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Could EPA Decision Signal The Beginning Of The End For DEF?

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 16:28:35 GMT

Mike Berdo has strong words to describe his ongoing experiences using machinery requiring DEF ( Diesel Exhaust Fluid ) on his southeast Iowa farm.

“It has been an absolute nightmare, at least for us. Mechanics make trip after trip to do little stuff that’s very expensive to fix,” said Berdo, who produces grain and beef cattle near Washington. “We had planting delays last spring … little stuff that came from it and just seemed like [an issue to deal with] day after day.”

The ongoing mechanical issues and costs are why Berdo said he is “all for” EPA rescinding the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. The Finding has enabled the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act and, in recent years, and launch requirements such as the use of DEF systems in diesel-powered engines.

EPA Draws A Line In The Sand
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin released a proposal to rescind the 2009 Finding.

If finalized, the proposal would remove all greenhouse gas standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines, EPA said in a follow-up press release .

The move would start with EPA’s first greenhouse gas standard set in 2010 for light-duty vehicles and those set in 2011 for medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

EPA said the proposal is expected to “save Americans $54 billion in costs annually through the repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the Biden EPA’s electric vehicle mandate, under conservative economic forecasts.”

Zeldin made the announcement to rescind the Finding in Indiana, alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and called it the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.

What The Decision Could Mean To Farmers
Specific to U.S. farmers, the proposal could potentially result in DEF systems no longer being included on new tractors and other heavy equipment using diesel-powered engines, said Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk, during a Farmer Forum discussion on Wednesday.

South Dakota farmer Ryan Wagner told Flory he has a wait-and-see perspective on how or whether the EPA proposal goes into effect. He anticipates that reversing the Finding will take considerable time and effort for EPA to implement.

“It took a long time with the interim engines and things to get into full DEF in the first place,” Wagner said. “I don’t know how long it would take to unwind all that and how quickly manufacturing will just take those systems right off, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”

To Wagner’s point, here’s a brief look back at some timing showing when DEF rolled out in agriculture and nonroad equipment and became mandatory . The regulations were phased in over several years based on the type of equipment and engine size:

2008: DEF became required for all new diesel engines with engine sizes over 750 horsepower.

2011: the regulations expanded to include equipment with engine sizes between 175-750 horsepower.

By 2015, all new nonroad diesel engines were required to be Tier 4 compliant and utilize DEF, regardless of equipment type or engine size.

As Wagner considers DEF, he noted its use in diesel engines has provided him with one benefit: “On the plus side, I do like that they don’t make the walls of my shop black. That’s been nice,” he said. “You can run them inside for a short time and not not feel like you’re breathing in a bunch of soot and making everything black.”

Expect Legal Challenges To EPA Decision
A number of environmental groups have already blasted the move by EPA, saying it spells the end of the road for U.S. action against climate change, according to an online article by Reuters .

Legal challenges from various environmental groups, states and lawyers are likely ahead.

That fact wasn’t lost on Flory and the Farmer Forum participants during the AgriTalk discussion on Wednesday.

“If this proposal is finalized, it’s going to start a lot of conversations … and the dominoes are going to start to fall, something that we need to keep track of, no doubt,” Flory said. You can hear the complete Farmer Forum discussion on AgriTalk here:

EPA will initiate a public comment period to solicit input. Further information on the public comment process and instructions for participation will be published in the Federal Register and on the EPA website .

Your next read: Right To Repair Granted? John Deere Launches Digital Self-Repair Tool for $195 Per Tractor

Chinese Scientist Accused Of Smuggling ‘Potential Agroterrorism Weapon’ Into the U.S.

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 14:39:56 GMT

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with trying to smuggle a fungus, Fusarium graminearum, into the United States.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements and visa fraud.

The charges against the pair were unsealed in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, on Tuesday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office references Fusarium graminearum online as a “dangerous biological pathogen … which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.”

Fusarium graminearum causes significant diseases in a number of U.S.-grown food crops, including corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and rice.

Diseases caused include Fusarium head blight (scab) in wheat, and two corn diseases Gibberella ear rot and Gibberella stalk rot , which can lower yield and feed quality of silage corn, according to the Crop Protection Network, a partnership of land grant universities.

Toxins the fungus produces can cause vomiting, liver damage, reproductive defects and mycotoxin-induced immunosuppression in humans and livestock, including cattle, hogs, horses and poultry.

One Scientist Arrested, One Returned To China
The 25-page criminal complaint alleges Liu tried to smuggle the fungus through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DMA) in July 2024, so he could study it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend, Yunqing Jian, worked at the time.

Jian had been living in the U.S. and working at the university laboratory since 2022.

The roots of the case involving Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, stretch back to March 2024. That is when Liu applied for a B2 tourist visa to enter the U.S.

(The Detroit News and Sanilac County Jail)

According to the criminal complaint, Jian and Liu had both previously conducted work on the fungus in China.

Officials further allege Jian received funding from the Chinese government for her research on the pathogen in China. They also claim she is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Jian, who was arrested by the FBI, remains in federal custody. On Thursday, her detention hearing was adjourned until 1 p.m. June 13 to allow time for a new defense attorney to get up to speed.

Liu was sent back to China last year after changing his story during an interrogation at the Detroit airport about red plant material discovered in a wad of tissues in his backpack, the FBI says.

The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, which makes Liu’s arrest unlikely unless he returns.

In a statement released on June 3, the University of Michigan said it condemns “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”

“It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals,” the university added. “We have and will continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution.”

In a statement released on June 3, the University of Michigan said it condemns “any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university’s critical public mission.”

(Michigan News Source)

Boyfriend Spills Intentions To Investigators
An article in The Detroit News said Liu told investigators during an interrogation at the Detroit airport he planned to clone the different strains and make additional samples if the experiments on the reddish plant material failed, according to the government.

“Liu stated that he intentionally hid the samples in his backpack because he knew there were restrictions on the importation of the materials,” an FBI agent wrote. “Liu confirmed that he had intentionally put the samples in a wad of tissues so CBP officers would be less likely to find and confiscate them, and he could continue his research in the United States.”

Liu told investigators he planned on using UM’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory to research the biological materials, the FBI agent wrote.

“Liu stated that, while he was in the United States, he would have free access to the laboratory at the University of Michigan on some days, and that other days his girlfriend would give him access to the laboratory to conduct his research,” The Detroit News article reported.

Before preventing Liu from entering the U.S. and sending him back to China, the investigators found messages between the couple that indicate Jian previously smuggled biological material into the U.S., the FBI agent wrote.

The messages are from August 2022 and discuss smuggling seeds into the U.S.

Lawmakers Respond To The Criminal Complaint
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the Justice Department “has no higher mission than keeping the American people safe and protecting our nation from hostile foreign actors who would do us harm.”

“Thanks to the hard work of our excellent DOJ attorneys, this defendant — who clandestinely attempted to bring a destructive substance into the United States — will face years behind bars,” the attorney general says.

“I can confirm that the FBI arrested a Chinese national within the United States who allegedly smuggled a dangerous biological pathogen into the country,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on Tuesday.

(FBI)

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the arrest of Jian late Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

“This case is a sobering reminder that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences … putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.”

U.S. Custom and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon says the criminal charges against Jian and Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate its agricultural economy and cause harm to humans.

“This was a complex investigation involving CBP offices from across the country, alongside our federal partners,” says Raybon in a prepared statement. “I’m grateful for their tireless efforts, ensuring our borders remain secure from all types of threats while safeguarding America’s national security interests.”

Your next read: Surveillance State: Game Wardens Sued for Secret Private Land Intrusions in Alabama

5 Reasons Consumer Distrust In Our Food Supply Is Rising

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:04:41 GMT

Bread, check. Blueberries, check. As I wheel my grocery cart alongside the deli case, I’m taken aback at what I see. Rather, it is what I don’t see that has me wondering, “What in the world?” This section of my favorite grocery store is now almost completely empty, except for a couple of ham loaves and a renegade block of cheese.

In a slightly distraught tone I ask the worker behind the counter, “What’s going on?” He hesitates for a moment, then replies, “The store is in the process of changing suppliers for our deli products. We should have more of a selection next week.” Then it dawns on me: my favorite brand of deli meat and cheese, Boar’s Head, has officially been blacklisted by my go-to grocery store.

I should not have been surprised. Boar’s Head began its fall from public grace on July 26, 2024, when the company issued a recall for more than 207,528 lb. of product due to potential listeria contamination. The CDC linked the contamination to 61 illnesses and, tragically, 10 deaths. It was the worst listeria outbreak in the U.S. in over a decade.

The outbreak was ultimately traced to a production line at the company’s Jarratt, Va., plant. According to USDA inspection reports, which USA Today had to obtain through a Freedom of Information Act request, 69 reports of non-compliance were recorded at the Jarratt plant between 2023 and 2024. What was in those reports was unsettling. Documentation of insects live and dead, black and green mold, mildew, dripping and standing water, as well as other unsanitary conditions within the plant in the weeks leading up to the July recall. In a move that was too little too late, Boar’s Head announced on Sept. 13, 2024 that the Jarratt plant would be closed permanently.

In 1906, Upton Sinclair published his famous novel “The Jungle,” which exposed the horrific conditions in the meatpacking industry at the time. The writer’s work proved to be an instant bestseller to the masses. The irony is that nearly 120 years later, one might find it hard to discern whether they’re reading a current USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) report or a chapter straight out of “The Jungle.”

Just One Of Many
The Boar’s Head case was only one the high profile food recalls last year. Remember the E. coli contaminated onions on McDonald’s quarter pounders? Then, Costco issued a massive recall on their Kirkland Signature brand of organic eggs because of a threat of Salmonella. And to cap off the year with the scariest illness yet, on Dec. 18, 2024, the CDC confirmed a patient in Louisiana had been hospitalized with the nation’s first severe case of avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, aka the “bird flu.”

If it seems that the number of food recalls are coming at us at a more fast and furious pace than ever, then your gut instinct is spot on. The Food and Drug Administration, which reports food and cosmetics together, says 1,908 such products were recalled in the fiscal year that ended in September. That’s the highest number since 2019. Such a constant barrage of warnings is having a serious affect on consumers’ overall psyche — and not in a positive way. According to a September 2024 Gallup report, only 57% of Americans say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the government to keep food safe. This number is a 27 point decrease since 2019, and is a record low for the Gallup Consumption Habits Poll since its inception in 1999.

