The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
ARM AND Q ANCH □ ULLETIN June 1967 Vol. 22, No. 6 THE RED M EAT PICTURE The United States produces the greatest vol ume of red meat in the world, but it ranks fifth as a meat consumer. A recent report of the Foreign Agricultural Service shows that U.S. red meat output totaled about 31.5 billion pounds in 1965. Of this amount, beef and veal accounted for 62 percent; pork, 36 percent; and mutton, lamb, and goat meat, 2 percent. In that same year, the U.S.S.R. ranked second in meat production. The other major meatproducing countries are France, West Ger many, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Beef and veal output in the United States in 1965, at 19.7 billion pounds, was substantially above that of the U.S.S.R., which was in sec ond place. Other important beef-producing na tions include Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. pounds per person, compared with 234 pounds in New Zealand, 210 pounds in Australia, and 206 pounds in Argentina. Uruguay is the major beef-consuming coun try in the world, with a yearly per capita quantity of about 181 pounds. Beef consump tion in the United States is around 105 pounds per person annually. Denmark ranks first as a pork-consuming country, while the United States is in seventh place. The only major lamb- and mutton-consuming countries are New Zealand and Australia. In the United States, per capita consumption of these meats is only about 4 pounds per year. Small amounts of horse meat are consumed in most European countries, but practically none is consumed in the United States. How the Exporters Rank Pork production in the United States, which Australia and Denmark are the principal red averages 11.2 billion pounds annually, far ex meat exporters in the world. In 1965, red meat ceeds that in any other country of the world. exports from these two countries were around In 1965, West Germany ranked second; 1.5 billion pounds each. Argentina ranked France, third; and Denmark, fourth. third, and New Zealand was fourth. These four Australia and New Zealand are the largest countries accounted for more than one-half of producers of mutton and lamb, with a total the world’s red meat exports. The United States output in 1965 of 1.3 billion pounds and 1.1 was far down the list, with shipments totaling billion pounds, respectively. The United States only 111 million pounds. ranked third, with 651 million pounds. Australia and Argentina are the major beef Who Eats the Most Meat exporting countries. In 1965, Australia became Although the United States produces the number 1, with exports amounting to 1.1 bil greatest amount of red meat, this country ranks lion pounds, compared with 933 million only fifth as a consumer. U.S. red meat con pounds for Argentina. The take-over of the sumption in 1965 amounted to only 167 number 1 spot by A ustralia resulted from F E D E R A L R E S E R V E DAL L AS, B A N K TEXAS OF D A L L A S severe and prolonged drought conditions in Argentina. Shipments of beef from the United States totaled only 54 million pounds that year. Denmark is the world’s leading exporter of pork, followed by the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, and Poland. Pork exports from the United States in 1965 comprised less than 2 percent of the world market. New Zealand and Aus tralia account for about 87 percent of the lamb and mutton export business. In 1965, New Zealand was by far the leader. The United States ships only very minor quantities of lamb, generally to Canada. In value, U.S. tallow exports are the most important. This trade reached $195 million in 1965. Hides and skins were second, followed by variety meats (such as liver and tongue) and lard. More Liquid Fertilizers Used According to the U.S. Department of Agri culture, the use of liquid fertilizers has risen sharply in recent years. Liquid fertilizer con sumption in this country during 1964-65 totaled nearly 5.4 million tons, or 12 percent more than a year earlier and nearly 10 times the amount used in 1954. Moreover, liquid The Big Importers fertilizers accounted for 18 percent of total The situation in the United States with re fertilizer consumption in 1964-65. gard to imports of red meat is entirely different Illinois, California, Iowa, Indiana, and from that for exports. In 1965 this country was the leading importer of beef. The United King Texas (in descending order of rank) are the dom — usually the leading importer — was a leading states in utilization of liquid fertilizer. close second. Other relatively large beef im Use of this product in top-ranked Illinois to taled 572,195 tons in 1964-65 and accounted porters were Italy and West Germany. for more than one-third of all fertilizer used in Although the United States is the world’s the State during that year. major producer of pork, it also ranks high as an importer. The United Kingdom led the Crop-Hail Insurance Reviewed world in the importation of pork in 1965, while A recent report