A new test developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in College Station, Texas, could make it easier to breed pathogen-resistant chickens. The test identifies roosters whose blood contains naturally high levels of two key chemicals, cytokine, and chemokines. These chemicals mobilize the birds’ innate immune response, according to ARS microbiologist Christi Swaggerty, in ARS’s Food and Feed Safety Research Unit. Using …
Agri View: Home-Raised Chicken
Everett Griner talks about some of the hazards of eating or handling home-raised chicken in today’s Agri View. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Critical Funding To Enhance Brahman GeneticsApril 24, 2026Strong Relationship Exists Between the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board and UF-IFASApril 17, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding For Quicker Response to Research QuestionsApril 10, 2026Florida …
Biosecurity Awareness to Defend the Flock
The fall migratory waterfowl season is underway across the country, which means poultry producers must be more aware to prevent a virus or disease, like avian influenza, from entering their flocks. Rod Bain reports. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Critical Funding To Enhance Brahman GeneticsApril 24, 2026Strong Relationship Exists Between the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board and UF-IFASApril 17, …
USPOULTRY Foundation Approves Funding for More Avian Influenza Research
The USPOULTRY Foundation last week approved $125,000 in additional emergency funding to support avian influenza research and communication. The research is a follow-up study on a previously funded project in which researchers provided insight on using ventilation shut down as a humane depopulation method. The study showed that the addition of heat and CO2 to the procedure provided a rapid …
Livestock and Poultry Producers Receive Lower Prices
An overall month over month decline in USDA’s Ag Prices Received Index can be attributed to lower prices received in the livestock sector. Rod Bain has the story. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Critical Funding To Enhance Brahman GeneticsApril 24, 2026Strong Relationship Exists Between the Florida Cattle Enhancement Board and UF-IFASApril 17, 2026Florida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides …
Higher Supplies Keeping Consumer Meat Prices Lower
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 …