When Hardy, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trained detector dog, sniffed out a roasted pig head in traveler baggage at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport early this month, it underscored the efforts USDA and its partners are undertaking to keep African Swine Fever (ASF), a swine disease that could devastate the U.S. pork producers, from entering the country. USDA continues …
EPA Chief Says E15 Expansion Doesn’t Need Congress
Andrew Wheeler, Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, says his agency can expand E15 sales to year-round without Congressional approval. Wheeler also said last week that the oil industry needs to drop its lawsuit threat against the move. Last week, President Trump said he was directing the EPA to lift the ban on summertime sales of E15, a move designed …
Farm Bill a Topic on the Campaign Trail
Vice President Mike Pence made several campaign stops last week, including locations in Kansas and Iowa. Going into the trip, a spokesman confirmed that the vice president would bring up the yet-to-be-finished farm bill during his speeches. The White House message is similar to that of the House Republicans: The unemployment rate is low and a lot of jobs are …
China Has Culled 200,000 Pigs Due to Swine Fever Outbreak
China, the world’s largest pork producer, has culled 200,000 pigs from its herds due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever. A Reuters report says Chinese health officials made the announcement last week. That number represents a small part of the 700 million pigs that China slaughters every year for food consumption. However, due to restrictions on transporting animals that …
U.S. Suspends Pork Imports from Poland
The U.S. suspended pork imports from Poland last week after an outbreak of African Swine Fever in that country. Pork Business Dot Com says the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also has concerns over Polish export protocols. APHIS discovered that a Polish export facility shipping pork to the U.S. didn’t follow the requirements designed to help prevent the …
Online Grocery Sales to Quadruple
Over the next five years, online grocery sales are expected to more than quadruple between now and 2023. More web-based options will become available and more consumers are expected to give it a try. The prediction comes from a new forecast by market-research firm Packaged Facts. Over the past five years, online grocery sales have already tripled. A case study …
Fried, Caldwell Face Off Over Medical Marijuana, Water
Democrat Nikki Fried, a medical-marijuana lobbyist, had to defend her desire to move the state’s oversight of medical marijuana into the agency she wants to run. Her Republican opponent, state Rep. Matt Caldwell, was questioned about his support for a bill that delayed for 20 years an unmet deadline to reduce nutrients flowing into Lake Okeechobee. Fried and Caldwell — …
GPC Hurricane Michael Update: Impact on Georgia’s Peanut Industry
Hurricane Michael devastated Georgia agriculture during the most inopportune time; harvest season for many agricultural commodities. One of those commodities included peanuts, where 50 percent of the crop had been harvested. The remaining 50 percent is yet to be harvested as crop conditions deteriorate and damaged peanut buying points struggle to regain power to dry and grade the peanuts. Many …
USMCA a Framework for Future Trade Deals
A White House adviser says the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a model for future trade agreements. USMCA will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), if approved. Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said this week that other potential agreements will “look very much alike, and very much like this,” according to Politico. His …
USDA Announces Pink Bollworm Eradication Significantly Saving Cotton Farmers in Yearly Control Costs
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that U.S. cotton is free — after more than 100 years — of the devastating pink bollworm. This pest has cost U.S. producers tens of millions of dollars in yearly control costs and yield losses. Thanks to rigorous control and regulatory activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), state departments …