USDA bans vaccinated poultry: The USDA banned poultry imports from France and imports of live ducks, duck eggs, and duck products from Europe following France’s decision to vaccinate ducks against bird flu; the USDA says vaccination can disguise infections. (USDA)
‘The mosquitos are winning’: After dropping to a historic low, deaths from malaria are rebounding as mosquitos that carry the disease-causing parasite are developing resistance to insecticides and climate change expands the geographic ranges of the disease. (New York Times)
Arizona alfalfa divestment: The Arizona State Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in the state, will sell its interest in a company that owns a 3,000-acre farm that grows alfalfa for export to the Middle East. (Arizona Capitol Times)
‘Largest ag-tech deal’: Farm equipment maker AGCO said it would pay $2 billion for an 85 percent share of ag assets and technologies from Trimble to expand its product range in the precision agriculture sector; AGCO’s chief executive say it is “the largest ag-tech deal ever.” (Farm Journal)
Farmers hold on to grain: The grain bins that surround farmsteads hold 19 percent more corn and 14 percent more soybeans they they did at the start of the 2022 harvest season while grain elevators have reduced their stocks, said a USDA report. (National Agricultural Statistics Service)