OST-SS-05-08-2014

May is

BEEFMonth Thursday, May 8, 2014

Family farm life

Dutreys make cattle operation a family affair

By AMY HANSEN

OST news editor • ahansen@osceolaiowa.com

What makes a family cattle farm work?

For George and Heather Dutrey of Woodburn and their children, it takes a lot of teamwork.

“I would definitely say, with the cattle side of things, you got to really enjoy doing it because it is a lot of work,” said George. “It’s year round. There never seems like a lull time. You’re feeding something or checking something, and it’s great for the kids, they learn a lot of things, especially (about) life and death. That’s one of the first lessons you learn about, especially with raising mama cows with having babies and bad weather.”

Dutrey Family Farm

George said the family has a “40 head of cow-calf” operation — Dutrey Family Farm. They raise calves to wean and feed them until they are between 700 and 800 pounds. Then, the Dutreys sell them to buyers.

“We get them from baby calf to the time they’re ready to go on heavy feed,” George said.

George said he grew up around sheep and cattle.

Heather was also raised on a farm.

George also does artificial insemination on many of their heifers to help bring stronger genetics into their operation.

“He takes a lot of pride in the genetic aspect of our cattle,” Heather said.

Many opportunities Heather said what she likes most about a cattle

farm is there are so many opportunities for their children to learn different things through the farming operation.

“The hard work that we have to put into it,” Heather said. “Just the determination to finish something, but also, one of the downsides is sometimes we’re out late at night.”

The Dutreys have three children — Will, 7, Josi, 6, and James, 4.

Heather said their children are starting to help — such as opening gates and filling buckets.

Their children have even helped bring a baby calf into the family’s garage — or even on their kitchen floor — to dry him off with a hair OST photo by AMY HANSEN

Please see Pictured is the Dutrey family of Woodburn on their family cattle farm. Back row, from DUTREYS, Page 2 left, are George and Heather Dutrey. Front row are Josi, 6, Will, 7, and James, 4.

Page 2c — Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014

DUTREYS: Continued from Page 1

dryer in the middle of a snow storm to save his life.

“That is an amazing thing for a kid to be a part of,” Heather said, “and the pride they feel about being a part of saving something’s life is something they’ll never forget.”

George said there’s not much a person can do with planning too far ahead with cattle.

“You can’t plan for a disaster,” George said with a laugh.

Heather said one challenge is dealing with fencing.

“There’s always fence to fix or build somewhere,” she said.

President George is also involved in the cattle industry in other ways. He currently is the

president of Clarke County Cattlemen’s Association.

“It’s been good. It’s a good way to meet a lot of other cattlemen throughout the state,” George said. “Working with the community and marketing, that’s what we’re really trying to do is just promote beef within the community at the local level for us.”

The Dutreys also have other jobs in the community that occupy their days. George said their evenings and weekends are busy working on the farm.

“Especially, with the kids, which seems like a lot of work.

But, for me, I think it’s kind of nice because then they get to see us working also,” Heather said. “I think it instills a lot of good work ethic in our children. So, I think it’s a good thing.”

Pictured are cattle on Dutrey Family Farm in Woodburn.

May is

BEEFmonth

We proudly salute the area Beef Producers

OST photo by AMY HANSEN

CLARKE COUNTY CATTLEMEN 2014 OFFICERS

President .............................George Dutrey III Vice President......................Don White Treasurer ..............................Joe Miller Secretary .............................Jennifer Pollard Membership ........................Wade Myers Grill Manager .......................Rick Oshel

2014 DIRECTORS

Joe Miller Brian Mateer Jackie Bradley Jason Boyer Rick Oshel Gary Welcher

Afton • Arispe • Creston • Diagonal Indianola • Macksburg • Mt. Ayr • Osceola Shenandoah • Elwood, KS

Jeff Pollard George Dutrey III Jennifer Pollard Don White Wade Myers

SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNER Mallory Bakley

Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014 — Page 3c

Iowa beef producers investigate beef market with China AMES — “There is a hunger for U.S. beef in China. We anxiously await the opening of the market for U.S. beef,” was the consistent message delivered to an Iowa Meat Trade Mission while in China March 31-April 4.

Iowa beef producers Roger Brummett of Bedford and Dean Black of Somers represented Iowa Beef Industry Council on the mission.