of the Economic Research the United States was in second place. Most of Service shows that insurance protection against the pork entering the United States is in the hail damage to crops has doubled during the form of canned hams originating in Europe. past 15 years, keeping pace with rising costs of The United Kingdom is the world’s leading im production and increased values of harvests. porter of lamb and mutton, followed by Japan The publication reviews hail insurance for and the United States. crops, including volume of coverage, kinds of In 1965 the United States imported $830 crops insured, and the percentage of harvest million worth of livestock and meat products covered. The report contains premiums and in and exported $487 million worth. Valuewise, demnities for 1965 and tabulates comparisons beef and veal imports were the largest. Pork of coverage for a period of approximately 30 was second; wool, third; and cattle, fourth. years. The By-Product Business In all except 3 years since the 1930’s, the Although the United States is only a minor volume of crop-hail insurance has increased, exporter of red meats, it is the world’s largest reaching an all-time high of $3.1 billion in exporter of livestock by-products. In the past 1965. Coverage in 1965 was 6 percent above few decades, incomes of U.S. cattlemen and the preceding year. The Corn Belt accounted packers have been supplemented as a result of for more than one-half of the coverage of all new scientific developments, especially in the U.S. crop-hail insurance in 1965, because area of inedible by-products. New industrial severe (although infrequent) hail in that region uses have been found for tallow, and animal often causes heavy damage. The risk is high glands are now used extensively in the produc to both production and the value of the corn tion of such pharmaceuticals as insulin. crop. Of the major commodities, tobacco has the largest proportion (about one-third) of the crop insured against hail damage, while ap proximately one-fourth of the wheat crop is insured against hail damage. The majority of the crops in most areas do not require such a high proportion of coverage. The citrus crop, for example, is not insured against hail damage since hailstorms seldom occur in citrus-produc ing areas. In 1965, premiums for hail-crop insurance were highest in the Plains States and lowest in the Corn Belt and Pacific States. Single copies of “Crop-Hail Insurance, 1965 — Volume, Cost, Indemnities,” ERS-342, may be obtained, without charge, from the Divi sion of Information, Office of Management Services, U.S. D epartm ent of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 20250. The USDA asks that the person’s ZIP Code be included with the request for the publication. W asps Can Be Dangerous Wasps generally are beneficial insects, but they can become “tough customers” when they are disturbed. Phil Hamman, Assistant Exten sion Entomologist at Texas A&M University, says that this situation often occurs when the insects build their nests in close proximity to the home, or even in the home. Hornets, yellow jackets, mud daubers, the cicada killer, and Polistes (the larger wasps which are reddish to mahogany in color) are all wasps and, as a group, are beneficial insects. They destroy harmful insects around homes and in gardens, but they will also attack peo ple. Mud daubers and cicada killers usually will not sting unless they are touched or get caught in a person’s clothing. On the other hand, people should stay away from the nests of hornets, yellow jackets, and Polistes. Nests and insects can be destroyed by apply ing recommended insecticides. Control work should be done at night, at which time wasps are less active and most of them are in the nests. Since nests are often located in trees and shrubbery or on the house, the entomologist suggests the use of a water-base spray contain ing DDT, chlordane, or dieldrin. If wasps are nesting in the ground, the same materials in a dust form are recommended. Information con cerning suggested insecticides for wasp control may be obtained from local county agricultural agents. Downy Mildew Is Attacking Sorghums In widespread areas of the Texas Coastal Plains, both forage and grain sorghums are under attack from downy mil dew. Dr. Richard A. Frederiksen, Assistant Professor in Texas A&M University’s De partment of Plant Sciences, says that this spore-borne disease directly af fects the seed-producing capability of grain sorghum. Plants may be infected by either soilborne or air-transported spores. Young plants infected by soil-borne spores show yellow or chlorotic areas of varying sizes on leaves. Some times the entire leaves are yellowed. This con dition may occur as early as 3 weeks after emergence. New growth is stunted, and the undersides of chlorotic leaves are densely covered with down, which liberates air-trans ported spores. Leaves that continue to grow on the plants reveal a yellow striping between the veins. These leaves do not have