National Cattlemen Engaging With CME Group To Make Cattle Futures Work As Intended- And At Other Options As Well

Sep 12, 2016

The huge jumps higher and lower on the live cattle and feeder cattle futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have caused a lot of concern within the beef cattle industry. Colin Woodall, who heads up with the Washington office of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says members of his group have been very clear that everything that can be done to address the volitility issues being seen within the cattle futures needs to be done- that they have value to beef cattle producers and cattlemen do not want to lose these contracts, which have been good risk management tools done through the years.

Woodall says the members of NCBA are telling him that they want and need these tools in place, but they need to work the way in which they were intended.

Woodall's comments are featured in our latest Beef Buzz, as heard on Radio Oklahoma Ag Network stations across the region. He says the NCBA is committed to work with the CME Group, the body that owns and operates the Cattle Futures in their Chicago trading facilitites.

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Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.