USDA aims to isolate, exhaust H5N1 virus in dairy herds The USDA’s strategy against bird flu in dairy cattle is to identify infected herds and wait for the virus to die out within the herds, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. “I’m confident we have a good understanding of the virus and how it is being transferred,” he added. USDA proposes base pay rule for poultry-grower contracts Poultry processors would be barred from making deductions from the base prices that they list in contracts with growers under a rule proposed by the Agriculture Department on Monday. The USDA said the ..read more

An ‘interventionist’ approach is needed to decarbonize agriculture Congress should double agricultural research funding, now running at $4 billion a year, and direct the Agriculture Department to take a “more interventionist” role in decarbonizing agriculture, said a California think tank on Monday. Solar storms a potentially costly risk for GPS agriculture The solar storms that knocked out GPS networks in early May — prime planting time in the Midwest — cost farmers a “nontrivial” amount of revenue that depends on how long their equipment was sidetracked, said Terry Griffin, a Kansas State Un ..read more

A 1st, farmworker infected with bird flu has respiratory symptoms A farmworker in Michigan is the first person to experience respiratory symptoms after contracting bird flu from dairy cows infected with the H5N1 virus, said Michigan officials on Thursday. It was the third U.S. case of cow-to-human transmission and the second in Michigan. The Centers for Disease Control said the risk to the general public remained low. FDA reorganization elevating food oversight is approved A reorganization of the FDA that included the appointment of its first deputy commissioner for human foods has been approv ..read more

China falls to third place as U.S. ag export market U.S. food and ag exports to China will fall by $6 billion this fiscal year in the biggest slump in sales since the Sino-U.S. trade war, forecast the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. Mexico and Canada will surpass China as the top customers, while the agricultural trade deficit will widen to $32 billion. Higher commodity prices soften farm income decline, say banks Springtime increases in corn, soybean, and wheat prices brightened the outlook for the agricultural sector amid expectations of lower farm income this year than in 2023, said Fe ..read more

Idaho alpacas are first in the world to be infected with bird flu Four alpacas in a small Idaho herd were infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus — the first known infection of alpacas in the world, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. The alpacas were on the same backyard farm that culled its poultry earlier this month due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Feed ingredient that reduces methane from dairy cows is approved for U.S. sale With FDA approval in hand, Elanco Animal Health said on Tuesday it will sell throughout North America its feed ingredient that red ..read more

H5N1 virus particles found in meat from dairy cow Meat from a dairy cow sent to slaughter contained particles of the H5N1 avian influenza virus — the first such finding since the virus jumped to cattle from birds a few months ago, said the Agriculture Department. The USDA also confirmed infections in five additional herds — three in South Dakota and two in Colorado — raising the U.S. total to 63 herds in nine states. Solar and wind farms generate controversy but occupy a sliver of rural land Local governments have imposed at least 2,600 restrictions on wind and solar power projects in their ju ..read more

GOP powers House committee passage of Farm Bill with $53 billion in new ag spending The Republican-controlled House Agriculture Committee, with four Democratic crossovers, approved a farm bill early Friday that increases crop subsidy and crop insurance spending by one-third, cuts SNAP by $30 billion, and repudiates a Biden administration initiative on climate mitigation. Democrats said the bill has no chance of becoming law and might not survive a vote on the House floor because it lacks bipartisan support. TODAY’S QUICK HITS Bird flu in 58 herds: The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in ..read more

‘Counterfeit Money’ to pay for the Farm Bill, WHAT!?! House Republicans are building unrealistic expectations in farm country by relying on “counterfeit money” to pay for a $50 billion expansion of crop subsidies and crop insurance in the new farm bill, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The House Agriculture Committee was expected to approve Chairman Glenn Thompson’s proposed bill on Thursday in a vote that would split along party lines. Dairy worker in Michigan has bird flu in second case of cow-to-human infection A worker on a Michigan dairy farm contracted a mild case of ..read more

House Farm Bill would pay out every year for Southern crops Crop support would be set so high in the farm bill written by House Republicans that cotton, peanut, and rice growers, and probably wheat and sorghum farmers too, “would receive a payment every year,” said an environmental group on Tuesday. Farm groups called for the Agriculture Committee passage of the bill later this week despite questions about the financial underpinnings of the five-year legislation. USDA launches Summer EBT benefit for school children as ‘SUN Bucks’ The Biden administration launched its package of summer school m ..read more

Environmental, anti-hunger groups join opposition to House farm bill Anti-hunger groups, environmentalists, and fiscal conservatives are mobilizing against the House Republicans’ proposed farm bill ahead of its markup later this week, arguing that it benefits agribusiness at the expense of low-income people, taxpayers, and the climate. Tyson plant closures left contract chicken farmers with debt and uncertainty Tyson Foods says recent plant closures were aimed at “driving out waste from the business.” Contract chicken farmers are now stuck with uncertainty and massive loans. TODAY’S QUICK HITS ..read more