Higher supplies of meat will continue to pressure consumer prices lower, according to a forecast by the Department of Agriculture. The USDA Economic Research Service Food Price Outlook predicts beef and veal prices to decrease one to two percent in 2017 but increase the same amount in 2018. That’s because, in August, the U.S. cattle herd was at its highest …
Retail Meat Prices Slip Lower in August
Consumer prices for meat decline 0.4 percent in August, compared to figures compiled in July. A monthly report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows overall U.S. meat prices for consumers were lower on softer prices for beef roasts and ham. August prices fell 2.1 percent on beef roasts, 1.5 percent on beef steaks and 0.1 percent on ground beef. …
China Poultry Safety Standard Similar to U.S.
The Department of Agriculture last week quietly released an audit report of China’s inspection system for poultry processing. The audit says China’s system is equivalent to U.S. systems and standards. The Food Safety and Inspection Service performed the audit last year. USDA released the report one month after the comment period closed on a proposed rule that will allow China …
Salmonella Vaccine Reduces Animal Disease and Foodborne Illness
Some types of Salmonella cause disease in food animals, like pigs. Others cause foodborne illness in humans. A new vaccine developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, protects against these types of Salmonella in food animals. Most Salmonella vaccines only protect against one type of the pathogen. This leaves pigs susceptible to disease from other Salmonella pathogens. While some Salmonella vaccines reduce disease in pigs, they may …
Wholesale Chicken-Wings Hit Record High Prices
Wholesale prices of chicken wings are hitting record highs, leaving restaurants to choose between raising prices or cutting portions. The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans ate more than one billion restaurant orders of chicken wings in the 12 months that ended in June, and that’s not even counting the wings eaten at home. America’s appetite for chicken wings has …
McDonald’s Announces Global Antibiotic Phase Out
McDonald’s Corporation announced it’ll be expanding its effort to cut back on the use of antibiotics critical to human health across the global chicken supply. The fast food giant will require its poultry suppliers to phase out drugs categorized under the highest priority category in the World Health Organization’s four categories by January of next year. Those antibiotics will disappear …
South Korea Lifts U.S. Poultry Ban
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the government of South Korea has lifted its ban on imports of U.S. poultry and poultry products, including fresh eggs. Korea had imposed the ban in response to a recent detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). On August 11, the United States notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that …
Eggshell Uses
What do you do with that egg shell when you crack it open? Cathy Isom has tells you before you toss it in the trash or compost, consider these ways to reuse that egg shell. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Statistics say the average American consumes 250 eggs per year. That’s a lot of egg shells for …
Canada Egg Production Up Nearly 5 Percent This Year
Egg production in Canada is on the rise, increasing 4.4 percent in the last year. Statistics Canada, the nation’s statistics agency, says Canadian egg producers generated 64.5 million dozen eggs from May 2016 to May this year. Placement of hatchery chicks on farms rose four percent to 65.5 million birds from June 2016 to June 2017 and stocks of frozen …
Poultry Producers Comment on NAFTA Renegotiation Plans
U.S. poultry producers say the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement could bring trade improvements. The National Chicken Council and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council together called NAFTA a “bonanza for American Agriculture.” However, the groups say some trade issues could be improved under the renegotiation effort. The National Chicken Council says Canada and the United …