“We visited with high Chinese meat traders and staff of the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) to learn about the potential for U.S. beef exports,” said Brummett, chair of the Iowa Beef Industry Council.

He added, “They presented an overview of the China market and discussed current policy issues between the two countries that need to be resolved before the market opens.”

The three pillars for U.S. and China relations were listed as food safety, food security and sustainability.

China has been closed to U.S. beef since 2003 when the first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was found, and BSE is still listed as a con-

cern as is ractopamine, a feed additive. The country is working toward a better food safety structure with increased regulations for food producers and manufacturers.

“Their cold chain system is definitely improving,” Black said. “We toured a huge brand new cold storage facility in Nanjing and one being built in Suzhou.

Each will allow for a thousand or more wholesale ‘meat shops’ to be indoors, with electricity and near the freezer storage building.

Beef is usually frozen when sent to China, so they are better prepared to receive and store beef.”

The urbanization happening in China is resulting in a reduction of farmland.

“On our travels around Shanghai, we saw thousands of high-rise buildings for housing being built,” Brummett said. “They are building everywhere and significantly reducing the amount of land available for farming. Apparently, their definition of food security may be changing with China accepting that importing food does not mean China is dependent on another country for their food supply.”

Shanghai has the fastest growing E-commerce in the

world with young people (born after 1990) ordering food online for delivery to their homes and offices (because of the dense population in high-rise housing.)

An online USMEF pork promotion resulted in the sales of almost 10,000 metric tons of pork in one week, so there is great potential to market U.S. beef in this manner.

So what does this mean for U.S. beef?

According to analysis

by USMEF and the ATO, there is a general distinction between demand for grain vs. grass-fed beef (currently domestic, and from India, Australia and Brazil.)

There is no other supplier that compares to the quality of U.S. beef. The demand for U.S. beef will be centered in chain restaurants, hotel fine dining and some retail (hot pot slices).

There is also a market for beef offal as the Chinese eat all parts of the beef animal.

The demand is there, the cold chain is improved, and the domestic cattle supply is declining, so the outlook for U.S. beef exports is good.

Both Black and Brummett were impressed with the staffs of the USDA foreign agriculture offices and the U.S. Meat Export Fed-

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eration who are working hard to create opportunities for beef and pork exports.

The beef checkoff contributes funds from both the national and state level to USMEF. U.S. beef exports added $277 to the value of a fed steer in February.

The Iowa trade team was coordinated by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and included Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, and representatives of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Farm Bureau

Federation, Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Partial funding for the trade mission was provided by the $1-per-head beef checkoff.

—————— Iowa Beef Industry Council

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Page 4c — Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014

Iowans selected to oversee the National Beef Checkoff program AMES – Four Iowa beef producers were selected to serve on national committees to oversee the Beef Checkoff at the 2014 Cattle Industry Annual Convention held in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 4-7.

Terri Carstensen of Odebolt, and Scott McGregor of Nashua will serve one-year terms on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee, which, following input from beef producers nationwide, will make final budget allocations for FY 2015 national Beef Checkoff programs.

Dean Black of Somers, and Kent Pruismann of Rock Valley were selected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

Black and Pruismann, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represent Iowa cattle producers on the beef board.

The 11-member executive committee operates under the direction of and within the policies established by the full board and is responsible for carrying out beef board policies and conducting business and making decisions necessary to administer the terms and provisions of the act and order between meetings of the full board.

Carstensen and McGregor represent the Iowa Beef Industry Council on the Federation of State Beef Councils, which is an alliance of 45 state beef councils that collect the

$1 per-head beef checkoff.

Beef councils forward 50 cents of the $1 beef checkoff to the national Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) and retain the other 50 cents for in-state use or to re-invest with the federation to extend national beef promotion efforts.

Each year, the beef checkoff undergoes a producer-driven budget and program planning process.

The operating committee, with 10 federation members and 10 CBB members, approves the final national plan.

National programs are funded by investments from the federation (from state beef council investments) and the national 50 cents, collected through

Some of the world’s best beef is raised here in this area.

We join everyone in saluting our area beef producers during May Beef Month.

820 Warren Avenue, Osceola, IA 50213 641-342-3811

Photo by IOWA BEEF INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Iowa cattle producers elected to oversee The Beef Checkoff Program include, from left, Scott McGregor of Nashua, Dean Black of Somers, Terri Carstensen of Odebolt and Kent Pruismann of Rock Valley.

the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. The operating committee will approve plans for FY 2015, which begins

Oct. 1, 2015.

