David Palmer, president and chief executive officer, said the new plant, Northern Beef Packers (NBP), is the newest, most modern beef processing plant in the country. “Using the high-quality, family-farm-raised young cattle in the Dakota region, Northern Beef Packers will provide world-class prime beef, traceable from farm to finished product.

Icahn stated in the release: “When Wayne Pacelle reached out to me as a longtime supporter of The Humane Society to advise HSUS on the possibility of seeking a board position at Tyson, I told Wayne that given the existence of A/B (low vote/high vote) stock at Tyson, it would be extremely difficult to elect him as a director through a proxy fight.

Yep, the bulls stop here! According to their website, the beer was inspired by an April Fool’s Day spoof video in which they claimed to have released a beer made with bull testicles. After sending out a press release and video link last April, beer lovers came out of the woodworks to get a sample.

By the end of 2012, alfalfa hay production will drop 16 percent compared with the previous year, the lowest level since 1953, according to USDA’s August report. Total hay production will likely total 120 million tons, an 8.4 percent drop from 131 million tons last year.

“ConAgra Foods has a long history in Russellville, and we are pleased to grow our presence in the area,” said Mike Tracy, senior vice president of Consumer Foods Supply Chain for ConAgra Foods.

The announcement builds upon NRCS’ Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) initiative in which land owners voluntarily implement proven conservation practices to protect certain threatened wildlife species, including several species found in Colorado, such as the greater sage grouse, the Southwestern willow flycatcher, and the lesser prairie-chicken.

The new program requires students to include a fruit or vegetable with their lunch, or it will cost them more, charging them at the a-la-carte price, instead of the regular lunch. While they can not force the student to eat the fruit or vegetable, food waste has also become a hot topic with the school lunch debate.

Recently, cases in deer and cattle have been diagnosed in Nebraska and South Dakota. The deer population in Nebraska has seen a significant number of cases this year. Further investigation is ongoing to determine if the outbreak in Colorado may be tied to the Nebraska cases.

Beef Products Inc. (BPI) last week announced the filing of a defamation lawsuit against ABC News for its coverage of lean, finely textured beef (LFTB), dubbed “pink slime” by critics, alleging that the network misled consumers to believe the product is unhealthy and unsafe.

Now, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded the $3 million grant to researchers at MU to determine if specific genes play a role in the breeding problems and other issues in the cattle industry.