The Humane Farming Association is once again attempting to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop payments to livestock farmers when their animals are unsheltered and die as a result of bad weather. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the group has sent a petition to Sonny Perdue ahead of his confirmation as Ag Secretary. Severe storms and heat have …
Southern Region Broiler Hatchery Eggs Report
Broiler-Type Eggs Set and Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 222 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 15, 2017. This is up 3 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 83 percent. Broiler growers in …
Little Time to Reverse Organic Livestock Rules
If confirmed next Monday, Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue will have little time to oppose organic livestock rules finalized by the Department of Agriculture just a day before President Donald Trump was sworn in. Politico reports the rules will go into effect May 19th, but Congress has until April 28th to undo the measure, and Congress doesn’t seem likely to …
USDA Seeking to Advance Modernized Pork Slaughter
The Department of Agriculture wants to move forward with a modernization of pork slaughter. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service last week announced the agency wants to move forward with a system that will focus inspection resources and improve food safety. The effort is supported by the National Pork Producers Council, which says the improvements would increase efficiency and effectiveness …
Order Rescinding the Prohibition of Poultry Exhibitions and the Assembling of Poultry to be Sold Issued
After weeks of extensive testing of both commercial and backyard flocks within the surveillance zones established in Alabama, there has been no new detection of avian influenza. Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan, in consultation with state veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier, officially rescinds the Order Prohibiting Poultry Exhibitions and the Assembly of Poultry to be Sold in Alabama*. This …
Biosecurity Important in Fighting Avian Influenza
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 Enhancement Board Helps to Support Forage Development and Management PracticesMarch 6, 2026CIR Agriculture …
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 …