This explosion of 20th century foodborne illnesses has me asking the same question I asked the worker behind the deli counter: “What’s going on?”

5 Reasons To Be Skeptical
There are multiple reasons consumers have good reason to be less confident in the safety of their food.

First, there’s the government. Second, more and more of our food is imported, which makes it harder to inspect. Third, you have a growing quest for more natural food, which sometimes circumvents traditional inspection channels. Fourth, industry consolidation means only a handful of players control both the production and processing. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but if something goes wrong, it’s probably going to be big. Finally, we now have the ability, through more technology and data, to find, detect and isolate the specific source of contamination and document it.

Time For An Overhaul
Food safety policy and implementation at the government level is in need of a serious overhaul. There is a chance it could actually happen. In 2018, the previous Trump administration proposed consolidating federal food oversight into a single agency with USDA.

There are so many common sense things that a fully functioning food agency could do. For one, start with better and more noticeable country of origin labeling (COOL) on imported foods. It should be prominent, displaying the country’s flag as the primary indicator of origin. If nothing else, we’ll all get better at geography. Next, companies that embrace new technologies that prevent contamination should be rewarded with tax credits. We do it for electric cars. Why not for safer food?

Finally, the most important change needs to come in the form of accountability and transparency both from the food industry itself and the government that regulates it. That didn’t happen in the case of Boar’s Head, and 10 people lost their lives because of it. In the age of AI and social media, those FSIS plant inspection reports should be posted on platforms such as X and Facebook for the public to see in real time. Without such transparency, we’re no better off than we were back in 1906.

Climate and Tech Expected to Affect Ag Most This Year

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:43:28 GMT

Farm Journal’s Smart Farming Week is an annual week-long emphasis on innovation in agriculture. The goal is to encourage you to explore and prioritize the technology, tools and practices that will help you farm smarter. Innovation today ensures an efficient, productive and sustainable tomorrow.

Every year before the ball drops in Times Square, it seems everyone wants to pull out a crystal ball and prophesize what the new year will bring. And the ag industry loves a good prophet.

Before 2023 became history, Forbes Magazine took its shot at predicting agriculture’s highlights for 2024. So before Father Time turns the predictions stale, I thought it might be insightful, or at least entertaining, to provide some color commentary on the article, which focused on the following five areas where change in agriculture could be the greatest.

1. Farmland Holds the Key to Carbon Management
No different from last year or the prior year, agriculture has a bull’s-eye on its back when it comes to carbon intensity. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. agricultural operations are responsible for 10.6% of the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Climate scientists and Al Gore have told us this for years now. Expect the barrage of white papers and warnings to continue in 2024.

The good news, according to the pundits, is it will become increasingly clear this year that farmland is the key to carbon management. By default, nature has been seen as the most scalable way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. What is becoming more obvious to those outside the sphere of agriculture is that farmland is the best place to store it.

Look to see more announcements at the consumer packaged goods level regarding programs and collaboration across industries and sectors to foster regenerative practices at the production level. Companies such as Walmart, PepsiCo and General Mills are seeking programs able to scale such practices across millions of acres.

2. Alternative Proteins Will Recover From Their Sophomore Slump
Last year, the stock market and the population’s tastes soured on meatless burgers and chickpea chicken nuggets. Beyond Meat’s market cap plummeted from an all-time high of $14.2 billion to just more than $500 million at the turn of this year.

But don’t count out the alternative protein industry yet. Those quoted in the Forbes article anticipate 2024 to be a renaissance year for animal-based product substitutes.

The reason for such renewed hope is a tactical marketing change adopted by the second wave of alternative protein startups. Instead of taking full-blown consumer-ready products direct to the grocery store shelf and the fast food drive-through lane, they are focusing on selling alternative protein products as ingredients.

For example, the Every Company is touting that “the world’s first liquid egg made without the hen” could replace real eggs in thousands of processed food items. Rue the day these eggs find their way into my favorite lemon meringue pie.

3. Forget Counting Calories. Count Carbon
A new diet seems to be on the table every new year. This year, paring down the amount of carbon in your life may be as important as limiting your calories. Just like requirements for disclosing calories through food labels, the social, political and regulatory environment is forcing food companies to be fully transparent about their carbon footprints.

Instead of carbon credits, experts say carbon insets are needed to move the climate needle. With recently passed climate disclosure legislation, such as California’s SB 253, expect more food companies looking to measure, report and reduce their carbon emissions.

This switch will put pressure on producers as food companies off-load the burden of carbon reduction on them. Look for additional emphasis on cutting methane emissions from livestock through innovative feeds and carbon-capture techniques and improving soil health through biotech innovation, data and artificial intelligence.

4. Technology Will Make Ag More Hip and Exciting
Agriculture has long been characterized in literature, and even nursery rhymes, as boring and depressing—think Grapes of Wrath and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Well, technology is continuing to turn this industry on its head.

Specialty crop operations’ use of automation will grow quickly as ag labor shortages persist. Meanwhile, the food prep industry is transforming as food- and medicine-focused companies take root. Think HelloFresh and Blue Apron meet your medical dietician. Companies such as ModifyHealth are tailoring chef-inspired medical meals to support consumers’ specific health needs, and companies such as Farmer’s Fridge allow you to select a green goddess salad or Thai noodle bowl instead of a Snickers bar from a vending machine.

5. Capital Investment in Ag Will Be Even More Deliberate and Disciplined
Once viewed as the hot new space for disruption, the ag tech sector is now weeding out the venture capital investors who entered it with hopes of quick wins. That culling really started in earnest two years ago and is predicted to continue this year.

But all is not gloom and doom in the ag startup arena. Investors see the market stabilizing and valuations returning to more realistic levels. Quality companies that are scaling, have good economic fundamentals and growing customer demand will likely find the capital they are seeking in 2024, but expect no more free lunches.

So there you have it. This recaps the Forbes take on agriculture in the new year: climate, carbon, technology, money and a world with eggs but no chickens.

If you think that’s weird, then just wait. The year has only begun. In agriculture, nearly anything can happen. Just wait a day.

Wildfire Battles Continue Over Weekend for Texas, Oklahoma

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:30:27 GMT

After burning for more than six days, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma was only 15% contained Sunday morning, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Now officially the largest wildfire in Texas history, the Smokehouse Creek Fire had burned 1.1 million acres. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 400 to 500 structures had burned and livestock losses were in the thousands. He said he would be asking for federal assistance and he has declared 60 counties disaster areas.

Two people were confirmed dead as a result of the fire. An 83-year-old grandmother was discovered in the remains of her burned home, and an Amarillo woman in her 40s died when she exited her truck while driving in the city of Canadian.

The Windy Deuce Fire in Moore County, which covers more than 144,000 acres, was 55% contained on Sunday. The Grape Vine Creek fire, at 34,800 acres, was 60% contained. The Magenta Fire in Oldham County, spanning approximately 3,300 acres, was 85% contained. The 2,000-acre 687 Reamer Fire was 10% contained.

Much of the area burned in the Panhandle region is rolling sand hills and the Texas Department of Transporation is now preparing for blowing dust and that can drift onto roads forcing closure.

Oklahoma officials reported at least 14 fires were burning across more than 319,000 acres, much of that spillover from the Smokehouse Creek Fire. The National Weather Service issued a Flag warning—indicating dangerously dry and windy weather—until 9 p.m. Sunday for Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. A cold front was expected to move into the area on Monday and could bring some relief.

Additional information and resources are continually updated and available online at www.tscra.org/disaster-relief-fund .

The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund here.

Related stories:

Smokehouse Creek Fire is Officially the Largest in Texas History

Wildfires Raging in Texas, Oklahoma Panhandle Region Threaten Residents and Livestock

KENT to Celebrate Grand Opening of Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex at Iowa State

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 19:17:38 GMT

KENT Corporation will celebrate the grand opening of the Iowa State University KENT Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex on Sept. 8. The family-owned company gave the lead $8-million gift.

“The contribution celebrates a 100-year commitment to the success of generations of people engaged in livestock production and agriculture,” Gage Kent, KENT Corporation Chairman and CEO, said in a release. “KENT is proud to partner with those working to advance new technologies in the feed and grain markets. This complex is a hands-on platform to further advance innovation and sustainability for future leaders in feed and grain processing.”

The 47,000-square-foot complex includes a warehouse and an educational building with an analytical laboratory, pilot plant, a 100-foot-tall concrete milling tower, a 40-foot-tall pelleting plant and 220,000 bushels of steel grain storage with handling and drying systems.

“It is incredibly rewarding to have been part of this project because we at KENT Nutrition Group know it will provide an authentic, challenging and fun learning environment for students and industry professionals,” Mike Gauss, President of KENT Nutrition Group, said in a release. “This industry is intrinsically linked to our everyday lives; teaching that, in this real-world way, will be meaningful to all involved.”

The Iowa State University KENT Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex will help prepare the next generation of workers in related technological advances in efficiency and safety, the release said. A dedication and ribbon cutting at the site of the new facility will begin at 3 p.m. in Ames on Sept. 8.

John Phipps: Is There Really a Shortage of Truck Drivers?

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 16:07:06 GMT

Cast your mind back to early 2022 and the headline-grabbing Trucker Shortage . My conclusion then was there wasn’t much hard data to substantiate that alarm. There has always been a need for truckers and perversely there seems to have always been ample qualified workers to fill it.

It didn’t take an economics degree to figure out the problem: truckers simply weren’t being compensated enough to entice and keep workers. Now a year and a half later the headline is the demise of one of America’s largest trucking companies – Yellow Trucking – and the end of 30,000 jobs they represent.

(Farm Journal)

Freight companies are struggling now with reduced demand, which threatens even more trucking jobs. At some point most of us begin to wonder about these alleged shortages. Adding to the muddled picture of jobs and pay is the historically low unemployment rate which emphatically illustrates how small the pool of potential employees is.

Related Story: Walmart Will Now Pay Starting Truck Drivers $110,000, Could It Backfire and Make the Nationwide Trucker Shortage Even Worse?

For trucking, which is often a career step up from entry wage employment, increases in the minimum wage by many states has helped low-wage employees keep up.

