The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama is currently accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Animal Mortality Pilot. Alabama is offering financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address on-farm concentrated nutrient and pathogen leaching losses due to animal mortality. Animal Mortality Facilities, including incinerators and composters, will be the priority conservation practice contracted within this Pilot. …
Forage Producers Invited to Enter World Forage Analysis Superbowl
Forage producers across North America are invited to enter the World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The 2022 contest is set to award over $26,000 in cash prizes. The deadline to submit corn silage samples is July 8, while all other entries must be submitted by August 25. The $35 entry fee provides entry into the contest along with a detailed sample …
USDA to Measure Feral Swine Damage in the Southeast
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is conducting a Feral Swine Damage survey to measure the costs of feral swine damage to crop operations. The survey is conducted in cooperation with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – Wildlife Services. In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, NASS will reach out to more than 11,000 producers …
NPPC Welcomes Biden Administration Siding with Farmers on Prop 12
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) welcomed a Supreme Court brief filed by the Biden administration in favor of ag groups regarding California’s Proposition 12. The state law seeks to ban the sale of pork from pigs that do not meet the state’s arbitrary production standards, including pork from pigs raised on farms outside of California. NPPC assistant vice president and general …
Study Shows Red Meat Exports Deliver Value to Corn, Soybean Producers
Record level red meat exports of $18.7 billion last year, had a major impact on the corn and soybean industries, according to an independent study by the Juday Group. The study quantified the returns that red meat exports brought to corn and soybean producers in 2021. Corn and soybean growers support the international promotion of U.S. pork, beef and lamb …
Inflation Prompts Some Trading Partners to Cut Tariffs on Red Meat
South Korea is the latest country to suspend import duties on pork and other food items in an effort to combat inflation. They join Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brazil in reducing or eliminating tariffs on certain food items to lower consumer prices. And while these tariff reductions sometimes benefit global competitors more than U.S. red meat, the overall …
Avian Influenza Causing Losses of Egg Laying Hens
While the number of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases across the U.S. have outpaced the 2014-2015 outbreak, experts say the one key to controlling the spread of it is fast reaction to reported detections. Even so, USDA economist Matt Maclachlan notes avian influenza this year has caused the loss of about 2 million laying hens. And when it comes to …
WLAC Winner Named, 2023 Event to be Held in Florida
Will Epperly, from Dunlap, Iowa, was named the 2022 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion (WLAC) at the 58th annual competition held at Shipshewana Auction & Trading Place, Shipshewana, Ind. This past Saturday’s event was presented by the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA). “It was such a powerful moment,” Epperly said. “I thought to myself, ‘this can’t be real,’ and the emotions that came over me …
AFBF and NPPC Tell Supreme Court Proposition 12 is Unconstitutional
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12. The state law seeks to ban the sale of pork from hogs that don’t meet the state’s arbitrary production standards, even if the pork was raised on farms outside of California. AFBF and …
April Beef, Lamb Exports Up, Pork Down
The latest red meat export report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show beef exports maintained a remarkable pace in April, topping $1 billion for the third time this year. USMEF Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO, Dan Halstrom, offers insight into what continues to drive global demand for U.S. beef. Beef exports totaled 124,408 metric tons (mt) in …