down on them. As the plant matures, the striped leaves shred, giving the impression of hail damage to the crop. The spores liberated from chlorotic leaves can be carried thousands of feet by air currents to in A wasp stings by driving its needle-like ovi fect other plants. positor into the flesh and injecting a venomous Once downy mildew attacks a crop, there is fluid into the wound. The sting causes a painful swelling that may last for several days. In some little that can be done; but preventive measures people, a wasp sting results in severe illness or can be taken to guard against a recurrence. even death. Because of the possibility of serious Sorghums should not be planted for at least 2 trouble, a sharp lookout should be maintained years in a field that has a history of producing for the insects and especially for their nests. downy mildew. Moreover, grain sorghum should not be planted following Sudan grasses or Sudan-sorghum hybrids. Dr. Frederiksen says that research is under way in an effort to produce lines of forage and grain sorghums that are resistant to downy mildew. Grain-Cooling System Described A two-fan crossflow ventilation system for upright grain-storage structures, which was de veloped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Sta tion, is described in a new USDA publication. Bloat Control In Cattle Written by Harry H. Converse, an engineer Control of bloat in cattle grazing on alfalfa with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has proven successful this year in a demonstra at Manhattan, Kansas, the publication explains tion in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, reports the system and the research upon which it is Ed Hitson, County Agricultural Agent. Polox- based. alene, a feed additive for bloat control in cattle, The new system cools stored grain rapidly was fed to a group of beef cattle for a period and dries it slightly. Newly harvested wheat and of 90 days while the animals were grazing on sorghum grain frequently contain 1 or 2 per alfalfa. During this period, there was no inci cent too much moisture for safe storage. At dence of bloat in treated cattle, but there were many country elevators, there is not enough six deaths in the untreated group. volume or sufficient moisture in the grain to justify the expense of installing heated-air New Treatments Improve Cottons dryers. Conventional floor-duct aeration sys Durable-press cotton garments — already tems are not satisfactory because they are de popular consumer items — may soon become signed to move air vertically through the entire even more attractive buys as a result of three depth of grain. The volume of air needed for new chemical vapor treatments developed rapid cooling and drying requires excessive under contract research with the U.S. Depart fan power. ment of Agriculture. After one of these treat With a crossflow aeration system, the air is ments, a cotton shirt retains its shape and moved horizontally across the bin instead of ver resists abrasion longer than do cotton shirts tically through the much greater grain depth. receiving present treatments, says the USDA. Although both systems require the same horse Basic to each process is the use of chemical power, air-flow rates are as much as 10 times vapors or combinations of vapors and liquids higher than conventional floor-duct systems. to produce chemical changes in cotton without Single copies of ARS 52-20, “A Two-Fan unduly weakening the fabric. In one of the new processes, the fabric is pretreated with any of Crossflow V entilation System for U pright a number of the same liquid chemicals cur Grain Storages,” may be obtained, without rently used in producing wash-and-wear cloth charge, from the Transportation and Facilities ing. This procedure is followed by a treatment Research Division, ARS, USDA, Federal Cen with dichlorosilane vapors, which causes two ter Building, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782. The chemical reactions (grafting and crosslinking) person’s ZIP Code should be included with the request for the ARS publication. and gives the garment its durable press. A second process also includes liquid chemi cal pretreatment, with the subsequent use of formaldehyde and formic acid vapors. No pre treatment is involved with the third process, in which garments are treated only with formalde hyde and formic acid vapors. In addition to obtaining satisfactory results with colored fab rics, this treatment also works well with white fabrics because the finish does not yellow when the material is subjected to chlorine bleaching. Lassie, the famous collie, is now the Na tion’s mascot in the war against litter on the highways and in parks, forests, and public recreational areas. The collie’s help was en listed by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Lassie is featured on a new poster and has thus be come the symbol of the campaign to prevent litter, as Smoky the Bear has led the fight to prevent forest fires.
@FedFRASER