Beef Council to Consider Funding Request

for SDSU Phosphorus Research

PIERRE (September 27, 2005)—Directors of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC) voiced their general support of a project that could provide valuable information for livestock producers developing manure management plans in the state.

            During the SDBIC Annual Meeting September 24, directors agreed to study further whether the $1-per-head beef checkoff can be utilized in any way to help fund parts of the South Dakota State University research project. The SDSU research is analyzing the varying soil types across the state, determining how phosphorus interacts with the soils. Phosphorus is a nutrient present in several types of fertilizer, including manure.

The research is intended to provide information to assist livestock producers who must develop and implement nutrient management plans using phosphorus as the limiting factor. The information, says SDSU researcher Dr. Frank Schindler, who presented the research project to the SDBIC board, is expected to be beneficial in achieving desired plant production and water quality protection. While research on soils in the eastern portion of the state has been completed, the project needs additional funding to complete soil analysis in the western portion of South Dakota .

            “As state and federal regulations concerning nutrient management and phosphorus levels come into play, our directors understand that this is an important issue to cattle producers across the state,” says Roger Gerdes , newly elected SDBIC president. “Our producers are pro-active when it comes to taking steps to protect the environment. However, the Beef Promotion and Research Order that established the $1-per-head checkoff in 1985 is very specific on how those dollars can be used within the parameters of the law.”

            According to Gerdes, the SDBIC Research Committee will study the research project more closely and confer with the SDSU researchers and with the Cattlemens’ Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB) to determine if there are any portions of the study which would fall within the checkoff parameters. They will then report back to the SDBIC Executive Board and full board.

            The SDBIC collects the $1-per-head beef checkoff in South Dakota and can retain up to 50 cents for certain types of state promotion, research and educational programs. The organization, comprised of eight agricultural groups, forwards the remaining monies to the CBB for national programs