Michigan officials said the H5N1 bird flu virus has infected three additional dairy herds in the state, just as the USDA recommended farmers test their herds for the virus before moving cattle between states. The tests “should both give us more … information and should mitigate further state-to-state spread between herds,” said the USDA’s animal health agency. With the new outbreaks in Michigan, highly pathogenic avian infuenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in 29 dairy herds in eight widely dispersed states, from Idaho to North Carolina. Texas has the largest number of infected herds, 11, followe ..read more

The modern chicken industry has witnessed unprecedented advancements in efficiency and performance, but continuous improvement will still be needed to produce a successful broiler of tomorrow. “Our industry has shown great resilience, overcoming many challenges in recent years,” said Jan Henriksen, CEO, Aviagen Broiler Breeding Group. “However, let’s address the challenges ahead. Food safety, security and affordability remain paramount for people across the spectrum. From pandemics to natural and manmade disasters, conflicts, avian diseases and climate variability, we face numerous hurdles ..read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI), while offering remarkable advancements in various fields, also presents a paradoxical threat, especially when misused. In our last article, “Beneficial AI: Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Food Safety,”1 we discussed how AI can help ensure food safety by analyzing patterns and trends that might not be readily apparent to human analysts. This article delves into the darker side of AI, focusing on its potential malevolent applications against food companies and the safety of their products, and explores solutions to mitigate these risk ..read more

The Iowa Senate has passed a bill requiring specific labeling for meat and egg alternatives. The bill requires manufacturers who create plant-based alternative products to include labeling with “plant-based,” “meatless” or even “fake” on its packaging.Supporters of the bill provides protection for consumers and state farmers. Opponents of the bill say it could unfairly impact those who have no choice in their meat and dairy restricted diets ..read more

Former President Donald Trump is considering naming a former rodeo cowboy turned bomb-throwing Texas agriculture commissioner to lead the Agriculture Department if he wins the White House. Sid Miller, a MAGA loyalist, has warred with agriculture interests and threatened to “hunt” moderate “RINO” Republicans back home, including those who won reelection in 2024 or, as Miller put it, “ slipped the noose.” And he has been investigated, but not charged, for misusing state funds for travel to a rodeo. His former political consultant is also set to face trial this summer on theft and bribery charge ..read more

Waste byproducts from rearing insects commercially could play a role as a sustainable broiler feed, the results of research presented at the 2024 International Poultry Scientific Forum suggest. Scientists from Southern Poultry Feed & Research and EnviroFlight LLC tested a product made from the frass of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), which includes digested feedstocks and the exoskeletons of the insect larvae which are rich in chitin. The feed contains roughly 20% protein and 6% fat. In two experiments with male Cobb 500 chicks, they investigated the effects of different inclusion ..read more

Reducing the incidence of foodborne illness attributed to eating chicken has been on ongoing challenge for the industry and the source of regulatory concern. “Right now, there’s not a lot of companies tracking serotypes very vigorously, but I think that the new regulations are going to drive folks to start looking at serotypes a lot harder,” said Don Ritter, DVM, owner, Poultry Business Solutions LLC. Ritter will discuss how emerging technologies may be harnessed to improve health and food safety outcomes for both broilers and humans at the 2024 Chicken Marketing Summit. Registration is ..read more

Consumer price increases remained high last month, boosted by gas, rents, and car insurance, the government said Wednesday in a report that will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it weighs when and by how much to cut interest rates this year. Prices outside the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.4 percent from February to March, the same accelerated pace as in the previous month. Measured from a year earlier, these core prices were up 3.8 percent, unchanged from the year-over-year rise in February. The Fed closely tracks core prices because they tend to provide a good read o ..read more

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) detected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) for the first time in a dairy herd in North Carolina on April 10. “This is an evolving situation, and we are waiting for more diagnostics from NVSL and will work collaboratively with our federal partners and dairy farmers in North Carolina,” said Steve Troxler, North Carolina commissioner of agriculture. “We have spent years developing methods to handle HPAI in poultry, but this is new, and we are working with our state and federal partners to develop protocols to handle this situation. It is ..read more

Since 2022, avian flu — a rapidly circulating Influenza Type A virus — has affected more than 81 million poultry, as well as the industries that depend on them. In Alabama alone, poultry generates more than 80,000 jobs and $15 billion in revenue.In the past two years, a disease-causing strain of avian flu, known as H5N1, has impacted 1,046 flocks across the United States. Miria Criado, an assistant professor in Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is tackling this timely topic by investigating how these influenza viruses evolve and examining approaches to reducing their deadly impact on p ..read more