The House Ag Committee finished its markup of the new farm bill on May 24. The legislation now awaits its turn on the House floor.

In anticipation of the cattle industry’s inevitable rebuilding of the national cow herd, AngusLink, the American Angus Association’s USDA process-verified program, has introduced a new tool for objectively describing the genetic potential of replacement females. 

The USDA’s latest Cattle on Feed report, published May 24, showed that 1.87 million head of fed cattle were marketed in April, a more than 10% increase from the same period last year.

The May Feed Outlook report shows U.S. feed grain production is projected to be lower than a year ago due to lower expected acreage in 2024-25. Although production is down, the supply of feed grain is projected to be above the 2023-24 level.

The May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report (WASDE) showed the first forecast for the 2024-25 crop marketing year. The corn crop is projected at 14.9 billion bushels, down 3% from last year’s record as a decline in area is partially offset by an increase in yield.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued its final ruling on traceability, now requiring electronic ID (e-ID) tags with the goal of better responding to foreign animal diseases.

Louisiana State University (LSU) announced the development of a new vaccine to fight against bovine respiratory disease (BRD). The vaccine was created by Dr. Shafiqul Chowdhury, a professor of veterinary medicine.