February 16

Leather and Hide Weekly

LHCA continues to play a key role in calling for the swift confirmation of Biden Administration nominees with jurisdiction over agriculture and trade policy. LHCA is also ramping up its Real Leather. Stay Different. campaign, with the addition of new guest bloggers, the production of innovative content and the launch of its 2o21 International Student Design Competition. More on these and other topics below.

 

cattle

 

Weekly Hides and Skins Stats 

  • Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending February 4, 2021, were 372,200 pieces and net sales of wet blues were 111,200 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 409,900 and of wet blues were 137,200. China was the largest buyer of cured hides and Italy was the largest destination for wet blues. See more. For historical data, click here. 
  • U.S. Cattle Slaughter was 611,000 last week, a decline of 6.4% from the previous week. Total cattle slaughter in 2021 is 3,954,000 head, down 4.5% from the same period in 2020. See more.
  • USDA AMS Major Packer Hide Price Report provided prices for six types of U.S. hides at six price points with a spread of $13.00 for branded southwest cows to $29 for heavy Texas steers.  See more.

Industry Updates

student_competition_international

  • LHCA last week officially launched the Real Leather. Stay Different. 2021 International Student Design Competition. The competition, which builds on similar and ongoing contests in Taiwan, China, Italy and the United Kingdom, will be held virtually, and is open to all students and recent graduates from universities in any country around the world. Competition winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip to London, will have their product designs professionally manufactured and will be featured on the cover of Rollacoaster Magazine. Learn more here about this exciting competition.
  • The Leather Working Group (LWG) recently launched the Tannery of the Future tool, a self-assessment designed to help leather manufacturers begin their journey towards environmental and social excellence. The tool allows tanneries to evaluate their current performance, identify areas for improvement and determine whether they are ready to undergo a LWG Audit. The tool is free, can be translated into more than 100 languages and promises 100 percent confidentiality. Learn more here.

Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.

100-natural-you

 

In her first blog post for Real Leather. Stay Different., brand strategist and journalist Nicola Davies, walks readers through her five favorite leather buys. From her go-to leather biker jacket to her trusty pair of leather sneakers, Nicola describes the essential, timeless leather pieces she can't live without. Nicola attributes her affinity for leather to her mother, who often reminded her: "It's leather, so it will last." Now that's a mantra by which we all should live. Get the latest news from Real Leather. Stay Different. here. And, don't forget to:

 

adler_madstuffs

 

Monthly Drought Monitor - February 2021

A slow-moving coastal storm delivered heavy precipitation in parts of the Northeast on January 31-February 1, with impacts (windy weather and snow showers) lingering for several days. Later, the focus for stormy weather briefly returned to the western U.S., although significant precipitation was confined to the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. By February 4, wintry weather shifted into the upper Midwest, where blowing snow and gusty winds briefly resulted in blizzard conditions. The same weather system produced generally light rain across the South. Later, additional patchy precipitation fell in the central and eastern U.S., although dry weather prevailed during the drought-monitoring period across much of the nation's southwestern quadrant. At the height of the early-February cold outbreak, temperatures plunged below -20 degrees F across portions of the northern Plains and upper Midwest. Sub-zero readings occurred across a much larger area, extending southward across the central Plains and into the middle Mississippi Valley. 

cattle_on_feed_dec_2020

Other News

  • LHCA joined nearly 60 leading U.S. food and agriculture organizations in calling for the swift confirmation of Jewel Bronaugh, PhD, to serve as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden Administration. In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the signatories cite Dr. Bronaugh's qualifications and diverse experience as a cooperative extension specialist, university dean and USDA Farm Service Agency state executive director, as well as her most recent role serving as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Dr. Bronaugh's nomination requires approval by the U.S. Senate. Read the letter here. 
  • The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) last week rendered a unanimous decision determining that fresh, chilled and frozen blueberries are not being imported into the U.S. in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic blueberry industry. Consequently, this decision terminates the investigation, and the USITC will not recommend a remedy to the President. The USITC will submit to the President by March 29, 2021, a report explaining its injury determination. An affirmative injury vote could have resulted in retaliation against U.S. agriculture products, including U.S. hides, skin and leather exports. More information is available here.
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made history yesterday becoming the first African and first woman to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO). The former Nigerian Finance Minister must confront a growing list of challenges facing the WTO, including its failure to negotiate multilateral trade agreements and its dysfunctional dispute settlement system. Read more.

Leather News

Each week, we will share relevant leather news below. Some of the articles may cover our products, and the industry, unfavorably, but we still believe it is important to share the different ways in which leather is presented in the media. If you find articles that you would like to see included, please send them to mschumpp@meatinstitute.org.