City council in Fremont, Nebraska, unanimously approves plans that would expand proposed size of poultry plant and hatchery. The new plans state that the plant would cover an area of 360,000 square feet, up substantially from the earlier proposed size of 250,000 square feet. The other amended plan is for an associated hatchery. [node:read-more:link]
In Australia, and more specifically in the state of New South Wales, discussions have been taking place in an effort to address at least the trespassing issue without making undercover video filming itself illegal. A series of joint roundtable meetings have been taking place between the state and federal governments and those in livestock and poultry production to discuss the problem of members of animal rights groups trespassing to film videos of alleged or legitimate animal mistreatment. [node:read-more:link]
Federal programs designed to help farmers set aside more habitat for bees and wildlife have produced a dangerous offshoot this year: Some mixes used to plant native grasses and flowers were contaminated with harmful weed seeds that have now been introduced onto hundreds of farms in several Midwestern states, including Minnesota. The weeds include Palmer amaranth, one of the most prolific and devastating weeds in the country for corn, soybeans and other row crops. [node:read-more:link]
The state has pledged $2.5 million in tax credits and grants for a new cheese manufacturing plant scheduled to open in western New York in about a year. The state has pledged $2.5 million in tax credits and grants for a new cheese manufacturing plant scheduled to open in western New York in about a year. [node:read-more:link]
Many of us in the meat and poultry industry and our antagonists, the animal rights community, spew forth hateful rhetoric at each other similar to what we witnessed during the recent election campaign. It sickens me. And, what has it gotten either of us? The words that emanate from both sides like “cowards” and “murderers” and the like have no basis in fact or logic. They are the mind’s interpretations of words and actions and they are often not even close to the truth.In past blogs, I have called for direct discussions between the meat industry whose goal is to grow consumption of meat [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Trade Representative is planning a public hearing in mid-February to consider possibly reinstating punitive trade measures against the European Union over the EU's ban on beef grown with certain hormone implants. The hearing starts the process of possibly imposing punitive tariffs on as much as $116.8 million on imports from the EU. USTR is taking such actions even as the Obama administration is preparing to leave and President-elect Donald Trump has yet to name a U.S. trade ambassador to oversee the agency. Nonetheless, the USTR set a Feb. [node:read-more:link]
The World Trade Organization has ruled in favor of the U.S. and New Zealand against Indonesia’s restrictions on its imports of fruits, vegetables and meats. The restrictions cost about $115 million in U.S. agricultural exports to Indonesia in 2015, including $28 million worth of apples and more than $29 million worth of grapes. Prior to restrictions begun in 2012, Indonesia was a 2.7-million-box per year Washington apple market, Powers said. [node:read-more:link]
In the United States, about 17 percent of cows are treated with bovine growth hormone, called rBGH, which increases milk production. The milk produced from these cows has no more growth hormone than milk produced from cows who are not given the hormone. Further, growth hormone is not well-absorbed, and bovine growth hormone is not active in humans. So, there is no effect from cows treated with this hormone in terms of height of human children. [node:read-more:link]
Panera Bread has revealed a new animal welfare policy concerning its broiler chicken supply, which includes a commitment to only source slower-growing chicken breeds by 2024. In addition to committing to only using slower-growing broiler breeds in its supply chain, the restaurant chain also promised to:Provide birds more space by reducing its stocking density Offer improved environments for the chicken, including litter, lighting and enrichment. Ensure that birds are rendered unconscious using multi-step controlled atmospheric stunning [node:read-more:link]
The first outbreak of HPAI since July of 2015 has been confirmed in England. Nearly all of the flock of 2,428 housed turkeys at the farm in Louth in the county of Lincolnshire died, and the rest have been destroyed. The presence of the H5N8 virus has been confirmed, the same variant that has been affecting other parts of Europe in recent weeks. [node:read-more:link]