Since the pandemic, the surprising strength of low wage compensation compared to skilled or managerial wages removes some motivation for workers to consider a trucking job. Note the inversion after the pandemic of which income quintile is seeing greater wage increases.

Trucking companies have long dealt with astonishing turnover rates since the prospective employee pool was large and already qualified. New CDL licenses are issued to about half the current trucker numbers each year. Short-lived shortages are not limited to employees either.

Related Story: SHIP IT Act Could Save Truck Drivers Up to $10,000 and Cover CDL Costs

I started looking back at the numerous “shortages” and dire predictions of the last few years. At least some semiconductor chips, for example, are in now surplus, even a glut. We’ve discovered more new sources for lithium than anyone imagined. Ditto for copper, cobalt, and phosphates.

It appears markets can remedy shortages faster than we have imagined, and the few stubborn scarcities are sidestepped with alternative solutions. Not always, but certainly more than the hysterical headlines suggest.

There will always be warnings about trucker shortages, I suspect, but not from truckers.

Horizon Award Honors Husband-and-Wife Team for Their Drive and Focus

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 16:59:42 GMT

Each year, Top Producer recognizes a producer under the age of 35 who demonstrates excellence in the business of farming, specifically marketing, finance, technology and family and employee relations. Congratulations to Martin Angus, the 2022 recipient of the Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award. Brendan and Elaine Martin were recognized at a ceremony held Feb. 14 during Top Producer Summit in Nashville.

Brendan Martin learned early on that cows equal cash flow. He started building his herd in high school with the goal of one day owning his own farm.

Growing up in the Shenandoah Valley near Mt. Solon, Va., Brendan began building equity and his farming dream through heifers, custom hay bailing and hard work. His reputation attracted the attention of a neighbor who was looking to slow down. The neighbor wanted a young, energetic farmer to purchase his cow herd and lease his 280-acre farm. Brendan stepped up to the plate.

Today, Brendan’s diversified and multi-faceted operation is a team effort with his wife, Elaine. In addition to their 280-acre home base, they lease around 600 acres of pasture and farmland. They raise corn, alfalfa, small grains and hay, and their cattle operation includes a registered Angus and commercial Angus herd, 210 fed cattle and 1,030 feeder calves. In the past couple of years, they have invested in their cattle facilities to increase cow comfort and feeding efficiency.

In 2019, the Martins added Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer beef business. They ship beef all over the nation every week of the year. They also do custom mowing and litter spreading and recently added a trucking business. Their team includes two full-time and two part-time employees. Brendan also owns a large animal mobile veterinary practice, Valley Herd Health. Elaine specializes in record keeping, payroll and financial management for the farm, as well as keeping a close eye on the cattle herd.

As the Martins look toward the future, their goal is not to have the most cows or acres. They are motivated by their return on investment and creating generational impact in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

Take a trip to Martin Angus with this video from AgDay.

The Horizon Award is sponsored by Corteva and Pioneer. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Top Producer Summit; virtual mentoring sessions from Kristjan Hebert, the 2020 Top Producer of the Year; and a DJI Phantom 4 Drone, courtesy of Corteva.

The Online Top Producer Summit is set for Feb. 22-23 and will include live, on-demand and recorded sessions from the event in Nashville. Register now!

Honeybees Get Hope from New Vaccine against American Foulbrood Disease

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:41:01 GMT

Dalan Animal Health, Inc. (“Dalan”), a biotech company pioneering insect health, announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted a conditional license for vaccination of honeybees against American Foulbrood disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae.

Honeybees are a critical component of agriculture.

One-third of the global food supply relies on pollination, and healthy commercial hives are essential to secure high crop yields. However, honeybees are plagued by American Foulbrood, with previously no safe and sustainable solution for disease prevention. Overt clinical cases of American Foulbrood are notifiable in the USA and Canada, and the only treatment method relies on the incineration of bees and infected hives and equipment.

“This is an exciting step forward for beekeepers, as we rely on antibiotic treatment that has limited effectiveness and requires lots of time and energy to apply to our hives,” explained Trevor Tauzer, owner of Tauzer Apiaries and board member of the California State Beekeepers Association. “If we can prevent an infection in our hives, we can avoid costly treatments and focus our energy on other important elements of keeping our bees healthy.”

“We are committed to providing innovative solutions to protect our pollinators and promote sustainable agriculture. Global population growth and changing climates will increase the importance of honeybee pollination to secure our food supply. Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honeybees. We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale,” said Dr. Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health.

The bacterin was developed by Dalan Animal Health, and is manufactured by Diamond Animal Health (Des Moines, Iowa), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heska (“Heska"; NASDAQ: HSKA).

“We are grateful for the help and assistance that Diamond has been able to offer - not just in manufacturing development, but also regulatory expertise,” said Kleiser. The USDA has issued the conditional license in the first instance for two years. Dalan will distribute the vaccine on a limited basis to commercial beekeepers and anticipates having the vaccine available for purchase in the United States in 2023.

About the vaccine

The vaccine, which contains killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae bacteria, is administered by mixing it into queen feed which is consumed by worker bees. The vaccine is incorporated into the royal jelly by the worker bees, who then feed it to the queen. She ingests it, and fragments of the vaccine are deposited in her ovaries. Having been exposed to the vaccine, the developing larvae have immunity as they hatch. Pivotal efficacy studies have indicated that oral vaccination of honeybees may reduce larval death associated with American Foulbrood infections caused by P. larvae. The vaccine is non-GMO and can be used in organic agriculture.

About Dalan Animal Health

Dalan Animal Health (www.dalan.com) seeks to prevent diseases that affect invertebrates to increase the profitability and yield to producers worldwide. The company’s platform technology uses a transgenerational immune priming approach whereby the maternal animal passes immune modulators (e.g., antigens, anti-microbial molecules) to the next generation larvae before they hatch. The company intends to use this approach to develop vaccines for other honeybee diseases and underserved industries, such as shrimp, mealworms, and insects used in agriculture. The company’s headquarters is in Athens, Georgia, at the University of Georgia’s Innovation Hub.

From Raising Cattle to Now Reindeer, How One Family is Sharing the Magic Of Christmas On Their Farm

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 20:30:01 GMT

“Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer” is a song that captured kids’ hearts when it first topped the charts in 1949. It then became a television special hit 15 years later, and it’s still a Christmas-hit today.

Unlike the fictional characters in the movie and songs, reindeer at Prescott Family Reindeer Farm are actually real.

“We obviously have our real reindeer, Noel and Tinsel,” says Sara Prescott, owner of Prescott Family Reindeer Farm.

She says the fact reindeer do exist is one of the biggest misconceptions of reindeer today.

“We have people that come up all the time and say, okay, but what are these, and we tell them they are real reindeer,” she says.

Rooted in Family and a Desire to Spread Christmas Cheer

Prescott will tell you the story behind their reindeer farm is magical, but it all starts with family.

“Being on a family farm means a lot of different things,” she says. “To us, it means tradition, it means building something together as a family.”

That’s exactly what the Prescotts do each year as their farm of 240 acres in Vanzandt, Mo. is rooted in a deep desire to give everyone a full Christmas experience.

“They’re very stout, hearty animals,” says Prescott “So, we wanted it not to just be a petting zoo, but we wanted you to be able to fall in love with our animals, just the way that we do.”

The Journey South

It all started three years ago when the Prescotts moved to southern Missouri from central Illinois.

“While we were in central Illinois, we did a ton of educational opportunities for people to come out to the farm and share our story, visit with the animals,” she says. “And when we moved here, we wanted to expand on that.”

The Prescotts were well equipped for raising beef cattle. Afterall, that’s what their family had always done, but when they moved, they decided to venture into something new.

“We didn’t want to impose on other businesses here in our local area. So we really tried to find a different niche market. And honestly, reindeer were perfect,” she says.

The Prescotts love their reindeer. That passion for raising reindeer was a gift during a visit to another farm in Illinois.

“Our reindeer process actually started five years ago in Canton, Illinois when we visited our first reindeer farm, and that was the Snowman’s Reindeer Farm , and they are amazing people and they actually helped us to fall in love with reindeer just on our visit there.”

From Cattle to Reindeer

When the Prescotts moved to Missouri, Sara started researching how to raise reindeer, and she quickly discovered it was a natural fit for their family farm.

“We raise the reindeer very much like we raise the cattle,” she says. “I would say the biggest difference between cows and reindeer are the cattle don’t love it when it’s zero degrees. But the reindeer, that’s their happiest time.”

Cattle and reindeer are both ruminant animals, but reindeer just prefer to eat different treats.

“Our reindeer actually are not on grass. Reindeer actually don’t eat much grass,” she says. “Their main diet out in nature would be a lot more leaves and sticks, that kind of stuff that they’re looking for.”

Her Pampered Pets

Sara calls them her pampered pets, with big fans and pools to play in during the heat of the summer, but as you can imagine, it’s in the winter months that these reindeer really shine.

“We’re super excited that Santa and Mrs. Claus join us each weekend from the North Pole. They come down obviously to visit with the reindeer. We hope that Noel and Tinsel will make the flight team this year and be able to be flying around for Christmas Eve.”

Magical Christmas Experience on the Farm

With both Santa and Mrs. Claus on the farm, plus photo props and other fun activities around the farm, the Prescotts work each winter to bring others an enchanting experience.

“We also have crafts, a gift shop, you can write letters to Santa, hot cocoa, games; basically, all the things that you need to check off your Christmas tradition list,” she says.

This experience isn’t created overnight. The Prescotts and their three kids start decorating for Christmas in July, all in hopes of sharing their passion for raising reindeer and help others make memories in the most magical way.

Is the Great Financial Reset Now Underway?

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:28:54 GMT

Dairy farmers are finishing a strong financial year, despite concerns about labor and feed costs, and those concerns are at the forefront of conversations as they enter 2023.

One major bright spot in 2022 is domestic dairy demand, which is on a record pace. During Farm Journal’s Milk Business Conference (MBC) this week in Las Vegas, it was clear it’s now a question on if inflation and higher dairy prices at the store will eat into consumers shopping decisions in 2023. “I think the cost of everything, and of course, water issues are huge in California,” says Arlene Vander Eyk, a dairy farmer in Pixley, California.

It’s not just dairy products seeing the impact of inflation. Dairy farmers from across the country are wading through the reality of higher feed prices, input prices and inflation across the board.

