We tackle a whole pile of topics from program cattle to the beef checkoff to alternative meat.  Plus updates on feeder cattle sales, beef export information and so much more on this all new episode of the Ranch It Up Radio Show. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcasting app or on the Ranch It Up Radio Show YouTube Channel. EPISODE 204 DETAILS Program Cattle, Beef Checkoff, Beef Industry News  Cattle Buyers Continue To Recommend Program Feeder Cattle Program Feeder Cattle, Buying & Selling Tips Many buyers are recommending that those producers that are enrolling in various programs to assist in marketing feeder cattle need to continue with those programs because they could be setting the benchmark of prices in the future. Mike Bolinger with Superior Livestock joins us again discussing program cattle, his thoughts on the Beef Checkoff and other various industry topics. Latest Beef Checkoff & Industry News Export Federation Warns Of Port Strike Impacts Of Beef Exports are heavily dependent on the Eastern ports threatened by an Oct. 1 strike deadline, but the ramifications of a halt in shipments would be serious for beef and pork industries, too, the U.S. Meat Export Federation warned late last week. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said, “The three big West Coast ports are the leading outlets for U.S. beef and pork exports. That doesn’t mean the East and Gulf coast isn’t important. If we look at total waterborne exports of pork, about 45% of those go through the East and Gulf coast ports, and beef side about 30% of the waterborne exports.” He pointed in particular to “quite a high percentage of very high value chilled beef that goes out from the East Coast in particular for destinations like Europe and the Middle East. He said we can’t overstate the importance of the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. Even though the West Coast is larger, still a very significant quantity is exported through the East and Gulf coasts. Halstrom said any halt in port activity “will back up the supply chain immediately,: and redirecting meat exports to the West Coast is “by no means a long-term solution at all,” because a vast flow of grain and non-farm commodities and goods would also be left without port capacity. He said we’re challenged to export all of our products today using all the ports, so we cannot afford a shutdown in any part of the supply chain. Plant Based Diets Are More Expensive Originally posted in Alt-Meat and then again in MeatlingPlace.Com, consuming a plant-based diet that is nutritionally equivalent to one that includes animal proteins is “considerably” (34% to 45%) more expensive than an omnivorous diet, putting numbers to one complaint that’s been voiced about plant-based diets for years, according to new research from New Zealand’s Massey University. As published in the journal “Frontiers in Nutrition,” the article reviews recent modeling studies using Linear Programming to determine the respective roles of animal- and plant-sourced foods in developing a least-cost diet in the United States and New Zealand. The abstract said that “In both economies, least-cost diets were found to include animal-based foods, such as milk, eggs, fish and seafood, to meet the energy and nutrient requirements of healthy adults at the lowest retail cost. The article said , the costliest culprits in transitioning from an animal- and plant-containing least-cost diet to a plant-only based least-cost diet are mostly vitamins and minerals. In conclusion, “Modeling of least-cost diets that consist exclusively of plant-based foods is feasible, but at a higher daily diet cost, and these diets are often close to limiting several key nutrients. 2024 Stockmanship & Stewardship Tour, Hamburg, New York The Stockmanship & Stewardship Tour is coming to Hamburg, New York and surrounding states October 25 - 26 at the Agriculture Discovery Center In Hamburg, New York.  Participants will explore a range of informa