The U.S. response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak has faced significant disruption in the early weeks of the Trump administration, raising concerns among federal officials, state agencies, veterinarians, and public health experts. Since President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, two key federal agencies responsible for monitoring and managing the outbreak have delayed critical communications, including bird flu …
NCC to HHS: Emphasize Chicken in 2025 Dietary Guidelines
Last week the National Chicken Council (NCC) urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reject recommendations (.pdf) put forth by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) that emphasize plant-based proteins over lean meats like chicken. Rusty Halvorson has more details. NCC’s comments (.pdf) were submitted in response to the Scientific Report released last December by the DGAC, which makes recommendations …
Record Large Pork Exports, Beef Export Value Higher
According to year-end data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), exports of U.S. pork eclipsed previous highs in both volume and value in 2024, while beef export value climbed 5% from 2023. Rusty Halvorson has more details. According to USMEF, December pork exports totaled 267,132 metric tons (mt), slightly below last year’s large volume, while value …
Bird Flu Drives Egg Prices Up, No Relief in Sight
The cost of eggs in the United States has surged in recent months, largely due to the ongoing bird flu outbreak that has led to the culling of millions of chickens. Prices have more than doubled since the summer of 2023, and with the Easter season approaching, demand is expected to drive costs even higher. According to the U.S. Department …
American Agriculture History Minute: Livestock Changes the Land
I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute. Colonists had more access to land in the U.S. than they did in Europe, but the acquisition came with some problems. European agricultural practices greatly affected the landscape. Colonists brought livestock over from Europe, which caused many changes in the land. Grazing animals required a lot of land and food, and …
Egg Prices are Soaring Due to Bird Flu
It’s been national news for quite some time now, but bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches. The average price per dozen …
Using Solar Grazing in the Sheep Industry
The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) discussed several topics during its recently annual meeting. According to a story from Rusty Halvorson, one of those topics was about the new opportunities of grazing sheep on land with solar panels. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Perdue Farms to Shutter Tennessee Chicken Plant
Perdue Farms recently confirmed to Agriculture Dive they are set to close a chicken production plant in Monterey, Tennessee. The processor will shut down the facility on March 28th, citing changes in market demand and how it processes and supplies chicken products for today’s customers. Addressing the Monterey plant’s challenges would require substantial additional investments to maintain operations. About 433 …
Trade Watching for Hog, Cattle Reports
Those in the livestock trade are looking ahead at a couple of reports, one from the hog industry and one from the cattle industry. Rusty Halvorson has the story. USDA’s December Hogs and Pigs Report put the December 1 inventory at 75.8 million head. That’s down about a percentage point from the previous quarter but up a half percent from …
DOL is Cracking Down on JBS
Today, Rusty Halvorson has information of why the DOL is cracking down on JBS, and also a quick note concerning cage-free egg laying hens. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024