FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 12, 2006
For more information contact:

Cindy Garretson-Weibel
Director, Agribusiness Division
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.6589

John Henn
Livestock & Meat Marketing Manager
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2847

Wyoming Business Council offers age verification cattle grants

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Business Council helps reimburse registration and processing fees for cattle producers who participate in the Wyoming Verified program for source and age verification of cattle.

The Wyoming Business Council’s Agribusiness Division provides source and age verification as a service to Wyoming producers through AgInfoLink’s USDA Process Verified Program. The recent reopening of export markets to U.S. beef cattle have brought with it specific requirements from each of these countries and has put a demand on cattle meeting those guidelines. The main requirements that impact cattle producers are source and age verification.

The cost-share program is designed to help Wyoming producers with the eligible expenditures associated with registration and processing fees incurred between March 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2006 as part of the Wyoming Verified Program. A maximum of $250 per producer will be reimbursed.

To qualify for reimbursement, the producer must: be a Wyoming-based operation, have cattle enrolled in the Wyoming Verified Program as certified by AgInfoLink, and have received the Approval Notification letter from AgInfoLink for enrollment prior to applying for reimbursement.

“This program helps defray some of the cost for producers to participate in the Wyoming Verified program and get their calves source and age verified for Japan and other markets” says John Henn, Wyoming Business Council Livestock & Meat Marketing Program Manager. “In recent sales we have seen premiums paid for calves ranging from $3-10 per hundred weight that are source and age verified.”

The deadline to submit an application to the Business Council is Jan. 31, 2007. Producers may be reimbursed up to $1.50 per head for registration and processing fees (not to exceed $250). For more information on the program, contact John Henn at 307.777.2847.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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