PPE use ‘not optimal’ among poultry workers infected with bird flu
Despite the discovery of bird flu among five workers at a Colorado egg farm, there is no reason to vaccinate livestock workers against the viral disease, said a top CDC official on Tuesday. Nirav Shah, CDC principal deputy director, said a heat wave, with temperatures above 100 degrees, may have discouraged workers from wearing a full set of protective gear.
In farming, age is just a (wrong) number
The average age of U.S. farmers seems to climb ever higher — it rose to 58.1 years in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. But the country is not going to run out of farmers, or of food, said an analysis published by the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday. The operators of the largest farms, which produce half of U.S. food, fiber, and feed, are notably younger than farmers in general, based on different and more detailed USDA data.
Colorado workers are first since 2022 to catch bird flu from poultry
A total of five workers — two more than initially reported — contracted mild cases of bird flu while culling infected chickens with the viral disease on an egg farm, said Colorado public health officials. They were the first poultry workers known to have contracted bird flu since May 2022; four dairy farmworkers have been diagnosed with the disease, which is also spread by cows, since April, including one in Colorado.
Lawsuit challenges U.S. over conservation leases on public land
A new Interior Department rule allowing conservation leases on public land "is flatly inconsistent" with federal land management laws, said a dozen farming, petroleum, mining, electric power, and timber groups in a lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in Wyoming. The lawsuit is one of the first to be filed against a federal regulation since the Supreme Court decision in late June that reduced the leeway given to agencies to interpret the law.
Vance will work for farmers, says Trump
Former president Donald Trump chose Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate on Monday, tasking him with the job of campaigning for the votes of farmers and workers in the Democratic "Blue Wall" states of the Midwest. Vance, a one-time critic of Trump, vaulted to celebrity as author of Hillbilly Elegy, a 2016 memoir hailed as an explanation of Trump's blue-collar appeal.
With three new cases, Colorado leads U.S. in bird flu infections of humans
Three workers at a Colorado egg farm contracted mild cases of bird flu while culling an infected flock of chickens, said state public health officials. With the discovery, Colorado is home to four of the seven U.S. cases of bird flu in humans reported since April. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Value of U.S. corn, soy, and wheat crops slips
The farm-gate value of this year's U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat crops would be nearly 8 percent lower than the 2023 crops due to the continuing decline in commodity prices, according to USDA estimates of season-average prices.
Senate proposes higher funding than House for WIC and food aid
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a USDA-FDA funding bill on Thursday that would spend $1.6 billion more on WIC and international food aid than the version approved by House appropriators one day earlier. The greatest difference, $1.1 billion, was in funding for Food for Peace, the leading U.S. food aid program.
USDA awards $110 million to expand independent meat processing
Five dozen independent meat processors will receive a combined $110 million in grants to go into business or expand their processing capacity, including a new plant in Texas that would create 1,500 jobs, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday.
House Democrats sink pilot project to limit SNAP purchases
On a voice vote Wednesday, minority-party Democrats deleted from the annual USDA-FDA funding bill a pilot project to block SNAP recipients from buying “unhealthy foods.” Democratic members of the House Appropriations Committee said the pilot project, authored by Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, was paternalistic and impractical.
Lower crop returns will pressure farmland market, say analysts
The boom in corn and soybean prices since 2020 is fading away, with lower farm income likely in the near term, wrote three agricultural economists in the farmdoc daily blog. “Returns to farming have declined, suggesting that cash rents should decline as well. How quickly or how much cash rents decline will depend on how far commodity prices fall as well as potential policy responses to those declines,” they said.
Annual report card: Chesapeake Bay is its healthiest since 2002
The Chesapeake Bay received its highest score, a "C-plus," since 2002 in an annual assessment of its environmental health, "an exciting sign that progress is being made in bay restoration," said University of Maryland scientists on Tuesday. Despite the progress, the bay will not meet the goals set more than a decade ago in the EPA's so-called pollution diet, said a conservation group.
Farmland values plateau with occasional declines
High interest rates and lower commodity prices are front-of-mind factors for farmland buyers, said Farmers National Co., a large farm management and real estate company. "Despite these negative pressures, the land market has remained relatively resilient but shows signs of settling in general, including single-digit decreases in specific areas," said Paul Schadegg, senior vice president.
Reject SNAP cuts in farm bill, says anti-hunger letter
More than 1,400 groups said in a letter to Congress on Tuesday that they "will oppose any farm bill," including the bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee in May, "which proposes cuts in SNAP, including restricting future Thrifty Food Plan benefit adjustments." Progress on the legislation has been deadlocked for weeks over disagreements on SNAP cuts, climate funding, and higher crop subsidy spending.
Republicans back massive deportations, call for tariffs to protect farmers
Republican delegates approved a Trump-backed party platform on Monday that endorses "baseline tariffs" on imports and more stringent trade relations with China in the name of protecting U.S. farmers, workers, and industries from unfair trade. The 16-page document also called for "the largest deportation operation in American history," aimed at undocumented immigrants.
Ag trade deficit tops $15 billion with four months to go
The U.S. agricultural trade deficit was a record $17 billion in fiscal year 2023 and is certain to break records again this year, according to preliminary federal data released on Monday. The cumulative deficit totaled $15.2 billion at the end of May, with four months remaining in fiscal year 2024.
Colorado dairy worker had mild case of bird flu
Project 2025 plan for USDA: Repeal crop subsidies, move SNAP to HHS
In a second term as president, Donald Trump would seek repeal of crop subsidy and export promotion programs, make farmers pay more for crop insurance, and move all of USDA's public nutrition programs, including SNAP and school lunch, to the Department of Health and Human Services if he follows the advice of Project 2025, written by conservatives.
Moderna gets U.S. contract to develop bird flu vaccine
The government awarded a $176 million contract to Moderna to develop an mRNA-based vaccine to protect people from bird flu, said Health Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday. Public health officials say the risk to the general population was low from the H5N1 avian flu virus, and there were no immediate plans to use the vaccine.
Labor Department proposes heat safety rule
Under a Labor Department proposal announced on Tuesday, employers would be required to provide rest breaks and access to shade and clean water for their workers as a shield against extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed regulation would be the first federal safety standard for excessive heat in the workplace and would cover 36 million workers.