On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its final rule requiring large corporations to disclose their carbon footprint but excluded the controversial mandate to track Scope 3 emissions, which refers to greenhouse gas emissions in supply chains. Instead, the final rule will require most businesses to track Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which include emissions produced by companies and associated with energy consumption. The rules had been the focus of two years of intense lobbying from corporations and Republicans who said the SEC was reaching beyond its authority ..read more

UEP staff held an introductory meeting with Jim Jones, the new Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the Food and Drug Administration. Jones is engaged in a major reorganization of FDA’s human foods programs, which came under criticism in an outside study by the Reagan-Udall Foundation. In contrast to recent practice, Jones reports directly to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, reflecting his authority within the agency. UEP expressed support for the FDA’s Egg Safety Rule, which has successfully reduced Salmonella Enteritidis in the egg sector. UEP also noted the need for more clarity and guidance ..read more

The Food Safety and Inspection Service finalized a regulation that sets out conditions for making voluntary “Product of USA” claims for meat, poultry and egg products. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the final rule at the National Farmers Union’s annual meeting, calling the regulation “a vital step toward consumer protection.” The regulation has already generated some pushback from the government of Mexico. Most of the controversy surrounds claims for beef, but the general principles apply to claims like “Made in the USA” or “Product of USA” appearing on processed egg products a ..read more

HPAI detections continue to trickle in as vernal migration ramps up, with waterfowl moving to summer locations to give birth and raise offspring. Producers should evaluate overall biosecurity implementation on their farms in preparation for the coming migration as temperatures begin to warm across the country. Since February 2022, 80.02M birds have been affected, with HPAI detected on 1,113 flocks. Of those, 473 are commercial and 640 are backyard flocks. Wild bird detections continue to trickle up, with a total of 9,181. Notably, the most recent detection was of neonatal goat kids on a farm ..read more

On Jan. 23, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) subtype B in samples from a National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) laboratory. These samples originated from turkeys and broilers in Virginia and North Carolina. We are also hearing of cases in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. APHIS also confirmed, on Feb. 1, the presence of aMPV subtype A in turkeys in California from samples collected between November and December 2023. While aMPV subtype C was known to exist in the U.S., mainly concentrated in Minnesota from 1997 to 2000, subty ..read more

USDA is soliciting nominations of people to serve on the National Poultry Improvement Plan’s General Conference Committee (GCC). USDA seeks to replace three regional members and alternates from the North Atlantic, East North Central, Western regions, and Member-at-Large. The current terms for these four member positions expire in August 2024. We will accept nominations from organizations or individuals until June 30, 2024. Please contact Dr. Elena Behnke  to receive an AD-755 form. Member selection occurs at the NPIP Biennial Conference in Providence, RI, Aug. 27-30, 2024, and will be det ..read more

EPA webinar regarding animal feeding operations air emission estimation methods On Jan. 19, 2024, the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community hosted USEPA staff (Bebhinn Do, Bill Schrock and Ian Rumsey) for an in-depth discussion of the background, status, and next steps regarding the Animal Feeding Operations Air Emission Estimation Methods (EEMs).  USEPA staff noted that the draft EEMs will be released for public comment by the end of February 2024, and USEPA’s plan is to review and incorporate comments over the spring with the hope to release the final EEMs in late summ ..read more

More than 300 UEP and UEA members and industry stakeholders gathered in Atlanta, GA, for UEP’s January meetings. While the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak and recommendations for heightened biosecurity were a focus of discussions in the briefings, other significant accomplishments and issues were also presented. Committee Briefings Chair Sherman Miller opened the Animal Health and Biosecurity Committee briefing and presented issues regarding HPAI and biosecurity. Oscar Garrison, SVP of Food Safety Regulatory Affairs, introduced Dr. Stephanie Wire and Juliana ..read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are spending large sums of money to support the development of “clean energy” projects in agricultural and rural areas. The USDA and DOE are aware of the conflicts and divisions this is creating among those wanting these projects in their community or on their farm, and those that do not. While USDA and DOE have no plans to change course and no longer work to advance these projects, they will host a series of virtual listening sessions this winter to: Inform people about the USDA and DOE prog ..read more

The Food and Drug Administration plans a range of rulemaking this year that could directly affect the egg industry, according to the agency’s section of the latest Unified Regulatory Agenda. The agenda, which is compiled by the Office of Management and Budget, lists significant regulations that are in the works from all federal agencies. The agenda tends to be an imperfect guide to when the regulations will be published (normally it is safe to add several months to any dates given in the agenda). It is a strong indicator, however, of what an agency’s regulatory priorities are. Here are a few F ..read more