“Inflation has reached a zenith, it did so back in March. It’s now coming down,” says Dan Basse, president AgResource Company . “The question is, ‘How far will it fall in 2023? And what’s the new natural rate of inflation?’ Back in the last 10 years, it was somewhere around 1.4%. We now think it’s closer to 3% to 3.5%, meaning that interest rates are going to be staying higher.”

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week showed a positive sign and the rate of inflation is slowing. In the 12 months through November, the CPI climbed 7.1% which was the smallest advance since December 2021, and followed a 7.7% rise in October.

The annual CPI peaked at 9.1% in June, which was the largest increase since November 1981.

However, inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. And as the Fed make a decision on more rate hikes in 2023, Basse is dubbing it the “Great Reset,” and one that he says is costing farmers more money on nearly every corner of the farm.

“If you look at seventh district data for the Kansas City Fed, this is the big farm states and the I-States in the middle of the country, they are now looking at operational loan costs being around 6.8%,” says Basse. “If you needed to borrow money to buy farmland, it’s about 6.5%. This is up about three percentage points from last year substantially. And so, whatever your interest rates costs were last year, it’s going to be double.”

Basse thinks interest rates could increase again early next year. With the Fed Rate hike this week, he thinks two more could be coming in 2023.

“The great financial reset is happening where interest rates are rising,” says Basse. “There’s a new asset class called cash. And as we look forward, I think that reset will have a big impact on recall repricing assets, not so much farmland but equities and lots of other things and farmers need to be aware of that,” Basse says.

Farm Journal’s Washington correspondent, Jim Wiesemeyer, says he’s more concerned about 2024 than 2023 in terms of the great financial reset and impact on agriculture.

“Later in 2023, I think you’ll see some of the pressures start, because as the carryover from relatively firm prices, this past year play out and some of these ad hoc disaster payments are spent and other foreign program payments. So yeah, 2024 could be some crunch times. It has to be cash flow, your cash flow is your predominant and cutting costs,” Wiesemeyer says.

Biggest Manure Pile in U.S. History Excreted Sweet Stink of Money

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 21:01:50 GMT

Billed as the “world’s biggest pile of sh**,” in its day, a steaming, multi-story heap of manure large enough to fill a sporting arena once dominated the periphery of Sioux City, Iowa and triggered a war between the stockyards and city fathers.

Prone to consistent spontaneous combustion fires, the manure mountain reached its zenith in the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in an infamous “golden nugget” roadside sign, a 15’-tall odor-blocking fence, and an EPA enema.

Rare Air

Where Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota collide on the Midwest map, the Sioux City Stockyards once thrived as a giant Petri dish of commerce and color. The yards bustled for decades as a 20^th century tableau of the surreal. Livestock, packers, yardmen, commission men, farmers, order buyers, dealers, truckers, feed companies, serum companies, rendering facilities, restaurants, railroads, banks, insurance agencies, bars, hotels, newspapers, printers, and a litany of forgotten characters and businesses were jammed into a 100-acre universe beside the Missouri River.

(Farm Journal)

The scent of crisp dollars—clean, sweet ink pressed into cotton-fiber bills tucked into tannin-soaked leather wallets—contrasted with the lingering smell of physical waste from millions of cows, hogs, and sheep across decades of presence in the stockyards .

“The manure was the result of profit, success, and capitalism,” says George Lindblade , “but with so many cattle coming through on a daily and weekly basis, the volume of manure is hard for most people to comprehend.”

Lindblade, 85, is an icon of Sioux City and a legend in the photography industry. Starting with a box camera at age 7, Lindblade’s career carried him across the U.S. in pursuit of the majestic and mundane, and compelled popes, presidents, politicians, musicians, and pop notaries to cross his lens. Whether shooting documentaries or commercial photos, Lindblade has eyeballed the rare air of forgotten history—including the stockyards.

(For more on the stockyards, see Judas Goats: Agriculture’s Bizarre, Drug-Addicted Masters of Deceit Once Ruled the Killing Floor )

Cattle pens were cleaned daily, Lindblade explains, and the waste loaded onto modified dump trucks. “They kept the pens pretty empty of manure because everyone wanted to buy clean cattle and you had lots of buyers walking through. Once a truck was full, it unloaded on flat ground really close to I-29. That area turned into a gigantic manure dump. You’d almost have to see it to believe it. At one time, it was considered to be the biggest pile of manure in the whole world.”

A Manure Island

A stone’s throw from I-29 (interstate construction started in the late 1950s and finished by the early 1960s), the manure pile expanded outward and upward. “The trucks dumped at the edge, and then a drag line and bucket moved the loads onto the pile,” Lindblade recalls. “I’d estimate the cranes I saw went up at least 20’ in the air, and the pile easily covered a football field at its base. All together, the height of the manure was unbelievable.”

In the dry, baking summers, the manure pile frequently caught fire due to spontaneous combustion. Sometimes the pile smoldered; sometimes flames broke out; and sometimes the fire department arrived to douse the burning dung.

(Farm Journal)

“The stockyards predated I-29, so the highway encroached on the stockyards,” Lindblade explains. “The manure pile grew up right along the interstate, easily within 100 yards, and sometimes the odor would broadcast for miles when the wind came out of the south. Needless to say, the chamber of commerce in Sioux City was outraged, but the stockyards didn’t care about a bunch of city officials. They kept on cleaning the pens, piling the waste, and growing their island of manure.”

Invisible Barrier

Partially in reaction to chastisement from the Sioux City bureaucracy, the stockyards erected a roadside sign along I-29 and doubled-down on stink. “To stick it in the eye of the chamber, the stockyard placed a sign on the highway that declared something to the effect of, ‘This manure pile is here because of our cattle capacity and business.’ At the sign’s bottom, there was a picture of a gold nugget, with a caption: ‘The Smell of Gold.’”

The chamber of commerce was disgusted by the advertisement and incensed by the gall of the stockyards. Taking the bait, the chamber reacted via bureaucratic diktat, cordoning off the manure zone by erecting a 15’ metal fence along I-29 that served, in theory, as a breeze block.

“Seriously, they tried to divert the smell with a fence,” Lindblade exclaims, in between fits of laughter. “I wasn’t raised on a farm, but I’m smart enough to know you can’t trap odor behind a fence. It was about as effective as putting up an 18” barrier to keep your neighbor’s cat out of your flower bed. In reality, the metal fence may as well have been invisible and it made sense to no one except the city officials. Everyone driving up I-29 could still see the stockyard golden nugget sign; still see the manure pile; and still smell the manure.”

Strange Brew

In the mid-1960s, Lindblade estimates, due to proximity of the Missouri River, the EPA sounded the death knell for the stockyard’s manure mountain. “The manure was actually a source of goodwill because the area farmers got all they wanted and so did anyone else. Everyone ran at least one manure spreader and some guys ran more than one. The manure was probably offensive to about 10% of Sioux City, but the city still managed to get EPA to raise hell and force removal of the world’s biggest manure pile.”

The manure mountain is only one of many oddities concocted in the strange brew of the Sioux City Stockyards, but now lost to time. “That was back before genuine modern technology and digital automation,” Lindblade concludes. “Cattle equal manure and the stockyards adapted accordingly. Maybe the stockyard operation didn’t fit in with the wisdom of city officials, but the cattlemen weren’t the ones dumb enough to think a 15’ fence would stop the smell of manure. The city officials never did get it: That stench was the smell of money.”

To read more stories from Chris Bennett (cbennett@farmjournal.com 662-592-1106) see:

Cottonmouth Farmer: The Insane Tale of a Buck-Wild Scheme to Corner the Snake Venom Market

Tractorcade: How an Epic Convoy and Legendary Farmer Army Shook Washington, D.C.

Bagging the Tomato King: The Insane Hunt for Agriculture’s Wildest Con Man

While America Slept, China Stole the Farm

Bizarre Mystery of Mummified Coon Dog Solved After 40 Years

The Arrowhead whisperer: Stunning Indian Artifact Collection Found on Farmland

Where’s the Beef: Con Artist Turns Texas Cattle Industry Into $100M Playground

Fleecing the Farm: How a Fake Crop Fueled a Bizarre $25 Million Ag Scam

Skeleton In the Walls: Mysterious Arkansas Farmhouse Hides Civil War History

US Farming Loses the King of Combines

Ghost in the House: A Forgotten American Farming Tragedy

Rat Hunting with the Dogs of War, Farming’s Greatest Show on Legs

Evil Grain: The Wild Tale of History’s Biggest Crop Insurance Scam

Anti-Animal Ag Media Criticizes UC Davis Researchers, Dr. Mitloehner Tells All

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 21:41:59 GMT

After two recent articles with an anti-animal ag agenda, orchestrated by the New York Times and Unearthed by Greenpeace, Dr. Mitloehner, professor and air quality specialist in cooperative extension in the Department of Animal Science at University of California at Davis, along with his team at the Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR) Center were brought under fire for what the media sources feel is unacceptable—private funding for research.

“The critics I have don’t question my science, because they can’t. Instead, they come after me personally,” says Dr. Frank Mitloehner, recently on Agritalk.

“Some of my research is funded by state and federal agencies, specifically research that’s quantifying emissions. But I also am funded by the agricultural industry, by farming and ranching, particularly on those issues that involve mitigation and finding ways to reduce emissions. The industries want to reduce their emissions, so I work with industries,” Mitloehner explains.

Mitloehner further shares how animal agriculture is “under the gun” to reduce its environmental impact, so it only makes sense that the private sector or production-focused businesses would support his research aiming to find solutions in sustainability.

When the two media outlets released their criticism on Mitloehner and the UC Davis CLEAR Center, Mitloehner took to social media and the online space to further explain his “why” behind his work:

🚨NEW BLOG & THREAD🚨

People are shocked I work w/ livestock producers.

They’re outraged that agriculture companies collaborate to improve sustainability.

My thoughts on the @nytimes feature and more below 1/:https://t.co/yj70wXhWsi
— Frank Mitloehner (@GHGGuru) October 31, 2022

Mitloehner’s thorough response has likely backed the New York Times and Unearthed authors into a corner, says Chip Flory, host of Agritalk. Mitloehner notes, “I’m a scientist. To me, it’s all about the science, and I will continue to do my science. I do my work and I do it as good as I can.”

