Still good news in that no new cases of avian influenza have popped up for a while. USDA Chief Veterinarian Dr. Jack Shere says good biosecurity can keep it that way. More information about good biosecurity measures can be found by clicking here. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Producers Proactive In Research Efforts Funded by the Florida Cattle Enhancement BoardJanuary 16, …
Safely Eating Easter Eggs
Are those colored Easter eggs safe to eat after they’ve been hiding in the yard? Cathy Isom answers this question and more coming up on This Land of Ours. As we’ve all learned by now, eggs shouldn’t be left out of the fridge for longer than two hours. Even though you’ve cooked the food it can still become contaminated. …
Preparing Safe Easter Eggs
Cathy Isom has some tips on what you need to know about those Easter eggs you’re planning on cooking then coloring this year . That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. This Easter many families will continue the longtime tradition of dying hard boiled eggs and hiding them for their kids to hunt in the yard. USDA Food Safety Expert …
Grassley Bill Would Ban Packer Ownership of Livestock
A bill reintroduced in the U.S. Senate last week by Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley seeks to ban packer ownership of livestock. A news release from his office says the Senator is concerned about the continued impact of consolidation within the livestock industry. Grassley says over the last several decades large packing companies in the poultry and pork industries have …
Pork Producers Applaud White House Action on ‘GIPSA’ Rule
Call for Withdraw of Regulation The Trump administration gave notice that it will further delay the effective date of a regulation related to the buying and selling of livestock, a move applauded by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), which opposes the Obama-era rule. It also will take public comments on what to do with the regulation. The so-called Farmer …
Hog Prices Expected to Increase in 2017, Despite Challenges
Hog prices are expected to increase this year, even as pork production is expected to increase by three percent, according to a Purdue University agricultural economist. Christ Hurt writes that stronger demand will support prices because of a growing U.S. economy, and by a robust eight percent growth in exports as projected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hurt says …
USDA to Hold Public Meetings on Current Animal Disease Traceability
Could Improvements be made in USDA’s current system of livestock identification and tracking? According to this report from Gary Crawford, officials are going to be gathering ideas about that in meetings across the country. Dr. Sunny Geiser-Novotny, Animal Disease Traceability Liaison with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Ft. Collins, Colorado, talks about why USDA is having stakeholder …
Testing Continues Across Southeast for Avian Influenza
It’s been a couple of weeks since we last heard about any new cases of avian influenza, as the last was a confirmation at a commercial poultry breeding operation in Chattooga County in Georgia. But overall, there have been cases in four southeastern states with positive cases, which also include Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. USDA Chief Veterinarian Dr. Jack Shere …
Brazil Investigation Leads to Processor Closures
Brazil’s tainted meat corruption probe uncovered tainted meat samples and will result in the closure of some processors. As part of the investigation, the nation found eight samples of meat out of 302 tested positive for bacteria contamination. Unrelated problems uncovered at three processors led the government to order the cancellation of their Federal Inspection Service registrations, closing them permanently. …
Avian Influenza Testing Continues in Georgia
It was early last week when the Georgia Department of Agriculture announced that a flock of chickens at a commercial poultry breeding operation located in Chattooga County, Georgia has tested positive for H7, presumptive low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). No other positive cases have been found since, but State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Cobb says testing continues. Owners of poultry flocks …