Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Susan Combs has verified that John Wade, Sonora; William Edmiston, DVM, Eldorado; and Gordon Hays, Ballinger; have been elected to six-year terms on the nine-member Sheep and Goat Predator Management Board.

The Sheep and Goat Predator Management Board, formerly known as the Texas Sheep and Goat Commodity Board, was formed in 1992 by referendum vote of sheep and goat producers in the 111-county production area. To date, the board has funded approximately $2.3 million for predator management and control programs.

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Moyer Packing Company of Souderton, Pennsylvania, will resume production of ground beef in December after implementing new safety standards in its plant. The company suspended operations after a massive recall last August involving 600,000 pounds of ground beef contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7. The recall was the first in the company's 123-year history. Now Moyer will require that every outside supplier uses steam or hot water pasteurization in its kill operations as they do, and will regularly inspect supplier plants. Investigation into the recalled product indicated that the contamination came from an outside supplier source. Moyer is the ninth largest beef processor in the U.S.

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The National Cattlemen's Beef Board reports that demand for beef continues to show strength. Preliminary beef demand index figures show that demand increased 6.17 percent during the third quarter of 2000, as compared to the third quarter of 1999.

According to Cattle-Fax, consumer expenditures on beef are expected to surpass $53 billion in 2000. Total beef expenditures were about $49.4 billion in 1999.

An illustration of how beef is starting to recapture the attention of consumers can be found in the sales of new, prepared beef items. Since the industry began its checkoff-funded focus on new heat-and-serve beef products in January 1999, weekly sales of these kinds of products have increased by more than 131 percent as of Sept. 23, 2000. Thirty-one manufacturers introduced 50 new prepared beef items during the year ending Sept. 23.

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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc. has recently introduced its eCattleLog, an interactive Web-based publication available on the Internet at www.noble.org.ag/CattleLog.

The eCattleLog has seven categories: breeding and replacement cattle; stocker/feeder cattle and club calves; preconditioned calves; cattle available for contract grazing; pasture available for contract grazing; preconditioning/backgrounding operations; and cattle sales (i.e. bull sales).

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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has finally released the final rule on mandatory price reporting. The new rule requires large cattle, swine and lamb packers and importers to provide contract information, including price, for public dissemination. The new reporting will provide information on 80 to 95 percent of all cattle, boxed beef, slaughter hogs, sheep, lamb meat and imported lamb meat transactions.

Under the new rule, packers who annually slaughter an average of 125,000 cattle or 100,000 swine or slaughter or process an average of 75,000 lambs are required to report to USDA transaction details involving purchases and sales of livestock, boxed beef, boxed lamb and lamb carcasses. Importers who annually import an average of 5000 metric tons of lamb meat products also must report.

The final rule will be published Dec. 1 and implemented 60 days later. Further information is available at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/price.htm.

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Supreme Beef plans to reopen its operations at a former IBP plant in Palestine, Texas. Supreme has not operated its two plants in Dallas and Ladonia since it suspended operations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. Supreme bought the Palestine plant from IBP last January and wants to slaughter and bone cattle and produce ground beef there. The company has entered into an agreement with the Palestine Economic Development Corporation to borrow $75,000 to improve the existing facility. Supreme also entered into an agreement with the City of Palestine to construct a wastewater transmission line and add a lift station to the property and the city has agreed not to annex the property for 12 years and will provide wastewater services at a reduced rate. Supreme's plans run counter to USDA's recent court filing that the Supreme case should be declared legally moot because Supreme has ceased operations.

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Excel Corporation announced that that company will begin in-plant testing of a new antimicrobial spray developed by Ecolab Inc.

The spray, Inspexx™200, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The product is based on Ecolab's advanced peroxacid technology and is effective against pathogens that potentially could contaminate a carcass surface, including Salmonella, listeria and E.coli 0157:H7.

Excel has signed an exclusive-use agreement with Ecolab for eight months, during which time Excel will evaluate Inspexx 200 in its processing plants. After that, the spray will be available to the industry.