Mitloehner also highlights gratitude towards farmers and ranchers for their work in feeding the world. He adds,” While people are taking shots at us, we’re pleased to be doing the work and conducting the research to reduce emissions and increase the food supply we need to sustain an exploding global population.”

Neither media outlet personally reached out to Mitloehner to provide comment for their articles, he says. Therefore, he adds in his response, “Come and visit us. See the lab. Meet our students and colleagues. Talk to the farmers and try to understand – as we do – how committed they are to the important role they play in simultaneously feeding the world and safeguarding our planet.”

Land O’Lakes CEO Praises U.S. Farmers for Their Role in Food Security

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:19:17 GMT

The leader of one of America’s largest food and agriculture companies said Oct. 11 the country’s farmers should be celebrated for their crucial role in providing food security, even if their work is sometimes overlooked.

Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., was the featured guest for the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems lecture series, held at Kansas State University’s McCain Auditorium. She spoke for nearly an hour in a chat moderated by Tyne Morgan, the executive producer of U.S. Farm Report.

Ford leads a company that recently launched a campaign that promotes the future of agriculture as being ‘rooted in tomorrow.’

“We were really thinking about how we can connect farmers and what they do on a daily basis with those who are not familiar with agriculture,” Ford said. “And right now, that’s most people because less than 1% of the world population is directly involved in agriculture. Folks don’t understand farming, they don’t understand the food supply and they don’t understand the hard work that goes into it every day.”

Ford likened food security to national security: “And I think of farmers as the original environmentalists, the original entrepreneurs; they’re constantly reinvesting in their land for all of us. And they need to be loud about that. We want folks to understand that farmers…solve big problems.”

Ford called the world population’s lack of of awareness about agriculture and the food supply “frightening, actually.”

In order to feed a world population estimated to grow to nearly 10 billion people, “we have to make more food by 2050 than the previous 5000 years combined. That is the challenge. This is meaningful work, important work, and it starts with the farmer.”

“When I say food security is national security, most people say, ‘oh yeah I agree with that.’ But I don’t know if people just think food just pops up on the retail shelf.”

Ford said her position with a leading agriculture company provides certain privileges to work on many of the greatest challenges facing agriculture.

One that is dear to her, she said, is the American Connection Project , a Land O’Lakes effort to bridge the digital divide common to many rural areas. More than 175 American companies and organizations – including the U.S. Department of Commerce and Microsoft – have worked together to provide free broadband and Wi-Fi in many rural American communities.

Ford said the group has successfully gained bipartisan support for legislation to bridge the digital divide, and $65 billion from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“We can not wait for years to have this occur,” she said. “That effort has been tremendously successfully, but we are going to be even more successful when we can get everything implemented across the country.”

Ford said three other issues are “top of my mind” as challenges for American agriculture:

“Number one,” she said, “it is unacceptable that we have stopped investing in agricultural research at the federal government level. I say this because China is out-stripping us 5-to-1; our country is at 1970s-level funding for ag research.”

“We need the best thinking and best technology in agriculture to meet this grand challenge of creating more than by 2050 than all the previous years combined.”

A second challenge: Immigration reform. “We have to have labor in this country,” Ford said. “We are 2.5 million workers short. When I’ve met with companies and senators…what makes me said is that nobody – from both sides of the (political) aisle) -- disagrees that we need labor. And yet here we sit. We are not making a change.”

“I get the conversation around border security. We need border security. But we need a solution because more than 6 million acres of American land were not planted last year because of a lack of labor. In the central valley of California, about one-third of hand-picked crops were not harvested last year because there is no labor. We have got to solve this problem and come up with a solution.”

Ford said water is a third challenge for American agriculture. “That’s a state-by-state challenge, and I’m concerned because there are federal implications. When there is a fight for water between rural and urban areas, most people don’t understand the needs in rural areas for agriculture and the food supply.”

“I would love to have a water policy; I’m not talking about water rights. I’m talking about investments in reservoirs, piping, desalination (and more)… We need to figure out what technology we can use to give ourselves an advantage over time and be resilient against our changing climate.”

“Those are the three things where I think we (Land O’Lakes) are investing additional time and making a push to saying we need to have this conversation. These are going to be profound issues for (Americans) if we don’t solve them.”

Ford has been president and CEO of Land O’Lakes – a Fortune 200 food production and agribusiness company – since 2018. Her 35-year career spans six industries at seven companies.

She has previously been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and Most Powerful Women, and named to Fast Company’s Best Leaders list. She was featured recently in the New York Times’ Corner Office column, and profiled in a 60 Minutes’ segment titled ‘The Farmers Advocate.’

Kansas State University established the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems lecture series to provide science-based education about world food issues. The series allows students, faculty, staff and Kansas citizens to interact with U.S. and international food industry leaders on topics of current interest.

The lecture series is funded by the Gardiner family of Ashland, Kan. Henry C. Gardiner, who passed away just days before the first lecture in 2015, was known as a visionary leader who dedicated his career to improving the beef industry through science and technology.

A transcript and video of Ford’s chat with Morgan will be posted online, when available, on the website for K-State’s Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems lecture series .

Munching on Mealworms: The Next Meat-Alternative Snack?

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:44:12 GMT

While plant-based meat alternatives seem to have lost their hype, scientists are working to develop another protein alternative—mealworms.

Over 2 billion people across the globe consume insects as part of their diet, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, while the thought of eating mealworms, grasshoppers and beetles sounds rather unappealing to most people in the U.S.

A recent Science Daily article claims, “insects are edible and could be a healthful alternative to traditional meat protein sources.”

With the rising cost of animal proteins such as beef , pork and lamb, as well as environmental concerns, the project’s principle investigator, In Hee Cho, Ph.D., explains there has been an increased interest in eating insects.

Containing high amounts of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fiber and high-quality protein, insects can be considered both a nutritious and healthy food source, the article claims.

Yet, the idea of munching on a mealworm remains unappetizing for a majority of meat-eaters.

Meat-like Mealworms

Scientists have set out to understand the insect’s flavor profile, comparing aromas of its lifecycle in egg, larva, pupa and adult stages.

Through a variety of cooking techniques, the mealworms gave off a diverse range of aromas. For instance, raw larvae had wet soil-like, shrimp-like and sweet corn-like aromas, while roasted or fried larvae had shrimp-like and fried oil-like attributes and created flavor compounds similar to those formed when meat and seafood are cooked.

Additionally, the mealworms were cooked with sugar to create caramelization reactions, producing meat-like and savory flavors.

Though mealworms will not likely take down the livestock industry any time soon, Cho is hopeful that the study’s results “will contribute to the commercial development of meat-like and savory flavorings and seasonings, and will encourage the convenience food industry to include edible insects in their products.”

Beef jerky, pork rinds or mealworm mix? Someday that could be up to you to decide.

FAQs on COVID-19 Vaccination with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:55:55 GMT

To answer common questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. Surgeon General vice admiral Dr. Vivek Murthy joined AgriTalk on May 4. This was the same day President Joe Biden shared the goal for 70% of adults in America to have had at least one shot of the vaccine by July 4.

“The progress report is good,” Murthy says. “We have made tremendous progress in vaccinating the country to date. If you look at people above the age of 65, we’ve gotten at least one dose of the vaccine into more than 80%, which is pretty extraordinary. And we have about 70% of our seniors who are now fully vaccinated.”

But even with those 150 million people who have had at least one shot, Murthy says the country needs to have another 100 million shots administered in the next 60 days to reach the president’s next goal by July 4.

You can listen to the full interview with Murthy here:

On the segment, Murthy answered several commonly asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine:

Do we have enough supply?

“Here in America, we have done a good job of bolstering our supply. So we do have more and more vaccine available for those who want it. And we also, very importantly, have more places where you can get a vaccine.”

What is being done to increase access to the vaccine?

“There are over 40,000 pharmacies in the country that now have vaccine to offer. We have community vaccination sites, we have community health centers where we’ve actually directly delivered vaccine from the federal government and we’ve got more primary care doctors who are getting vaccine direct-ly in their offices so they can give it to patients. The President and the administration will be providing more direct funding and support to rural health clinics to support outreach as well as direct allocation of vaccine to rural health clinics so they can directly vaccinate their own patients.”

How is access being improved specifically to rural America?

“We know rural areas are different from urban areas, people are more spread out, it’s not always as easy to travel to one location that’s close to everyone to get a vaccine. So we’ve got to work through some of those logistical barriers, which is why the funding for the rural health clinics and for these mobile units is so important. But we also know everyone looked gets information from different sources. We’re a big country. Not everyone listens to the same news station, radio station and that means we’ve got to do more work in getting information out, and particularly through people’s doctors, which is the reason behind one of the projects we launched. From my office and other offices in the government it’s something called COVID-19 Community Core, where we bring together doctors, nurses, faith leaders, local business leaders and others to get the accurate information they know they and their communities want and to be able to share that with them.

In addition to people trusting the doctors and nurses who take care of them, we know about 50% of people say they would take the advice of a family member or friend when it comes to making a decision on the vaccine. What that means is even if you don’t have a medical degree or a nursing degree, you can still be a vital force in helping people understand the vaccines we have for COVID-19 are a way to protect them against COVID and a way, ultimately, for us to help turn this pandemic around.”

Why are people hesitant to get the vaccine?

“We’ve seen a lot of news stories about people being hesitant to get the vaccine. But what we’re finding actually is people who haven’t gotten vaccinated yet it’s a combination of a few things. Some people have questions, which are important to answer. We want people to get answers from reliable sources, like their doctors or their nurses who take care of them. But we also know some people are wondering if it’s really that important for them to get vaccinated. Maybe they’re young and healthy, and they think, ‘Hey, I’m not at high risk of a bad outcome, do I really need to get this vaccine?’, or maybe they’re working two or three jobs and don’t have transportation to get to a vaccine center.

We’re trying to work on all three fronts to make sure we’re working closely with doctors and nurses around the country, as well as pastors and other faith leaders, to help get information to their com-munities. But we’re also trying to improve the number of access points so it’s easier and easier hope-fully over the weeks ahead for people to get vaccines in their pharmacy, in their doctor’s office or in their neighborhoods.”

Should people who have had COVID-19 get vaccinated?

