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NEWS RELEASE

December 2002

AGRICULTURE, VETERINARY MEDICINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES NEWS

HORMONE-FREE BEEF CERTIFICATION PROVES TOO EXPENSIVE FOR U.S. PRODUCERS
In 1989, the European Union banned imports of beef treated with growth-promoting hormones. Suddenly, a large market for U.S. variety meats and a niche market for U.S. beef had all but disappeared. In an effort to recapture lost market share, many U.S. producers hastened to adopt the European Union's stringent guidelines for producing, harvesting and certifying non-hormone treated beef. According to a report of the Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information Center (MATRIC) at Iowa State University, however, the producers' efforts have gone largely unrewarded. In general, the added costs of producing and certifying non-treated beef have made U.S. product too expensive to export, the report says. And while some producers have been able to sell their non-treated beef in the domestic natural beef market, they have received little in the way of a premium to cover their extra costs as compared to producers who verify their non-treated natural beef in less-expensive ways. Although U.S. retaliation to the hormone ban was hoped to even the field by blocking some E.U. agricultural imports, the researchers say U.S. beef stands to lose even more trade potential as more countries accede to the European Union and adopt the ban. The full text of the report is available at www.matric.iastate.edu/publications. Contact Roxanne Clemens, MATRIC director, (515) 294-8842; or Sandy Clarke, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development communications, (515) 294-6257.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: KEY TO BUSINESSES' INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITIES
Corporate or local, it's not the location of top management that affects business' involvement in communities -- it's the location of the managers' and owners' homes. In the book, "The Conscience of Capitalism: Business' Social Responsibility to Communities," author Terry Besser, associate professor of rural sociology at Iowa State University, has compiled the results of interviews with more than 1,700 business owners/managers in 40 Iowa cities and towns. She found that location of managers' or owners' homes played a key role in how much they supported the community. Her findings show that businesses that supported their communities were generally more successful than those that didn't. On the flip side, increased community patronage played a big part in encouraging business' involvement. Financial institutions, such as banks or insurance companies, and retail businesses were the most involved in or supportive of their communities and agricultural businesses ranked third. The book was released in November and can be ordered from Praeger / Greenwood Publisher. Contact Besser, (515) 294-6508; or Barbara McManus, Agriculture Communications, (515) 294-0707.

ONLINE COURSE TEACHES FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE BASICS TO U.S. VETERINARY STUDENTS
An exotic or foreign animal disease is an important transmissible livestock or poultry disease that has a potential significant health or economic impact and is not present in the United States. Typically, veterinarians aren't familiar with these diseases. A new internet-based course developed in part at Iowa State University will help teach future veterinarians nationwide about the major foreign animal diseases that threaten U.S. livestock and companion animal health. "We want graduating veterinarians to have basic awareness of diseases like classical swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza so they can recognize the symptoms and respond appropriately," said Dr. James Roth, Clarence Hartley Covault Distinguished Professor in Veterinary Medicine. The USDA funded development of the course, Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals. Roth and other faculty from Iowa State, the University of California-Davis and the University of Georgia, Athens, collaborated on the project with veterinarians from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Dr. Ron DeHaven, deputy administrator of APHIS veterinary services, is encouraging veterinary colleges to adopt the course. Course components can be viewed at http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/services/institutes/iicab/fad/main.htm. The course will be offered through the Veterinary Information Network ( http://www.vin.com), which is accessible to all U.S. veterinary students. Course creators are exploring options for offering the course to veterinary practitioners. Contact Roth, Veterinary Medicine, (515) 294 8459; or Teddi Barron, News Service, (515) 294-4778.

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