This month in brief

Some folks lament the trend of consolidation while chafing and bucking at the prospect of individual animal ID. But contributing editor Wes Ishmael says a mandatory ID program actually would slow concentration by forcing even those riding drag to at least have the same management tool already being used to economic benefit by those in the point position. Read “ID widens the gap” on page 8.

It's been five years since BEEF magazine and Kansas State University (KSU) teamed up to deliver the industry's first survey of firms offering radio-frequency ID (RFID) technology for cattle-industry application. In “2008 RFID Survey,” on page 9, KSU's Dale Blasi once again presents the U.S. cattle industry's most current and comprehensive look at RFID companies and the technology they offer for cattle ID and monitoring.

Collecting data is a necessary and all-important step in financial management, but those figures don't do your management efforts much good until you convert them into information. In the last of her three-part series on electronic recordkeeping, “Computer Savvy: Analysis,” on page 21, Managing Editor Alaina Burt provides some pointers on turning raw numbers into real management-boosting intelligence.

It's a long way from becoming law, but the measure included in the Senate version of the farm bill that would ban packer ownership of livestock except for 14 days prior to harvest is one of those issues that drives producers to toe one side of the line or the other. In “Packer ban is a step backwards,” on page 28, rancher and contributing editor Troy Marshall comments on why he believes it would be a terrible law.

Availability of stock water can be one of the seemingly insurmountable impediments to year-round grazing and the operational savings that come from feeding less hay in the winter. In “Stock water and winter grazing,” on page 30, grazing guru Jim Gerrish provides some background and pointers on building and utilizing the infrastructure that makes year-round grazing possible.

With a 72% reduction in E. coli O157:H7 incidence since 2000, it seemed like the beef industry had this bully of food-borne illness on the ropes. Then, in October, Topps Meat recalled 21.7 million lbs. of frozen ground beef before closing up shop, and Cargill followed that up by voluntarily pulling 2 million lbs. in two recalls of its own. In “Rejected?” on page 34, Senior Editor Burt Rutherford looks at the fallout.