Butter From Carbon? $5 Billion for Meat Processing, Screwworm in Elk. Oregon Wasabi Daily Farm Brief

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Good morning, Farm Nation, and hello, Truck City. This is FarmTale's unplugged daily farm brief for Monday, October 6th. I'm Rick Portanova. Give us a few minutes for Farm News, Egg Technology, the Old Farmers Almanac, and at the end we check on the markets. Today, more buyers for your cattle, screw worm in Texas elk, and butter made from carbon, plus an Oregon crop selling for around $130 a pound. So grab your coffee, fire up whatever you're driving, and let's find out what was happening while you were busy actually working. News Story 1. $5 billion could help put more buyers in the market for your cattle. On Friday, USDA announced at least that much in loans to expand meat, poultry, and seafood processing. Under the new Spur program, USDA guarantees 90% of each participating loan. For cattle producers, the potential payoff is more room at existing plants or another processor competing for your animals. And if this kind of farm news helps you, would you give us a follow, a like, or a share? Second news story: Screw worm has turned up in Texas elk, and these fly larvae feed on living flesh. Officials confirmed the case last Wednesday in Pecos County, the female elk was harvested by a hunter on a game ranch. Federal officials are expanding wildlife surveillance. For cattle country, this adds a problem. Checking livestock won't catch every case when wild animals can carry the pest too. And here's your high-tech moment. A California company has taken butter from carbon out of the laboratory and into a commercial product. Savor launched its butter alternative last year. It says it builds fat molecules using carbon and hydrogen. Do you remember the fat-free WOW chips? Their sales show how quickly a food breakthrough can lose its appeal. They used Oline, the brand name for Olestra. It acted like a fat in the fryer but passed through the body without being absorbed. The FDA approved it for certain snacks in 1996. Then came the warning on the bag, possible cramps and loose stools. Olestra could also reduce absorption of certain vitamins which had to be added back. WoW sales fell from about $278 million in 1998 to $149 million two years later. Contrary to popular belief, the FDA did not ban Olestra. In 2003, it actually removed the special digestive warning. Olestra is still permitted in certain foods. Another approach lasted too. Simpless. It used tiny particles of milk protein to make foods feel creamy. It's still sold today. Savor is making actual fat with calories. The change is where it comes from. For dairy farmers and oilseed growers, that's the business story, a potential new competitor supplying the fat that goes into our food. Here's your family farm story. Real wasabi can sell around $130 a pound. That's the retail price Oregon Public Broadcasting recently reported in its visit to Oregon Coast Wasabi. Marcus Mead and his wife Jennifer grow it in Tillamook. Most of the green paste served with sushi is actually horseradish with green coloring. This couple grows the real plant, and it takes patience. Their wasabi grows in shaded gravel beds watered once an hour. A harvestable crop takes about 12 to 15 months. Planting and harvesting happen by hand throughout the year. They're selling chefs something the cheaper green paste can't offer. The flavor of real wasabi. From the old farmer's almanac, why can frost hit one part of your farm and miss another? On a clear, calm night, cold air settles downhill and collects in low spots. Plants in that hollow can freeze while a nearby slope escapes. When frost threatens, the low ground may need protection first. Here's the Friday Futures closes. October 23rd, local cash bids will differ. December corn, $4.63 a bushel down $4.5. November soybeans, $12.56.5, up $3.5. December Chicago wheat, $6.25, barely changed. Corn slipped under harvest pressure. Soybeans finished higher after Chinese buying helped Thursday's trade. In cattle, October Live Futures finished near $229.88 per 100 pounds. October feeders finished near $348.33 per 100 pounds, up about $2.23. Cheaper corn can lower the feed bill and help support what buyers will pay for the feeder cattle. October Class 3 milk, $15.25 per 100 pounds. There's a matching blog at farmtailsunplugged.com. And there you have it. That's your FarmTales Unplugged daily farm brief for Monday, October 26th, brought to you by World TradeX empowering farmers. The future of food starts with the people who grow it and depends on the people who move it. I'm Rick Portonova and I'll see you Tuesday morning.