“The answer is yes. And here’s why. It turns out the immunity you get from a natural infection is actually not as robust. It’s not as strong as the protection you get from the vaccine. So you’re more likely to be at risk for reinfection. That’s why we’re asking everyone to get vaccinated regardless of their prior infection.”

What if people still have questions?

“I always say our health is personal to us. And if you have questions, you absolutely have a right to get those questions answered because ultimately, it’s your health. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about the vaccine.

Recognize 90% of doctors in this country have either gotten the vaccine or are planning to get it as soon as possible. That tells you about the faith the medical profession has in the vaccine.
Keep in mind these vaccines, even though it seems like they were developed on a quick timeframe, the technology behind them has been in development for decades.
We are lucky enough to see the culmination of that research, and these vaccines have been studied rigorously in clinical trials and what we’ve seen with nearly 150 million people having received at least one dose of the vaccine is this side effect profile remains really strong in terms of safety. The effectiveness remains extraordinarily strong and high as well. That’s what you want to see — high effectiveness and very low risk in any vaccine you take.
I know many people are worried about the side effects of the vaccine. But first of all, the vast majority of people don’t have side effects from this vaccine. Those who do tend to experience one to two days of flu-like symptoms, meaning fatigue, maybe a low-grade fever and a body ache, but that lasts for about a day or two. Then it goes away, and they feel pretty good. Afterward what you’re left with is protection from the vaccine.

“It’s certainly a blessing to be able to serve the country, especially at a time like this during this pandemic crisis. I’m eager to do everything I can to help,” Murthy says.

USDA Announces $700 Million in Grants to Help Ag Workers Impacted by COVID-19

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:55:16 GMT

USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced on Monday that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs.

Additionally, to recognize the essential role and costs borne by front-line grocery workers, $20 million of this amount has been set aside for at least one pilot program to support grocery workers and test options for reaching them in the future, USDA said in a release. The new program is funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and is part of USDA’s Build Back Better efforts to respond and recover from the pandemic.

“As we celebrate the social and economic achievements of our nation’s workers on Labor Day, we recognize that our farmworkers, meat packing workers, and grocery workers overcame unprecedented challenges and took on significant personal risk to ensure Americans could feed and sustain their families throughout the pandemic,” Vilsack said in a release. “They deserve recognition for their resilience and financial support for their efforts to meet personal and family needs while continuing to provide essential services.”

Vilsack said this grant program is another component of this Administration’s efforts to ensure assistance to alleviate the effects of the pandemic is distributed to those who need it most. It will provide relief to farmworkers, meatpacking workers and front-line grocery workers for expenses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The financial support is intended to defray costs for reasonable and necessary personal, family or living expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as costs for personal protective equipment (PPE), dependent care and expenses associated with quarantines and testing related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Request for Application (RFA) will be announced in early Fall and will be open for 60 days. Additional information and technical assistance for applying to these grants and program updates will be provided by USDA when the application period opens, USDA notes in a release.

Funds will be awarded through grants to state agencies, Tribal entities and non-profit organizations serving farmworkers and meatpacking workers ranging from $5,000,000 to $50,000,000. USDA is setting aside $20 million for at least one pilot to provide targeted support to front-line grocery workers.

Eligible entities must demonstrate the capacity to reimburse farmworkers and meatpacking workers for up to $600 for expenses incurred due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The USDA encourages grant applications that demonstrate trusted communications networks with farmworkers, meatpacking workers and/or front-line grocery workers, as well as strong financial controls, USDA said. Applicants should show connectedness to hard-to-reach worker populations either directly or in partnerships with other local organizations. Applicants should be able to describe how they will partner with smaller organizations to facilitate financial relief to such populations.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will offer technical assistance through one or more partners and webinars for applicants to help them understand the RFA, once it is published. For more information, visit www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/ffwr . Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov .

USDA said it will soon be announcing a separate $700 million suite of pandemic safety and response grants for producers, processors, farmers markets, distributors and seafood processors and vessels impacted by COVID-19.

More from Farm Journal’s PORK:

ASF Vaccines: Is the Waiting Game Almost Over?

Tyson Foods, Unions Strike Deal Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Plant-Based Food Isn't Healthier: New Book Sets Out to Debunk Myths

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 20:31:30 GMT

A new book about why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet is turning heads. Jayne Buxton, a British-based investigative journalist, digs into the concept that plant-based food is the best for one’s health and proves why it’s misleading.

Every day consumers are bombarded with the message that they must reduce consumption of meat and dairy or eliminate them from their diets altogether.

Buxton sets out to answer two ‘what-if’ questions.

What if the pervasive message that the plant-based diet will improve our health and save the planet is misleading - or even false?
What if removing animal foods from our diet is a serious threat to human health, and a red herring in the fight against climate change?

In the book, she draws on the work of numerous health experts and researchers, uncovering how the separate efforts of a constellation of individuals, companies and organizations are leading the globe down a dietary road that will have severe repercussions for health and wellbeing, and for the future of the planet, Amazon says.

Her ultimate goal is not to take on an anti-plant or anti-vegan agenda, but rather to help consumers make more informed decisions about the food they choose to eat.

Buxton is an ambassador for the Real Food Campaign and the Public Health Collaboration , two U.K.-based organizations focused on global food issues and improving public health through better lifestyle choices.

Read More:

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$10-Million USDA Grant to Develop Cell-Cultivated Meat in Bioreactors

Premium Alfalfa Hay Delivered by Amazon Prime

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:37:12 GMT

According to EarthWeb, Amazon reports that its Prime version had more than 200 million members in 22 countries in April 2021. From accessories to clothing to toiletries, households can get just about anything with one click through their Amazon app.

Dairy farmer, Steve Maddox knew his wife loved Amazon. Recently he also found a newfound love, as he began utilizing their shipping service. Earlier this month, an Amazon Prime truck hauled premium alfalfa dairy hay from his Logan, Utah hay ranch to his Riverdale, Calif. dairy farm.

Amazon worked with a dispatcher who then was able to fill the truck with Maddox’s milk cow alfalfa hay. Although, the load of hay didn’t qualify for free shipping.

“Amazon Prime back hauled 21 tons of hay from our hay ranch to our dairy,” Maddox shares. “The cost of shipping was $1,250.”

He says his hay trucking cost is down from its peak in December 2021, at around $2,000, but up considerably from 8 years ago.

“The cost of trucking from Utah to California back then was between $900 to $1,000,” he says.

Maddox Dairy milks 4,000 cows, with an equal number of heifers, and farms 1,600 acres of almonds and 3,00 acres of wine grapes, as well as cropland to supply feed for their cattle.

According to Maddox, Amazon Prime has many orders heading east but lacks loads coming west.

“They look to backhaul,” he shares.

Delivered in a straight truck, Maddox says they use a forklift and a ramp to underload the 1,400 lb. bales.

(Farm Journal)

“We have 2,500 tons of hay that will get moved from Utah to California,” Maddox says. “That is 120 loads that are trucked from June to the first part of November. Sometimes we will store the hay in Utah and move it west when we need it.”

Amazon is known for its quick deliveries and when the big semi-truck showed up, Maddox didn’t question what his wife had ordered and realized there are many benefits to holding a Prime membership.

July Farm Country Forecast: Hot Like a Firecracker

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 20:42:05 GMT

Unfortunately, the heat, humidity and dry conditions of early summer look to extend into the next few months.

Widespread moderate drought and abnormal dryness continued to form and expand across a large swath of the eastern U.S. this week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor . In addition, a few areas of severe drought are expanding.

Spotty rain and storms occurred across the East, but in areas that missed out on heavy rainfall, high temperatures, browning lawns, and curling corn signaled that rapid drying was taking place.

(Farm Journal)

Watch AgDay’s Weather Forecast for July and beyond:

For July, Matt Yarosewick, AgDay meteorologist, says to expect above-normal temperatures over most of the lower 48 states, from parts of the central and southern Rockies down through the Southwest through much of Texas and the Gulf Coast.

“Then if we look at the precipitation through July, expect drought to keep growing east of really Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma up into the Midwest parts and into of the Corn Belt,” he says.

For August, September and October, Yarosewick says most of the country will see above or well-above normal temperatures.

(Farm Journal)

In terms of precipitation, he says the July conditions of below-normal showers and storms will continue through early fall.

(Farm Journal)

“It will be very, very dry right in the center of the country and even back into the northern Plains and Northern Rockies,” he says. “That could really amplify the drought, especially as we head all the way through this harvest season. As we get closer to harvest, things are going to really start to dry out, unfortunately.”

The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook shows soil moisture has decreased considerably across the Mississippi Valley and central Corn Belt, increasing vulnerability to short-term rapid drought development through July.

Given the forecasts favoring above-average temperatures, drought developing in this region would be favored to persist through the end of September, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

(Farm Journal)

Read More

Dry Weather Status in 4 Maps: Could We See a Flash Drought?

Summer Solstice Sparks Beginning of Flash Drought in the Midwest

Third Year of La Niña on the Horizon as Drought Continues in the Plains

First Human Case of Avian Flu in the U.S. Confirmed in Colorado

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 14:30:36 GMT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that a person in Colorado has tested positive for avian influenza.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) said the man is mostly asymptomatic, reporting only fatigue. He is now isolating and taking the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) per CDC direction.

“This case occurred in a person who had direct exposure to poultry and was involved in the culling (depopulating) of poultry with presumptive H5N1 bird flu,” the CDC reported in a press release.

This is the first human case in the U.S. associated with this specific group of H5 viruses that are currently predominant.

The last major outbreak of H5N1 in 2015 the was the worst animal disease outbreak recorded in U.S. history, according to the USDA. Officials are concerned 2022 outbreaks could surpass that year.

Risk Of Infection Is Low

The CDC said it is possible the detection of H5 bird flu in this “specimen is a result of surface contamination of the nasal membrane, that can’t be determined at this point and the positive test result meets the criteria for an H5 case. The appropriate public health response at this time is to assume this is an infection and take actions to contain and treat.”

This case does not change the human risk assessment for the general public, which CDC considers to be low. However, people who have job-related or recreational exposures to infected birds are at higher risk of infection should take appropriate precautions outlined in CDC guidance.

Monitoring Is Ongoing

CDC has been monitoring for illness among people exposed to H5N1 virus-infected birds since these outbreaks were detected in U.S. wild birds and poultry in late 2021 and into 2022.

