In keeping with its efforts to improve consumer perception of and demand for U.S. beef, the Beef Checkoff Program has created an easy-to-use, go-to source for tips on talking to consumers about beef. The pamphlet— “Your Guide to Having the Beef Conversation”—covers a number of common consumer questions and concerns about raising cattle and eating beef.

In what has been called neutral to slightly bearish, the most recent USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released Friday, Nov. 9. Beef production, imports and exports were lowered compared to the previous report, and corn and soybean yield and production estimates rose for the first time in a long while.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) presented proposed changes to the wildlife portion of its state administration code Friday, Nov. 9. The proposed changes involved several expansions to the compensation program for ranchers and landowners losing livestock to wolves.

The report was issued by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation (Oversight Subcommittee), which operates under the House of Representative’s Financial Services Committee.

Generally speaking, the fiscal cliff—also called “Taxageddon” in some circles—is the perfect storm when (or if) the Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of 2012 and automatic government spending cuts to over 1,000 programs take effect at the beginning of 2013.

Ever wonder what that “guaranteed tender” sticker on beef packages at the store means? In the past, the definition varied from location to location or packer to packer. USDA has stepped in, however, and now requires specific, provable, consistent definitions to back claims of tenderness.

For three months now, Indonesian customs officials have impounded an estimated 2,500 tons of frozen beef at the Jakarta port on the northwestern tip of the country. The beef originated from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. The move came on the grounds of exceeded import quotas.

Halloween saw the oneyear anniversary of MF Global’s spectacular collapse and declaration of bankruptcy. And while the frights of that experience might be gone along with the trick-or-treaters, the injuries it caused to the agricultural industry remain in the form of shaken confidence and lost trust.

Undercover coverage in the modern food chain is nothing new to the American public. Covert videos taken on farms down to misdeeds in high-end kitchens are readily available online. But the tradition Upton Sinclair made popular with “The Jungle” might have seen its youngest addition yet: a 10-year-old with a pocket camera.

Both the most recent Cattle on Feed report and the most recent Cold Storage report shows cattle and beef down. For the Cattle on Feed report, the numbers were down as expected, but they were well below industry expectations and surprising.