The beef checkoff is a $1-per-head assessment a majority of cattlemen

voted upon themselves in 1986 to spend on advertising, beef safety research, product enhancement, new product development, foodservice and retail programs and consumer education. Importers are assessed a comparable amount for beef products they import into the United States.

Support for the beef checkoff, at 78 percent, is the highest recorded in the past 21 years, according to a recent survey of 1,225 beef and dairy producers nationwide. For more information about checkoff programs, visit www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.

—————— Iowa Beef Industry Council

The Clarke County Cattlemen held their

3rd Annual Chili Supper & Open House on Thursday, February 13th Local businesses shared products & educational resources they had available for local beef producers.

We would like to thank the following businesses for making this year another great success!

ABS Bear Construction Curt Garner Welding Diamond D Oil Farmers Coalition ISU Extension & Outreach Jeff Pollard Kruger Seed M&M Ag/U.S. Feeds

New Holland Novartis Osceola Vet Clinic Reasoner’s Ruby Cattle Company SJS Cattle Company The Harvest Barn/ Boyer Limousines Werner Bulls

Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014 — Page 5c

May Beef Month Proclamation signed by governor Iowa Beef Industry Council is pleased to announce that May is Beef Month in Iowa.

Gov. Terry E. Branstad has signed the May Beef Month proclamation in recognition of the importance of Iowa’s beef industry to the state’s economy.

Iowa Beef Industry Council is pleased to present the following proclamation” “Whereas Iowa is a major beef producing state with nearly 3.70 million head of cattle on January 1, 2014; and Whereas the beef industry contributes greatly to our economy by generating in excess of $5.5 billion annually, and creating jobs for

nearly 40,000 Iowans; and Whereas today’s beef is a naturally nutrient-rich food providing protein, iron, zinc and B-vitamins; and Whereas beef producers are the original environmentalists working to conserve the soil and making optimum use of natural resources; and Whereas Iowa is a leader in the export of value-added agriculture products, shipping high-quality Iowa beef to other countries around the world; and Whereas there is an everincreasing need for better understanding of the benefits that the beef industry provides to all Iowans; Now therefore, I, Terry

E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2014 as Beef Month in Iowa, and urge all citizens to appreciate the contributions the beef industry continues to provide to our state.”

—————— Producer-directed and consumer-focused, Iowa Beef Industry Council is funded by the $1-per-head beef checkoff. Checkoff dollars are invested in beef promotion, consumer information, research, industry information and foreign market development, all with the purpose of strengthening beef demand.

For more information, visit Pictured is a calf in a pasture. www.iabeef.org.

Contributed photo by IOWA BEEF INDUSTRY COUNCIL

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Page 6c — Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014

Beef industry showcases its sustainability The beef industry has improved its sustainability by 5 percent in just six years, according to the results of the checkoff-funded Beef Industry Sustainability Assessment, released recently.

Kent Pruismann, cattle feeder from Rock Valley, serves as chairman of the Joint Freedom to Operate Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Federation of State Beef Councils. He explainedthe beef sustainability assessment is the most detailed examination of a commodity value chain ever completed, taking into account every aspect of beef production from the growth of feed to the disposal of packaging by the final consumer.

“All of the inputs and outputs required to produce a pound of boneless, edible beef were examined for the 1970s, 2005 and 2011,” Pruismann said, explaining the 1970s and 2005 each represents major shifts in beef production practices, while 2011 represents present-day.

Improvements in crop yields, better irrigation, innovations in the packing sector, improvements

in technology and better animal performance are examples of innovations that have all played a role in advancing industry sustainability, according to Kim Stackouse-Lawson, Ph.D., director of sustainability for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program.

“The completion of the life cycle assessment (LCA) project provides the industry, for the first time, the science-based evidence necessary to lead conversations about the sustainability of beef,” Stackhouse-Lawson said. “The Beef Checkoff and the Beef Promotion Operating Committee had the foresight three years ago to see the importance of this work and make it a priority for the industry. By completing the LCA, the checkoff positioned beef as a leader on the topic of sustainability.”

Stackhouse-Lawson said the project was extensive.

“We examined millions of individual data points and then created models to simulate specific aspects of beef production practices so that this data and these

results are truly representative of beef production in the United States,” she said.

