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Bird flu hits California farms hard in November

The avian influenza virus was identified in 100 dairy herds in the past week and in two dozen domestic flocks with more than 3 million birds so far this month in California, the U.S. hot spot for the viral disease, said state and USDA data on Tuesday. The state accounts for two-thirds of the 650 infected dairy herds in the nation.

Three-way Democratic race at House Agriculture Committee

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig launched a campaign on Monday to be elected the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, joining two other candidates, California Rep. Jim Costa and Georgia Rep. David Scott, currently the ranking member. Costa and Craig say they will defend SNAP and climate funding in the new farm bill and carry a Democratic message to rural America, a weak spot for the party.

‘Keep calm and gobble on’

In his final turn at a 77-year-old holiday tradition, President Biden pardoned Peach and Blossom, two Thanksgiving turkeys presented to the White House by U.S. turkey growers, on Monday. "They tell me there's 2,500 people here today looking for a pardon," chuckled the president, who will leave office in two months.

Trump chooses former White House adviser to become Agriculture secretary

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Brooke Rollins, director of his Domestic Policy Council during his first term, for Agriculture secretary, saying she would "spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country." Rollins is chief executive of a think tank that has advocated stronger work requirements for SNAP recipients. She would be the second woman to lead USDA.

California finds bird flu virus in raw milk

Public health officials in California's Silicon Valley said tests found the bird flu virus in a container of raw milk purchased at a local store and warned consumers on Sunday not to consume the milk. The supplier, Raw Farm, of Fresno County, issued a recall of the batch of milk that was involved.

A note from Chuck

Half a century ago, in 1973, I entered the news business as a reporter for a small weekly paper in Missouri. And now, it’s time to leave the party. I will continue my reporting here at Ag Insider through the end of the current Congressional session, at which time Ag Insider will be put to bed one last time. The final edition will go out Monday, December 23.

Farm income declines in northern Plains, say ag bankers

The two-year decline in commodity prices drove down farm income in the northern Plains this summer, ag bankers said overwhelmingly in a survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, and they expect income to fall again this winter. Farmers have cut back on major purchases and loan demand is up, the bankers said.

Bird flu cuts into egg production

Fewer table eggs will be available for home consumption this year because of continuing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza at U.S. egg farms this fall, said USDA economists, who estimated that table egg production this year would be 1 percent less than in 2023.

Farmers need ‘significant’ federal help to survive drop in income, say senators

“One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America could survive the combination of high production costs and lower commodity prices without “significant help” from the government.

Costa runs against Scott to be Democratic leader on House Ag

California Rep. Jim Costa said on Wednesday that he was seeking party support to become the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, a post now held by Georgia Rep. David Scott. The race would be a rematch of 2020, when Scott became the first Black chairman of the committee.

California child with no known contact with infected animals tests positive for bird flu

A child in populous Alameda County tested positive for the avian influenza virus and was recovering at home from mild upper respiratory symptoms, said California public health officials on Tuesday. The child had no known contact with an infected animal and would be the second such case in the United States this year.

Disaster package asks $24 billion for agriculture

One fourth of the $99 billion in disaster aid requested by President Biden would be funneled through the USDA, with the bulk of the $24 billion devoted to offsetting lost crop production and reduced quality of crops. Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small was to testify in support of the request before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Stabenow files farm bill with $2 billion in speedy payments

The government would send $2 billion to financially beleaguered farmers almost immediately under a mammoth farm bill proposed by Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow on Monday — months sooner than the Republican-written bill awaiting a House vote. With only a few weeks left in the congressional session, Republican senators said Stabenow acted too late to enact a new farm bill, already 13 months late.

Farmer income declines, but land prices rise in Plains

The decline in farm income in the central Plains intensified as crop prices remained weak this summer, according to 135 ag bankers who took part in a quarterly survey by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Six out of every 10 of the bankers said farm income during the third quarter was lower than a year earlier; only one in 10 reported an increase.

First human case of bird flu in Oregon, as U.S. total rises to 52

Public health officials confirmed six additional cases of bird flu infection of farmworkers, five in California and one in Oregon, raising the U.S. total to 52 this year. The Oregon infection was the first in the state and was tied to an outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus at an egg farm in Clackamas County, southeast of Portland. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>

House Ag chairman: Farm bill delay likely unless the Dems’ ‘attitude really changes’

The top agricultural issue for the lame duck session will be disaster and financial aid to farmers. The farm bill, meanwhile, already a year overdue, is likely to be delayed until 2025 "unless the attitude really changes," said House Agriculture chairman Glenn Thompson on a podcast.

Farm financial aid draws increased interest in lame-duck session

With little sign of a breakthrough on the farm bill in Congress, farm groups are shifting their attention to a proposed $21 billion bailout bill. Help is needed because high costs and lower commodity prices are sharply eroding farm income, they say.

Trump picks Kennedy, vaccine skeptic, for health secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will head the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration, said President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” said Trump in announcing the nomination.

Republicans elect farm-state Sen. Thune for majority leader

Republican John Thune of South Dakota prevailed over two rivals in closed-door voting on Wednesday and will become Senate majority leader in January. A supporter of biofuels, Thune, No. 2 in GOP leadership since 2019, will be the first majority leader from a farm state since Democrat Tom Daschle, also from South Dakota, in 2002.

Consumers say ‘shrinkflation’ continues in food

Three out of four Americans said they have noticed “shrinkflation” at the grocery store within the past 30 days, with snack foods catching their attention most frequently, said a Purdue University report on Wednesday. Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing the amount of food in a package while keeping the price the same.