'NATURAL' DEFINITION FOR FEED GETS ATTENTION - A recent proposal to change the definition of "natural" for commercial feed in the state of Texas excludes solvent-extracted meal, and the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is considering a similar rule. This is of particular interest to the pet food industry where marketing is critical for success. However, it includes all commercial feed. NCPA is currently drafting a letter to Dr. George Latimer, Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service, explaining that solvent is simply a tool to extract the oil from cottonseed, and cottonseed meal, a natural ingredient, is produced by this method. Additionally, NCPA staff will attend the annual AAFCO meeting this week in Charleston, WV, to represent cottonseed interests in feed control issues.
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COTTONSEED CRUSH FIGURES - NCPA's weekly cottonseed crushings survey for the week ending July 30 showed 3.072 million tons of seed crushed year-to-date (Aug-Jul crush season). This preliminary
annual total is within the range forecast by USDA-ERS for the 1999-00
season. Their forecasts ranged from a high of 3.2 million tons (Jan '00 & Feb '00) to a low of 2.9 million tons (May '00). Cottonseed crushings for the first week of August did not slow much from the end of July. Total crush from member mills totaled 45,238 tons for the week ending August 6 vs 46,633 the previous week and 42,512 two weeks earlier..... Another closely watched figure will be ending stocks of seed at mills on July 31. USDA is forecasting 200,000 tons, which would be the lowest level since July '87. NCPA data showed 389,000 tons at oil mills on June 30, with U.S. Census data close at 378,000 tons. Net disappearance of seed in July over the past five years has averaged 259,000 tons.
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LARGE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY DAIRY PROJECT DROPPED - J.G. Boswell Co., large cotton grower and NCPA member in California's central valley, has dropped plans for transforming 6,000 acres of unused cotton ground into four large dairies in the state's hottest dairy area. The plan envisioned 47,000 head on the Kings County site. Announcement of the abandonment of the plans was made July 22. In related developments meanwhile, Kings County leaders have vowed to continue to push their goal of large dairies in the county in what they call the newest Mecca for California's dairy farmers, and, almost simultaneously, the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, one of the groups that had sued over the Boswell project, took legal action on environmental grounds against plans in Madera County, in the northern San
Joaquin, for two large dairies that would bring more than 20,000 cows to the county. (Dairy Profit Weekly, July 31, 2000; Fresno Bee, July 27, 2000)
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COTTONSEED OIL PROMOTION RESULTS - The cottonseed oil campaign being jointly conducted by NCPA and Cotton Incorporated is in its second round of media development. The current phase of the effort toward restaurant and food service markets began last Fall with a series of three full page advertisements in targeted magazines. A new brochure designed for food service operators is being completed and will be inserted into Restaurants and Institutions Magazine for a select group of 100,000 readers as well as distributed to other targeted audiences. In addition, more ads are being developed to round out our message series. NCPA also advertises to other segments of the food industry. One gauge of effectiveness of advertising is the number of responses received requesting information. Contacts this year from all sources -- phone, fax, internet, magazine reply cards, etc. -- generated over 850 responses. These have been posted as leads for members' access on the NCPA website. Some of the comments received from our internet contacts were: "Requesting product information, price list, product sample and contact person"; "Please send all information as early as possible to make effective buying decision. Keep us informed on future additions."; "Where can I purchase cottonseed oil?"; ". . .I am very anxious to try some of your cooking oils for my Restaurant and Bakery."
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MEXICO TRADE TRIP REPORT AVAILABLE
- Several NCPA staff accompanied our Mexico consultant, Ricardo Silva, on a visit to four of Mexico's chief feedlot areas in late July. Stacked bales of corn stover as roughage, canola meal and cottonseed meal as concentrate, and sophisticated feedlots with thousands of fattening Brahma type beef bulls make up a thriving industry. A copy of the report is available from the NCPA office.
Call.
