A coalition of animal agriculture stakeholders is seeking permanent funding for disease preparedness programs in the farm bill. In a letter to the farm bill conferee members, who will be ironing out differences between the House and Senate bills, the group specifically seeks permanent full funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program. The groups say permanent funding …
FDA Extends FSMA Compliance
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week it would extend its deadlines and inspection time frames for when certain-sized facilities should come into compliance with some Food Safety Modernization Act. The move, applauded by the American Feed Industry Association, gives the FDA more time to release the final FSMA guidance documents and train its inspectors. AFIA says the …
Congressman Yoho on Funding for FMD
For over two years now, livestock groups have been calling for a stockpile of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines in case of an outbreak. Both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) have made it a top priority for the next Farm Bill. During a recent interview, U.S. Congressman and member of the House …
Poultry Facilities Recognized for Safety Performance
Source: National Chicken Council Continuous Improvement Evident During the 2018 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry in Destin, Fla., 191 chicken and turkey facilities received safety awards by the Joint Industry Safety and Health Council. The companies were honored in recognition of their outstanding performance through the implementation of innovative and effective employee safety and health programs. “Our industry …
APHIS Finalizes Conditions for Paying Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Indemnity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a final rule outlining the conditions under which USDA will pay indemnity to farms affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It includes updates to USDA’s February 2016 interim rule. This final rule does three things: Allows indemnity payments to be split between poultry and egg …
Coalition Pushing for COOL in NAFTA for Beef and Pork
The Coalition for a Prosperous America is urging the U.S. to include Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) for beef and pork in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Negotiations. Coalition member, R-CALF, says in a news release that reinstatement of COOL labeling will help U.S. consumers “to find safer food alternatives and will also help to boost domestic agriculture.” R-CALF points …
USDA Looking To Get Rid of Outdated Meat Inspection Regulations
USDA is searching out and looking to eliminate redundant and outdated meat inspection regulations. Gary Crawford has the story. USDA Looking To Get Rid of Outdated Meat Inspection Regulations-1 Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Carmen Rottenberg, talks about one of the reasons why USDA is looking to find and eliminate outdated or redundant regulations. USDA Looking To …
Strong First Half for U.S. Red Meat Exports
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Vice President of Communications, Joe Schuele, gives an overview of the January-June export results for U.S. beef, pork and lamb, noting strong June resulted in capping a huge first half of 2018 for U.S. beef exports. Strong First Half for U.S. Red Meat Exports Read the full report. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Producers Proactive In Research …
Beef Exports “Tremendous” in First Half of 2018
Strong June results capped a tremendous first half of 2018 for U.S. beef exports. That’s according to USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. June pork exports were lower than a year ago for the second straight month, but first-half volume and value remained ahead of last year’s pace. Beef muscle cut exports set a new volume record …
U.S. Poultry Gains New Market Access in Morocco
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that the government of Morocco has agreed to allow commercial imports of U.S. poultry meat and products into Morocco for the first time. “The Trump Administration continues to prioritize the opening of new markets for U.S. agricultural products.  This new access to the Moroccan market is …