To date, H5N1 viruses have been found in U.S. commercial and backyard birds in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states. CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people with exposures to H5N1 virus-infected birds and this is the only case that has been found to date. Other people involved in the culling operation in Colorado have tested negative for H5 virus infection, but they are being retested, CDC said.

More information is available at www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0428-avian-flu.html

Drought Coverage Now Rivals 2012, Wheat Belt and Cattle Country Conditions Continue to Crumble

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:09:14 GMT

Drought covering the continental U.S. grew by 2 points this week, now covering nearly 60% of the country. As drought continues to grow, it’s now rivaling the 2012 drought, when drought coverage peaked at 65.5% of the U.S in September 2012.

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says when you step back and look at the broader picture, drought is still parked over 59% of the U.S., the most since 2012. While he has growing concerns for the state of drought today, he says his biggest trepidation sits with one major crop.

“By far the Wheat Belt is the biggest concern,” says Rippey. If you look at crop conditions in areas where the crops starting to actively grow. It’s absolutely terrible.”

(Farm Journal)

Wheat conditions are showing the scars from little to no moisture. Rippey says the story can be found in wheat conditions from Texas to Kansas, but also pasture conditions that continue to struggle from little to no rain.

“In Texas, you have three-quarters of the winter wheat crop rated in very poor condition. Almost that much of the range land and pasture land 69% currently rated very poor to poor and soil moisture in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. At least 75% very short to short at the end of February.”

Some farmers say wheat on dryland acres has even sprouted yet, as the crop is running out of time.

“We are into showtime in the South and Texas, wheat is already heading out in the far southern portion of the state,” says Rippey. “Statewide, I think about one-eighth of the crop is reporting heading, and so it is time for growth. Plants are demanding moisture. And despite a couple of winter storms, recently, a little bit of ice and snow in Texas, it is so critically dry. Without any big change in the pattern, that will quickly spread northward into Kansas, Nebraska, and eventually the western Dakotas and Montana over the next few weeks.”

(Farm Journal)

As drought has gripped much of the West all year, the streak is historic. Rippey says drought has now covered more than 40% of the country for 75 weeks. That beast the previous record set from June 19, 2012 through October 1, 2013 of 68 weeks by a long shot.

The latest season drought outlook doesn’t paint much hope for those areas, either. As it shows drought persisting, or even intensifying through the end of May. Rippey says La Nina is lending no favors to areas seeing the stubbornness of drought.

“It doesn’t look like there’s going to be any big change before the start of the growing season,” says Rippey. “Here we are in the spring of 2022, facing significantly more drought than we had going into the spring of 2012. We’ve still got La Nina sticking around enough to influence weather patterns. And that’s a huge concern for the great plains for the Southwest. Along the gulf coast, even into the southeast.”

(Farm Journal)

Come On In: The Ocean Temperatures Are Hot

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 14:59:37 GMT

Last year was hot. It was so hot, 2021 now holds the record for the hottest ocean temperatures ever. That’s according to an annual study published in “ Advances in Atmospheric Sciences .”

Earth’s average land and ocean surface temperature in 2021 was 1.51 degrees °F (0.84 of a degree C) above the 20th-century average, according to officials at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

(Farm Journal)

2021 was the 45th consecutive year since 1977 in which global temperatures ranked higher than the 20th-century average, per NOAA , providing yet another indication of the effect of climate change on the planet. High ocean-heat content can contribute to sea-level rise.

Researchers blame human activity for rising water temperature, because oceans absorb heat from the atmosphere.

“The increase in carbon emissions will lead to more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” says Matt Yarosewick, AgDay meteorologist. “If we have more of these, they almost act as a blanket. Some of the solar radiation from the sun will get reflected back into space, but the radiation that makes it to the ground will then have to deal with the greenhouse gases on the way back out.”

When the sun heats the ground, he says, the ground heats the air. The solar radiation is absorbed by the ground and is then released in the form of heat into our atmosphere.

“Some of that heat is allowed to escape through the atmosphere and back into space, while some is held in by the greenhouse gases,” Yarosewick says. “This will then cause a warming effect over time of our overall global temperature.”

Water will absorb any heat and if the global temperatures go up, then the ocean temperatures should follow that same pattern, he explains. This also causes stronger storms.

“The warmer the water, the more moisture will be allowed to evaporate and increase not only rain rates and heavy precipitation but also the ‘fuel’ for the storms increases,” Yarosewick says.

Additional NOAA weather findings for 2021 :

The average annual sea ice cover in the Arctic was approximately 4.08-million square miles — the ninth-smallest annual average cover recorded between 1979 and 2021. The last seven years (2015-2021) had an annual sea ice extent that ranked among the 10 smallest on record, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Centeroffsite link.
There was an above-average number of tropical cyclones around the world in 2021, with a total of 94 named storms. This value ties with 1994 as the 10th-highest number of named storms in the 41-year record.
December’s average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.49 degrees °F (0.83 of a degree C) above the 20th-century average. This value was tied with 2016 as Earth’s fifth-warmest December in 142 years

EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Fauci on COVID Pandemic — "It Will End"

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 21:38:57 GMT

The omicron variant surge of COVID-19 might appear to be cresting in some big cities, but the latest wave is far from over, especially in many rural communities, says Dr. Anthony Fauci. The chief medical adviser to President Biden says smaller towns should expect omicron outbreaks to increase in the coming weeks.

“When you have an outbreak of a new variant, there’s a delay,” says Dr. Fauci regarding rural outbreak trends. “Rather than have the sharp peak and then come down, you sort of gradually go up and then come back down.”

In a one-on-one interview with Farm Journal Editor and AgDay TV host, Clinton Griffiths, Dr. Fauci says as vaccination numbers and unvaccinated COVID survivors increase the pandemic will end.

“It will end. I can guarantee you and your viewers it will end hopefully sooner rather than later,” Dr. Fauci says. “We will reach a point where the virus will be low enough in the community as to not have any impact on what we do, so we can get ourselves back to some form of normality and it doesn’t interrupt the economy or interrupt our way of life. That’s what we’re hoping we’re going to see within a reasonable period of time.”

(Watch Full Interview Above)

The highly transmissible omicron variant has helped to push COVID-19 positive rates higher since late fall. The weekly rolling average of COVID-19 deaths is now at 1,700. That’s about half what it was in January 2021.

“If you look at the devastation in this country thus far, we’ve had 850,000 deaths and about 66 million cases,” Dr. Fauci says.

New models from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub , created by university and health experts, which now factor in the omicron variant, expect up to 2.38 million hospitalizations and 304,000 deaths, at worst, and 409,000 hospitalizations and 54,000 deaths, at best, from mid-December through mid-March. Those models show the omicron peak sometime between February and March.

(Farm Journal)

“To be sure, there are breakthrough infections, namely, people get vaccinated and even boosted, and they may get infected,” says Dr. Fauci. “For the most part, though, those infections are either without symptoms or minimally symptomatic.”

Dr. Fauci says in many, but not all, rural areas, vaccination rates are lower compared with the rest of the country. While strongly advocating for vaccines and boosters to prevent hospitalization or severe illness, Dr. Fauci recognizes all immunity will ultimately work together against the coronavirus.

“I think when you get a situation of more and more people getting vaccinated and boosted or unfortunately, people getting sick or getting infected, then recovering and having a degree of protection, if you combine those two, there will be enough protection in the country,” says Fauci in reference to an eventual end of the pandemic.

The federal government is now offering free coronavirus test kits to some Americans. Those with a valid residential address can go to COVIDTests.gov to get one set of four free at-home COVID tests starting in late January.

Ordinary to Outrageous: Top 10 Agricultural Seizures of 2021

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:42:12 GMT

It’s no surprise pork products made the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Top 10 Agriculture Seizures of 2021 list more than once. Keeping deadly diseases of plants and animals out of the U.S. is a high priority for CBP, especially as the deadly African swine fever (ASF) virus moves closer to the U.S.

In the past year alone, CBP issued 73,917 emergency action notifications for restricted and prohibited plant and animal products entering the U.S., the agency reports . In addition, CBP conducted 630,150 positive passenger inspections and issued 7,190 civil penalties and/or violations to the traveling public for failing to declare prohibited agriculture items.

Here are the Top 10 agricultural finds of 2021 from throughout the U.S.:

1. Papaya-Hidden Marijuana

In February, CBP officers at the commercial facility at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry seized more than 12,000 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $27 million found commingled within a shipment of papayas. A CBP narcotic detector dog immediately alerted to the shipment during a second inspection, and officers discovered 873 wrapped packages of marijuana.

2. Avian Eggs

In April, CBP ag specialists at the port of Memphis, Tenn., inspected a shipment from China on its way to New York City manifested as “The Scarf” and found that the shipment actually contained 750 unfertilized avian eggs. According to USDA, China is currently affected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease, both of which are highly contagious and fatal to the U.S. poultry industry and various avian wildlife. The eggs were not accompanied by any documentation detailing the genus or species, nor was there any indication of their purpose, so they were destroyed.

3. Giant Land Snails and a ¼ Pound of Beef

CBP ag specialists working at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston intercepted 15 live giant land snails from a passenger’s luggage in early July. The passenger was traveling from Nigeria and initially only declared dried beef, but later amended her declaration to include live snails. During an examination of the passenger’s luggage, agriculture specialists found three plastic zip-closed bags containing the live snails with fresh leaves and about a quarter pound of beef. The snails were turned over to USDA, who identified the snails as giant land snails, also known as banana rasp snails.

4. Pork Sausages

In August, CBP agriculture specialists assigned to the Boston Logan International Airport encountered a 35-year-old female arriving from Santiago, Dominican Republic. During a baggage examination, 11 kilograms of pork sausages were discovered. Just a month prior, Dominican Republic officials confirmed the presence of African swine fever, a highly contagious disease of feral and domestic swine. The pork sausages at the Boston airport were removed and turned over to a USDA hauler for destruction.

(Farm Journal)

Ag specialists uncovered 320 pounds of pork bologna and 30 pounds of turkey ham at the Paso Del Norte Border Crossing. Photo by U.S. CBP.

