CALF_News_February_March_2020

7 CALF News • February | March 2020 • www.calfnews.net Can you guess which supplement they prefer? The research shows calves prefer supplements with IntelliBond ® trace minerals trace minerals www.micro.net (317) 486-5880 Smart minerals, smart nutrition... smart decision SULFATE FREE N o C o p p e r S u l f a t e • N o Z i n c S u l f a t e • N o M a n g a n e s e S u l f a t e • TraceMineral MADE IN USA Three studies confirmed it. When given a choice, beef calves are more than twice as likely to consume supplements with IntelliBond ® trace minerals compared to sulfate or organic sources of trace minerals. 1-3 Switch to IntelliBond trace minerals for better palatability, plus higher bioavailability, increased fiber digestibility, less leaching and less binding with antagonists. 1 Wiebusch, 2015. JAM. 2 Caramalac et al., 2017. J. Anim. Sci. 95:1739-1750. 3 Micronutrients trial #2017BC106USCZM. IntelliBond ® is a registered trademark of Micronutrients, a Nutreco company. © 2019 Micronutrients USA, LLC. All rights reserved. Check out the data and discover the benefits of a sulfate-free trace mineral program at micro.net/species/beef . While the USMCA was getting approved, the U.S.-China agreement was reached in December and signed Jan. 15. Talk about finally – the trade groups approved it after several years of tariff tiffs that have impacted most agricultural products. About every keynote speaker at major regional and national cattle meetings has repeated that a China deal looks close, only to see agreements killed by more squabbles and tariff threats from U.S. and China officials. Call it a new age “China syndrome.” But Phase One of the hard-to-reach trade deal was agreed on and signed at a White House ceremony Jan. 15. China is expected to make some $40 billion or more in additional U.S. ag purchases, including soybeans, corn and distiller’s grains. That’s a strong boost to struggling grain prices. And it’s expected that more U.S. beef will also head to China. Trade deals with Japan and the EU were also achieved in late 2019. Global Meat News reported that by a vote of about 4 to 1, the European Parliament approved a trade agreement between the two markets. It will increase America’s share of hormone- free beef quotas. The Japan trade deal will gradually lower tariffs on U.S. beef exports from 38.5 percent to 9 percent. Japan is already the CHINA, JAPAN, EU TRADE DEALS largest export market for U.S. beef, accounting for approxi- mately $2 billion in sales per year. NCBA indicates this will keep U.S. beef on an even keel with imports from Australia, Canada, Mexico and other countries. "There's just no other way to say it: this is a tremendous vic- tory and a great day for America's beef producers and Japanese consumers,” said NCBA President Jennifer Houston. "For many years it has been a top priority of NCBA to remove tariff and non-tariff trade barriers that have prevented American beef producers from meeting Japanese consumer demand for safe and high-quality U.S. beef." “This agreement levels the playing field and opens the door for U.S. beef producers to meet consumer demand in Japan. NCBA has been a strong supporter of President Trump’s push for a bilateral trade deal with Japan, and we look forward to capitalizing on this opportunity in 2020.” She added that because of the Trump Administration's commit- ment to this issue, “America's cattle producers will no longer be at a competitive disadvantage in our largest export market. That means our current market of $2 billion a year – nearly $100 per head sold – is likely to grow in the years to come."  