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NCPA's R&E ALUMS GATHER - Several key Research and Education staffers, past and present, recently gathered for lunch during the annual joint meeting of the animal and dairy science associations in Baltimore, MD July 25. Along with current director of R&E David Kinard and Assistant to the Director of R&E Jarrod Kersey, they were joined by current NCPA Exec. VP Lynn Jones, R&E staff 1976-92, and four past R&E staffers. They included Tom Wedegaertner 1980-89, now with Cotton Incorporated, Steve Martin 1989-91, now with Ralston Purina, Mitchell McGee 1992-96, now with Omega Proteins, and Lance Forster 1993-98, now with
Archer Daniels Midland.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WILL LIKELY STUDY DIOXIN - According to Inside E.P.A., a weekly report (Vol. 21, No. 31, August 4, 2000), it is likely that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will investigate the risk of contamination of the food supply from dioxin. USDA, FDA and EPA "approached NAS in an effort to end long-running dispute over whether dioxin is a known carcinogen and whether the federal government should take steps to protect food from contamination." This study could have far reaching impacts. "If NAS determines that food products - such as fish, produce and livestock - have been exposed to unsafe levels of dioxin or are at risk of dangerous exposures, it could force USDA and FDA to begin a major regulatory process aimed at safeguarding domestic food production from dioxin contamination."
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TIMELY RAINS BENEFIT COTTON CROP IN MEXICO - Mexico cotton appears to have passed an important milestone of the 2000 summer growing season in good condition. Fields received enough rainfall to offset temperatures that sometimes reached above-normal levels, easing the requirements on reservoirs and allowing plants to continue development. Peak water uptake for cotton plants is during the bloom stage, and most of the cotton fields are already well into or beyond this critical crop stage. The major cotton producing states are Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora, all of which are in the northernmost region of the country where irrigation is the norm. The storage levels of reservoirs in that region have been declining in recent years as tropical storms have not been a dependable replenishing factor. It was vital that sufficient precipitation fall on the cotton fields this summer as reservoir supplies remained uncertain. Although the volume of water was not great in most cases, what rain did fall served the cotton fields well as it arrived at an ideal time. Mexicali and Baja California typically receive very little precipitation in June, and rainfall during that period this year was below normal. However light showers did come in late June and early July, just as many cotton plants in Mexicali were entering the bloom stage. Hermosillo fields in west central Sonora had the same good fortune. Central Chihuahua plants benefited from light early-June and -July showers, while southwest Coahuila's Torreon fields have experienced at least one measurable rainfall event each month since May. North Tamaulipas state has been largely dry in the cotton producing regions since around June 10, so the fields have been progressing on residual moisture and supplemental irrigation.
International Cotton Advisory Committee forecasts 2000-01 cotton production in
Mexico to total 294,000 bales vs 629,230 bales a year ago. (USDA-FAS, August 3,
August ICAC forecast)
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ALTERNATE SOLVENTS UPDATE - With the drive to reduce n-hexane emissions from solvent extraction plants, iso-hexane has come to the forefront as a workable alternative. Phillips Specialty Solvents has been working with the industry and the Southern Regional Research Center for many years to test alternative solvents and improve the extraction process. According to John Hadley, Midwest Manager, "Phillips is continuing to evaluate all of the possible alternatives but at this time we believe that our Hextract I is the best possible solution. It is virtually n-hexane and benzene free, and we intend to work with the industry to help make the conversion to alternate solvents as cost effective as possible." Expanded supplies of iso-products are anticipated in the next few months.
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WHERE'S THE BEEF? - USDA's mid-year inventory found 43.2 million beef cows on the range. That's 100,000 less than a year ago. Heifer slaughter remains heavy at about 33% of total slaughter. USDA reports 12.3 million head on feed throughout the US. With prospects for excellent feed grain supplies and tighter stocker and feeder numbers, cow-calf operators are anticipating a more profitable year. (Source: Farm
Progress/DirectAg.com)
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WEB PAGE NEWS - NCPA's web site, WWW.COTTONSEED.COM, continues to undergo changes. Easily accessible from the home page are the Marketplaces for cottonseed oil and cottonseed feed products, and quick information links for oil and meal. A quick link is also available to cottonseed futures prices at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange on the home page. The Members Only section continues to offer a one-click link to the current Newsletter, as well as all the latest industry news and statistics.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS -
Please send all change of address information to: National Cottonseed Products
Association, P.O. Box 172267, Memphis, TN 38187-2267, or email to rwright@cottonseed.com.
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© National Cottonseed Products Association, Inc.
August 9, 2000