“The results of this work show the beef industry is becoming more innovative and efficient, while also doing an excellent job protecting the resources with which they have been entrusted,” Pruismann said. “Iowa cattle producers can be proud that we had the foresight to contribute additional checkoff funds to this project.”

Stackhouse-Lawson explains that during the six years between 2005 and 2011, the beef industry has: • Reduced environmental impacts by 7 percent • Improved its overall sustainability by 5 percent • Reduced emissions to soil by 7 percent • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2 percent • Lessened occupational accidents and illnesses by 32 percent • Reduced emissions to water by 10 percent • Reduced resource consumption by 2 percent • Decreased water use by 3 percent • Decreased land use by 4 percent • Lowered energy use by

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“Thank You” to all Beef Producers!

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“The results of this work show the beef industry is becoming more innovative and efficient, while also doing an excellent job protecting the resources with which they have entrusted.”

— Kent Pruismann

Chairman of the Joint Feedom to Operate Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Federation of State Beef Councils

2 percent “The results of the Beef Industry Sustainability Assessment, which was just certified by the National Standards Foundation (NSF), show the industry is on a path of continuous improvement,” Stackhouse-

Lawson said.

She explained the certification by NSF lends thirdparty credibility to the work, making it more acceptable to non-governmental organizations and other potential partners in the sustainability arena.

“When we talk about the sustainability of an industry, that’s what it’s all about, getting better over time. As an industry, beef is doing a good job at making progress on the path toward a more sustainable future. The certification of these results confirms that,” she said.

About the Iowa Beef Industry Council The Iowa Beef Industry Council is funded by the $1-per-head beef checkoff.

Checkoff dollars are invested in beef promotion, consumer information, research, industry information and foreign market development, all with the purpose of strengthening beef demand.

For more information, visit www.iabeef.org.

The Clarke County Cattlemen would like to say Thank You to the following supporters of the 2014 Belt Buckles Champion Sr. Showman

Great Western Bank

Champion Breeding Heifer

American State Bank

Reserve Champion Breeding Heifer

Fareway, Southern Iowa Saddle Shop, Halverson Accounting & Bruce Harris

Champion Cow/Calf

Russell Livestock

Champion Market Heifer

Bart’s Tire & Auto

Reserve Champion Steer

Osceola Vet Clinic

Grand Champion Live Carcass

Knoxville Livestock

Grand Champion Steer

Bud Jones Construction

Beef celebrations for millennials Going out for a steak has been a way consumers celebrate special occasions for decades.

In recognizing May Beef Month in Iowa, it’s natural the state’s lovers of good food would do the same thing. Today, new generations of consumers would like to get into the act, but have a few questions first.

Millennials – those consumers born between about 1980 and 2000 – are the largest generation of U.S. consumers, about 80 million strong.

What’s more, they represent more than 40 percent of beef eatings in America, more than any other generation. Their total spending is expected to reach $1.4 trillion a year by 2020.

Research conducted through the Beef Checkoff program shows consumers in the millennial generation like beef. But, they also have ques-

tions about how to fix the various cuts, as well as their nutritional properties.

That’s a challenge for the beef industry, especially since millennials will be making beef-buying decisions for the next 40-plus years. It’s also why beef producers, through their Beef Checkoff program, have adjusted their marketing programs to focus on the needs of these consumers. Their efforts are also designed to provide information to millennials the way they retrieve and process that information – through the Internet, smart phones and tablets, and through social media vehicles like Facebook and Twitter.

For example, research shows that young consumers today want fresh products that take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Through a Convenient Fresh Beef project the beef industry is exploring a method of delivering an easy-

to-prepare fresh beef product at retail stores that is nutritious and appealing and serves four.

The project features the education and training for retailers that will make it successful.

Convenient Fresh Beef products include the beef, seasonings and instructions in an attractive sleeve-wrapped tray, prepared in the meat department at the grocery store or supplied to the store as a case-ready product. A photo of the finished beef dish is featured on the front of the sleeve, and 1-3 recipes are printed on the back. A sandwich meal, for example, could feature classic American cheese steak, mushroom and Swiss or BBQ beef.

Because consumers today like to have options, this idea provides selling points for both beef processors and food marketers.

—————— Iowa Beef Industry Council

Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014 — Page 7c

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Page 8c — Osceola Sentinel-Tribune — Thursday, May 8, 2014

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