector Available BOZEMAN, Mont. - The 1987 Sire Selector produced by the American Simmental Association is now available. Contents of this reference volume feature progeny records for 2,500 purebred Simmental evaluated in seven traits: calving ease, first calf; birth weight; weaning weight; yearling weight; daughters’ calving ease, first calf; daughters’ first-calf weaning weight; and daughters’ milking ability. Included in the computations are nearly 600,000 birth weights and over 800.000 weaning records. The Vwdwide aver vifor specific traits include birth weight - 83 pounds, weaning weight adjusted to 205 days - 526 pounds and yearling weight adjusted to 365 days • 917 pounds. More information about the 1987 Sire Selector is availble from the include meat, in moderation, in low cholesterol diets. As for fat, meat contains far less today than it did in the past. Hogs, for example, are 50 percent leaner now than they were in 1950. I’m amazed at how lean most of the meat cuts are in the supermarket. Some pork chops I’ve purchased recently are almost too lean to cook properly. What’s more, less than half of the fat in beef and pork is saturated. The rest is monosaturated and polyun saturated, and most cuts of meat, with visible fat removed, yield less than 200 calories per serving. As an industry, it’s important for us to educate the non-farm public about our product. Red meat is a nutrient-dense food and needs to be promoted as such. Providing consumers with factual in formation about our meat products and letting them decide what to eat is an essential part of marketing the meat we produce. The public is getting further and further away from agriculture. So it’s up to all farm commodity groups to educate consumers about agricultural products. Emotionalism and irrational reactions to certain vocal con sumer groups won’t do anything to address this problem. Factual information is the key to un derstanding. Provide that and let the consumer decide. North American. In addition, selections made from the top placings of the National show will round out the sale consignments. Headquarters for all Charolais activities and meeting is the Executive Inn. The hotel’s special rates for the Charolais group are $49 (single) or $57 (double). Reservations should be made by calling 800-626-2706 or 502/367-6161. Ask for the Charolais block of rooms. For more information about the National Charolais events in Louisville, contact the American- International Charolais Association, P.O. Box 20247, Kansas City, MO 64195, or call 816/464-5977. responsibility of collecting the checkoff and deciding how the money will be spent. Named to three-year terms on the National Pork Board were: Virgil Hosendale, Augusta, IL; Leroy Vollmer, Boonville, MO; Ritchie Jordan, Suffolk, VA, James McKee, Attica, IN; and Henry Greenebaum, Scarsdale, NY. Mr. Greenebaum is an im porter. Appointed to two-year terms were:Linden Olson, Worthington, Association headquarters. Telephone 1-800-548-0205 or write American Simmental Assocation, 1 Simmental Way, Bozeman, MT 59715. The New Checkoff Program Nov. 1, 1986 is something of a milestone for the pork industry. It marks the date when mandatory checkoff begins. What does this mean? Hog producers and im porters, by law, must now con tribute a portion of the hog's value to further pork promotion, research and consumer in formation. We’ve been voluntarily “checking off” hogs for years. It began in 1968 when producers decided to contribute a nickel per market hog to the National Pork Producers Council. As the promotion effort gained' momentum, producers increased the checkoff rate until it reached 20 cents per hog and 10 cents per feeder pig. Then in 1984, producers decided to change the way checkoff worked. “Let’s base the checkoff on the hog’s value,” they reasoned. “That way, as hog prices go up, checkoff will increase. When hog prices drop and profits are lower, checkoff will drop too.” So on July 1, 1985, producers began checking off hogs and pigs at the rate of .30 percent, or 30 cents for a $lOO hog. While that made the checkoff rate more equitable, one problem lingered. The system was volun tary and only 60 percent of the hogs were being checked off. So hog producers went to Washington and by Christmas 1985, Congress gave producers the present they wanted mandatory checkoff. Here’s how it will work: WHEN? Mandatory checkoff begins Nov. 1,1986. HOW MUCH? The checkoff rate will be .25 percent of the value of feeder pigs, market hogs and breeding stock. For example, checkoff will be 15 cents for a $6O feeder pig, 30 cents for a $l2O market hog, and $3.75 for a $1,500 boar. CAN ANIMALS BE CHECKED OFF MORE THAN ONCE? Yes. Feeder pigs sold into finishing operations will be checked off at the time of delivery and again when they are sold as market hogs. WHO PAYS? The seller. WHO SENDS THE MONEY? The buyer. Anyone buying pigs or hogs must deduct the checkoff from their payment and send it to the national headquarters. With Members MN; Hilman Schroeder, Sauk City, WI; GAry Simpson, Ault, CO; Roland Mohesky, Wilson, NC; and Harold Trask, Renwick, lA. The following were appointed to serve one-year terms: Roy Sharp, Tulare, CA; William Buller, Brookings, SD; Allen Keppy, Wilton, IA; Ron Keller, Monroe, NE; and Sandra Gifford, Onon daga, MI. “The nation’s pork producers are grateful for the expeditious manner in which Secretary Lyng moved to announce the official appointments,” said Ron Kahle, president of the National Pork Producers Council. The National Pork Board is expected to hold its first meeting in early November. Pork Prose by Kenneth B. Kephart Penn State Extension Swine Specialist breeding stock, the seedstock producer must send the checkoff money to the national office. WHO IS THE MONEY SENT TO? The National Pork Board, recently appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, will be collecting the money. But until the Board has a permanent address,' checkoff will be sent to NPPC. For now, forms can be obtained from NPPC. WHO DECIDES HOW THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT? The National Pork Board. Most of it will be spent on pork promotion, research and consumer in formation. Roughly 20 percent will be returned to each state organization., NPPC will also receive an automatic allotment from the National Pork Board, but only for the next three and one-half years. WHAT ABOUT IMPORTED, HOGS AND PORK? Foreign hogs will be checked off the same as U.S. hogs. Imported pork will also be checked off at .25 percent, but the value of the pork products will be multiplied by 70 percent to convert it to a live basis. For example, the check-off rate for a $l5 imported ham will be about two and one-half cents. HOW LONG WILL THE MANDATORY CHECKOFF LAST? Twenty-four to thirty months. At that tune the Secretary of Agriculture will conduct a nation-wide referendum. Until then, refunds can be obtained by sending the appropriate forms, even though the checkoff is mandatory. HOW MUCH MONEY WILL THE CHECK-OFF GENERATE? Probably $lB to $2O million. Right now NPPC takes in about $l2 million. Is that a lot of money? It’s a good start. But we’re a long way from the more than $2OO million that the dairy industry collects for promotion. WILL NPPC COLLAPSE, NOW THAT THE NATIONAL PORK BOARD IS CALLING THE SHOTS? There’s no question that NPPC will lose a lot of control. But I’m_sure the National Pork Board jgrill utilize NPPC for major program efforts since they have I tools and the expertise. 1
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