For as tasty a reputation as it may have, raw milk may equally be the bane of public health officials everywhere.  Over the weekend, local and state Colorado health officials jointly announced that an outbreak of the foodborne illness campylobacteriosis had so far affected 20 people. [node:read-more:link]

There’s a new food category that is gaining popularity with shoppers, but that’s also becoming an enemy of farmers — both of the conventional and organic persuasion.  The Chronicle reported that Clover Stornetta Farms of Petaluma would be adding non-GMO certification to its conventional milk in early 2017, meaning it would require dairy farmers use GMO-free feed with its conventional herds. Milk is not genetically engineered, and neither are dairy cows. Most conventional milk comes from cows given supplemental feed from genetically engineered corn and soy. [node:read-more:link]

The low river is one of countless signs of dry weather that has settled over much of New England. Conditions are even worse south of the Saco, with the US Drought Monitor observing "extreme drought" conditions in much of the eastern half of Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and the southern parts of Maine. [node:read-more:link]

I was stunned to see the headline on ABC Eyewitness news website “Feds warn people to stop kissing chickens or they'll risk illness.”  Silly me, I thought that would be obvious, but then today kissing pets seems to be a generally accepted behavior. And chickens are becoming a common pet and not just in the backyard. I follow an organization of people with backyard chickens and am continually amazed at the posts regarding the chickens in the family home. [node:read-more:link]

Food habits of cougars (Puma concolor) in North America have been documented for western populations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Most studies assessed diets of cougars occupying typical habitats, and within established populations. We evaluated food habits of cougars in prairie and agricultural landscapes in the Dakotas (regions that had been devoid of the species for roughly a century) located well outside of known resident populations. [node:read-more:link]

DA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announces an extension of deregulation to a line of genetically engineered (GE) apple known as ‘Arctic Fuji.’ This GE ‘Fuji’ apple was developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc. [node:read-more:link]

DuPont Pioneer and the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) announced that Pioneer will award $175,000 in grants to agriscience educators to fund training and classroom resources that will help them implement advanced agriculture curriculum. Grant recipients are teachers who are implementing Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) in their classrooms. CASE is a multi-year approach to agriscience education with rigorous educator training requirements and hands-on, inquiry focused learning activities. [node:read-more:link]

FarmStart, an innovative Northeast program to help young people get started in farming, is pleased to announce the approval of its 175th investment. Since the first investment approved in August of 2006, FarmStart has invested more than $7.5 million with 175 participants throughout New York, New Jersey and New England.  The program’s 175th investment was to Brookby Dairy, LLC in Dover Plains, N.Y. Owner William Vincent comes from a sixth generation family farm, and after graduating from college returned home to take over the farm which had been inactive for close to 30 years. [node:read-more:link]

w pet stores in Palm Beach County will no longer be able to sell dogs or cats as part of an effort to crack down on substandard breeders known as puppy mills.  Commissioners approved the measure despite concerns from animal advocates. They argued it doesn't go far enough to cut off demand for puppies and kittens from commercial breeders who may put profits ahead of animal welfare. Existing stores could continue to sell puppies and kittens provided they are purchased from a licensed breeder that meets U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. [node:read-more:link]

Earlier this week, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), through its Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News (LPGMN) Division, published a new report adding transparency to the cage-free shell egg market.  This new monthly report includes wholesale price information for cage-free shell eggs traded on a contract basis and negotiated spot market basis. [node:read-more:link]