5. A Bunch of Bologna

CBP ag specialists assigned to the Paso Del Norte Border Crossing seized 320 pounds of pork bologna and 30 pounds of turkey ham in August. The meat was discovered during an inspection and had been hidden under blankets, under the seats, center console and inside a duffel bag. The individual was issued a $1,000 civil penalty, and the products were confiscated.

6. Botulinum and E.coli DNA Plasmids

A traveler arriving from Japan “reluctantly declared” he was in possession of Botulinum and E. coli DNA plasmids intended for research in September, CBP reports. An inspection revealed 27 vials of the biological material. The traveler lacked the required documents, including the official statement attesting to the non-infectiousness of the material, required by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After reviewing the samples, CDC agreed that more information was needed to determine admissibility. The traveler withdrew his application for admission to the U.S. and returned to his country with the biological materials.

7. Butterfly Larvae

Also in September, CBP agriculture specialists at the Port of Gulfport discovered a butterfly larvae pest, informally known as the Saunders 1850, while inspecting a shipment container of pineapples from Costa Rica. Due to the potential impact to U.S. agriculture, the shipment of pineapples, worth $15,000, was destroyed. According to USDA, this was the first time this species had been discovered in the United States.

8. Primate Arms, Dry Fish, Cooked Snails, Cow Skin and What?

In October, CBP’s agriculture team in Minneapolis discovered six large bags containing clothing, two primate arms, dry fish, cooked snails, plant material, cow skin, bushmeat and eru plant material. After notifying the CDC, the team seized the primate arms and bushmeat and destroyed them according to USDA protocol. The seeds were submitted to USDA for identification and the passenger was informed of human-health concerns with handling and consuming bushmeat, including the potential transmission of ebola and monkeypox viruses.

(Farm Journal)

A total of 47 roosters and hens were found wrapped in stockings inside a purse, and underneath the seats, floor mats, inside the glove compartment and trunk of a vehicle at the Laredo Port of Entry. Photo by U.S. CBP.

9. Live Poultry

CBP officers at the Laredo Port of Entry intercepted a l arge clutch of live poultry hidden throughout a vehicle back in November. A total of 47 roosters and hens were found wrapped in stockings inside a purse, and underneath the seats, floor mats, inside the glove compartment and trunk of a vehicle in the SENTRI lane. A $500 penalty was issued to the driver for attempting to import prohibited agriculture items while being a SENTRI card holder. The SENTRI card was turned in to the SENTRI Enrollment Center, the vehicle was seized by CBP under 19 USC 1595, and the live poultry were seized and transferred to USDA’s Veterinary Services.

10. Fresh Peppers

In December, CBP ag specialists in Newark encountered a shipment of fresh peppers from Guatemala. During document review, the provided phytosanitary certificate, which must be used to facilitate importer plants and plant products, was blurry, and an original certificate could not be found. It was later discovered that the certification was fraudulent, which can alter the options for phytosanitary actions that must be taken to prevent the entry of plant pests, prohibited plant products, or animal products capable of introducing foreign animal diseases.

In an attempt to ease the process for travelers needing to declare agriculture and biological products prior to arriving at an airport in the U.S., CBP has moved the declaration process to the CBP One mobile application, which will give travelers more transparency throughout the request process, including real-time status updates by way of pushed notifications, which can also be sent to a group email, CBP reports. Travelers can also upload documents such as accompanying permits, certificates or statements of non-infectiousness for CBP review prior to arrival. Learn more here .

More from Farm Journal’s PORK:

The Chickens That Didn’t Cross the Road in Laredo

$53 million in narcotics found in truck carrying Mexican cauliflower

Federal Agents Prevent Smuggled Animal Products from Entering the U.S.

K-9 “Kody” Sniffs Out Prohibited Sausages at Newark Airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepts meth in strawberries

CBP Ag Specialists Block Bologna at Border Crossing

Let’s Talk Turkey: Fun Facts to Spread the Story of Agriculture

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 16:55:07 GMT

As the frantic pace of harvest winds down, we can reflect on another season of abundant effort. The vital work of farmers and ranchers is not always easy — as we saw in 2020. Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to remember despite challenges, we all have many reasons to be grateful.

As you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration, brush up on your knowledge about the traditional holiday dishes:

Turkeys: The U.S. is No. 1 in global turkey production. Turkey consumption has nearly doubled since 1970. In 2020, U.S. consumption of turkey was 5.26 billion pounds and 16 pounds per person. Last year these states produced the most turkeys:
- Minnesota – 40 million birds
- North Carolina – 31 million birds
- Arkansas – 30 million birds
- Indiana - 20 million birds
- Missouri – 17 million birds
- Virginia - 16 million birds
- Iowa - 11.7 million birds
- California – 8 million birds
Potatoes: The U.S. ranks fifth in global potato production. North Carolina is the leading sweet potato producing state, while Idaho grows the most white potatoes.
Cranberries: The U.S. is No. 1 in global cranberry production. Wisconsin leads the U.S. in production.
Pecans: The U.S. is No. 1 in global pecan production. New Mexico leads the U.S. in pecan production.
Pumpkins: The U.S. is fifth in global pumpkin production. Illinois leads the U.S. in pumpkin production.

Sources: USDA, National Turkey Federation

Join AgDay and U.S. Farm Report on Thanksgiving as they pay tribute to the amazing work and stories throughout America’s countryside in the annual “Harvest of Thanks” special.

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Kansas State Research Reveals This Feeding Practice Shows Sustainable Solutions for Raising Cattle

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 21:11:56 GMT

The United States and European Union have pledged another way to tackle climate change, and it could have a direct impact on agriculture. The pledge is to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by the end of the decade, with President Joe Biden saying the move will have a wide impact.

“This will not only rapidly reduce the rate of global warming, but it will also produce a very valuable side benefit like improving public health and agricultural output,” said Biden.

Work Already Underway for Sustainable Solutions in Beef Production

While the recently outlined goal from the Biden administration is new, work is already underway to uncover even more sustainable solutions in beef production, even beyond just focusing on methane. Recently, a Kansas State University study showed a feeding practice already utilized by some cattle producers could also limit the amount of manure produced by cattle in the U.S., a finding that also has economic benefits for cattle producers.

“We are at the KSU Beef Stocker Unit,” says Dale Blasi, professor and extension specialist in Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management, Kansas State University. “This is one of several units located within the department of animal sciences and industries, located about five miles north and west outside of Manhattan, Kansas.”

The KSU Beef Stocker Unit Is a second home for Blasi and his team. Sitting in the middle of the Flint Hills and on the edge of Manhattan, the research being done on cattle is already revealing major economic and environmental benefits of limit feeding, a practice that isn’t new in cattle production, having been around for several years.

“For the better part of five years, our unit has focused specifically on the use of limit feeding as a means by which to reduce input requirements and provide comparable levels of production in our beef cattle,” explains Blasi.

According to the Kansas State researcher, limit- or program-feeding refers to the practice of limiting calves to two-thirds to three-quarters of the dry matter that they can normally consume. While limit feeding often occurs when producers have limited access to forage, due to weather challenges like drought, Blasi says the practice is producing promising results year-round, no matter the weather circumstances.

“Limit feeding is feeding specifically to the NRC requirements, where we essentially program getting calves to a certain level of gain,” adds Blasi. “So, we are able to measure that performance on a weekly basis by weighing them as a pen group, and adjust their intake of the diets that we feed.”

Minimizing Manure

While the KSU research is solely focused on the sustainability of cattle producers’ operations, the economic and environmental findings are starting to add up. Limit feeding may not be new for U.S. cattle producers, what Blasi is uncovering could have a significant impact on the cattle industry. The research at KSU - funded by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) - is finding that the practice not only improves feed efficiency in cattle, it dramatically reduces the amount of manure cattle produce.

“What we’re able to determine from our research, and by doing the intensive digestibility work with our cattle is calculate the amount of manure that is produced from the to various diets, and our previous research over the last five years suggests a reduction in manure output of about 35%,” says Blasi.

The findings of the research aren’t just showing up in the data Blasi and KSU research assistants are collecting, but the results are hard to miss when visiting the KSU Stocker Unit. As Blasi walked through the unit, he pointed to two pens, side by side. One pen was fed with a traditional diet of mostly roughage.

“Our limit feeding diet consists of only about 13% roughage, that’s versus 45% on the ad lib,” says Blasi.

The other pen, which visually showed less waste from the cattle, was one fed with the alternative limit feeding recipe.

“Over here, we have the more digester digestible, the limit-fed diet that is comprised of about 40% of a co-product,” says Blasi.

The co-product in the limit fed diet is either dried distiller’s grains, or wet corn gluten feed, and with about 38% corn. And Blasi says the limit feeding concoction is highly digestible, with a visual difference of less waste.

“Because of the material the animal ingests is much more highly digestible, and as a result, there’s less of it coming out of the animal,” he says.

The two different diets are fed year-round, with the research trials lasting anywhere from 45 to 120 days on these calves. Students document observations in the pens, with ear tags also constantly collecting data.

“Alongside with our work, and we’re incorporating this technology to try to give us a better job in terms of understanding what is happening in a pen setting,” he says.

Convenience and Feasibility Aspect of Limit Feeding

Data continues to pour in showing while the environmental and economic benefits add up, convenience is also key.

“In Kansas, we are prone to drought as many other parts of the country are, but the roughage in and of itself is a real inconvenience for our producers,” he says.

An issue in some producers sourcing enough roughage, is another added benefit for which Blasi sees limit feeding as a solution.

While the research at Kanas State is searching for sustainable answers for cattle production in the future, it’s also producing practical applications in the short-run

“Typically, the cattle can clean up their bunks completely within about a five-to-six-hour timeframe,” says Blasi. “And so, if there is a rain event or a snow event, there’s no need to clean the bunks; they’ve already cleaned and stripped it dry.”

The feasible answers are showing up for a problem some producers didn’t even realize they could fix.

“There have not been any downfalls which we feel very confident to the point where we can initiate the feeding of this diet one day after arrival of these calves,” adds Blasi. “We’re able to step them up approximately about one-quarter of a percent per day. So, we can have these calves on full feed for our intended diet. As we go through our receiving and our various research studies, we can feed them and hold them at about 2.2% of their body weight.”

The Kansas State University research continues to show a solution that could help propel the cattle industry’s quest to bring even more sustainable solutions for producers, both economically and environmentally.