USDA Announces Delay, Reconsideration of Organic Livestock Rule

The Department of Agriculture Tuesday announced it would delay implementation of the final Organic Livestock Standards rule until November 14th, 2017. The rule was published in January in the final days of the Obama administration, and USDA is taking an additional six months to allow time for further consideration. The effective date for this rule was initially March 20th, 2017, …

Georgia Lawmakers Ask Perdue to Ditch GIPSA Rules

A group of Georgia lawmakers is pitching an idea to scrap some GIPSA rules to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia Governor. A group of 10 members of Congress from Georgia has sent a letter to Perdue urging the Secretary to withdraw two proposed rules under the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. The lawmakers say the rules, currently …

Avian Influenza Found in Mexico

The World Organization for Animal Health reports that highly contagious H7N3 avian influenza was confirmed Thursday at a farm in west-central Mexico. The virus was discovered in a flock of 15,000 birds that had been vaccinated and did not show any clinical signs of the disease, according to agriculture officials in Mexico. Reuters reports that the farm is under quarantine …

Notice of Determination of Changes to the National Poultry Improvement Plan Program Standards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is updating the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) Program Standards. In a previous notice, the Agency proposed changes to the NPIP Program Standards document to establish new biosecurity principles and to update some testing procedures. The notice was available for public review and comment for 30 days.  No comments …

Promoting U.S Meat Products in Other Countries

Whether you are a cattle or hog producer, the President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), Phil Seng, wants you to know they continue to work hard every day to market U.S. meat products in various other countries around the world.   Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Resources To Researchers For Applied ResearchJune 12, 2026Florida Cattle …

Agri View: Avian Flu is Costly and Scary

  Everett Griner talks about avian flu strikes in the U.S. once again in today’s Agri View.   You just mention the words avian bird flu and it sends a jolt through the veins of poultry farmers. There is 2 cases that have been reported in Tennessee this year. The affected area has been under quarantine. Nearly 75,000 chickens have …

USDA Seeks Nominees for American Egg Board

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the American Egg Board for the 2018-2019 term. Any non-exempt egg producer within the 48 contiguous U.S. and the District of Columbia may be nominated. Egg producers owning 75,000 or fewer laying hens may request an exemption from participation in the egg …

Georgia Three-Phase Avian Influenza Testing Complete

When we last heard from Georgia State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Cobb, a three-phase process was underway for avian influenza. But being that no new cases have been found, Dr. Cobb says those testing efforts have ended and the suspension of poultry assembly in the state has been rescinded. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Resources To Researchers For Applied ResearchJune …

A Better Way to Pasteurize Eggs

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and his colleagues have developed a technology that rapidly pasteurizes eggs and could sharply reduce the number of illnesses caused each year by egg-borne Salmonella bacteria. The device invented by David Geveke, a chemical engineer at the ARS Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research Unit in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, uses radio frequency (RF) waves to …

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 …