A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu was discovered in two dead cats on Saturday, a provincial government official said, marking the first infection of the virus found in mammals in two years. [node:read-more:link]
The trouble with farming has always been that it is cheaper to buy what we produce from other farmers like us than it is to produce those things ourselves. That’s why industries serving agriculture always seem to do better than farmers themselves. For example, Iowa State University published tables of annual average corn and soybean prices and average annual production costs per bushel of corn and soybeans on Iowa’s farms from 1968 to 2016. What the tables clearly show is that it is cheaper to buy those crops than to grow them. That’s why keeping the kids down on the farm is so hard. [node:read-more:link]
Antibiotic-free chicken and pig production news was a popular topic in 2016. These 10 articles drew the most attention from WATT AgNet readers during the past year, ranked by the number of times readers viewed the stories. 1. Tyson eager to meet antibiotic-free chicken demand. The demand for chicken raised with no antibiotics ever (NAE) continues to grow, and Tyson Foods President Tom Hayes says the company is poised to meet that demand.2. 7 antibiotic-free feeding practices beyond additives, Additives are not the only area that require attention when antibiotics are removed from feeds.3. [node:read-more:link]
Pilot testing of the new Canadian Pork Excellence program is just a couple weeks away as volunteer farms nationwide will begin participating in the program that the Canadian Pork Council revamped from its on-farm food safety and animal care assurance programs and combined into one. In the first phase, farms will begin keeping required documentation and making necessary adjustments before moving to full validation. In 2018, through the existing validation cycle, Canadian Pork farms due for a “Full Validation” in 2018 will join the Canadian Pork Excellence Platform by completing the Food Sa [node:read-more:link]
Environmental regulations coming down the pike for California dairy producers will require significant capital investment and new-era management practices. [node:read-more:link]
A lawsuit filed by two farms against California labor regulators has been revived by a federal appeals court, which ruled it’s plausible the companies were unfairly targeted. The dispute relates to law passed by California lawmakers in 2015 that provided some — but not all — farms with safe harbor against certain labor lawsuits. Farms in the state were facing possible class action litigation after court rulings that piece-rate workers, such as those paid based on harvest amounts, must be paid the minimum wage even for breaks, meals and other “non-productive” periods. [node:read-more:link]
European consumers don’t approve of genetically engineered crops, but European farmers are eager to feed them to their livestock, according to a USDA report. As a result, Europe poses an economic opportunity for U.S. farmers while the threat of a consumer-driven trade disruption looms over exports of biotech crops, experts say. “As the global cultivation of GE crops expands, it is increasingly difficult for European importers to source non-biotech soybean products. [node:read-more:link]
Researchers from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine have received a nearly quarter-million dollar federal grant to improve rural veterinarians’ awareness of endemic, transboundary and emerging diseases of production animals. [node:read-more:link]
The Wildlife Code (HB 4604/ PA 99-0866): Public Hunting Grounds for Game: Changes the name of the fee from "Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants" to "Public Hunting Grounds for Game Birds." Fish and Aquatic Life Code (HB 5788/PA 99-0867): Adds catfish to the list of aquatic life that may be taken by pitchfork, spear gun or bow and arrow. The Wildlife Code/Youth Trapping License (SB 2410/PA 99-0868): Allows minors to apply for youth trapping licenses with limited privileges. Wildlife/Hunter/Landowner SB 3003/ PA 99-0869): Allows only one application to be submitted for hunters hunting on [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed an update to that country’s “Health of Animals Regulations” dealing with the transportation of animals. The CFIA proposes to amend the regulations to:Provide clarification by adding definitions (for example definitions for “compromised” and “unfit” animals) and establishing clear requirements for regulated parties to better understand what is expected of them;Improve animal welfare and reduce risk of suffering during transportation by establishing clear and science-informed requirements that better reflect animals’ needs and current industr [node:read-more:link]
