Farm Show's 'Today's Agriculture' exhibit will teach about farm production

A crowd of farmers, bureaucrats and media gathered together for the unveiling of the Today's Agriculture exhibit at the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

The Today's Agriculture exhibit seeks to inform the everyday citizen about farming and agricultural production. It features information regarding farms that deal with dairy, beef, veal, pork, poultry, corn, soybeans and also touches on the subjects of cover crops (which are planted in between crops to improve soil workability and trap nutrients) and forested buffers (which keep nitrogen and sediment from the farm out of early streams).

The new display features an expanded crops and agronomic equipment display, a look at solar panels, an exhibit on seeds and how they are used to plant crops and feed animals, and a silo.

More of what's new at the Farm Show

"There is a growing disconnect," said Bob Stallman, chairman of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, of the relationship between farmers and consumers.

The exhibit at the farm show was a great way to address that gap, he said, by showcasing the truth and the facts about modern day agricultural production in a way that was easily accessible for the average person.

The public can see the Today's Agriculture exhibit in the Main Exposition hall at the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show, which begins the morning of Jan. 5. Admission to the farm show is free, but there is a $10 parking fee. The Farm Show runs from Jan. 5 to Jan. 12.

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Minister of Agriculture asks to tighten food security control

On December 24, over a month before the Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met to discuss the measures to control the quality of agricultural products and foodstuffs. 

According to the Department of Plant Protection, it collected 400 samples of fresh fruits and vegetables for testing. Sixteen samples were detected with pesticide residue exceeding the permitted level, accounting for 4 percent. The test of nearly 700 samples of pesticides revealed 11 imported samples of poor quality.

The Department’s chief Nguyen Xuan Hong said the percentage of vegetable contaminated with pesticide residue in Vietnam is relatively high compared with other countries. "From now to the lunar New Year, the Department will collect many more samples from wholesale markets for testing, will increase checks and tighten quarantine," Hong said.

According to the Department of Animal Husbandry, the widespread use of banned substances in animal husbandry, aquaculture production makes consumers confused. 

Currently, this situation has been closely tightened but the time before the lunar New Year is the sensitive time that the use of banned substances in animal husbandry, aquaculture production may increase. In addition, this is also the time that livestock epidemics can break out due to weather changes and the increase of slaughter and transport of livestock and poultry. 

Compiled by Le Ha

Original article Here

Botanical Feed Additives Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Farm Animals

AUSTRIA - Botanical feed additives support sustainable livestock operations, thereby promoting the health of farm animals as well as reducing their impact on the environment and public health.

Recent scientific studies revealed that if all poultry and pigs in the world were fed botanical feed additives, 29 million tons of CO2 equivalents could be eliminated from the environment each year: a carbon footprint of all citizens of Spain's capital, Madrid. 

Botanical feed additives used in animal production have long been proven to have positive effects on the environment. Known as "phytogenic feed additives", the active ingredients in these products are derived solely from herbs, spices and their extracts. They help farmers raise healthy animals and reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions. 

As natural foods and food-sources becoming increasingly important considerations in consumer decision making, the consumer's concerns become the concerns of feed producers, farmers, supermarkets and restaurants. Consumer choice will continue to make a difference to the quality of the food we eat. 

The family owned company DELACON is the pioneer and world's largest producer of phytogenic feed additives. From the very beginning, improved animal welfare, performance and feed efficiency while ensuring a high quality and sustainable food chain has been a main goal for the company.

ThePoultrySite News Desk

Farm and consumer organizations protest animal ID scheme

AUSTIN, Texas — Organizations representing family farmers, ranchers and consumers from across the country are fighting to protect drought-stricken livestock producers from a new costly regulatory program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) system, originally known as the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), remains a contentious issue because of the undue burdens that it will impose on livestock producers and costs that will be passed down to consumers, contributing to even higher food costs.

In a letter to the Congressional Office of Management and Budget, 63 organizations have written to urge that the new and costly program be halted in part due to the nation-wide drought and the resulting crisis faced by so many farmers and ranchers.

“This is the worst widespread drought since the 1930’s Dustbowl,” said Gilles Stockton, a Montana rancher and member of the Western Organization of Resource Councils. “As our ranchers struggle to keep the herds alive through this disaster, they cannot afford to take on new regulatory burdens.”

The letter to the OMB notes that the USDA’s fiscal analysis significantly underestimated the cost impacts of its rule to both cattle and poultry producers. The organizations contend, “while the agency claims that the costs are under $100 million annually, independent studies indicate that the costs could be three to five times that high for cattle producers alone.”

“The USDA’s cost analysis is riddled with flawed assumptions,” asserted Judith McGeary, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, who serves as Vice-Chair of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health. “Along with severely underestimating the costs to cattle producers, the agency wholly ignored the costs that will be imposed on tens of thousands of people who own poultry, from small diversified farmers to backyard poultry enthusiasts.”

The organizations’ letter notes that costs imposed on family farmers and ranchers go beyond monetary burdens.

“Combined with the soaring cost of feed and the drought-induced lack of forage, this new regulation would drive us in the direction of even fewer producers, when what we need to maintain a secure food supply for America is more,” said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA.

As justification for the costs, the USDA’s Regulatory Impact Analysis focused almost entirely on the benefits to the export market that will allegedly occur.

“The new regulations do nothing to improve food safety for consumers,” stated Patty Lovera of Food & Water Watch. “Instead this proposal would allow large meatpackers easier access to export markets, at the expense of U.S. livestock producers.”

J&K government to provide modern storage facilities for farmers

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government will provide modern storage facilities for farmers at the village level for round the year market linkages to strengthen farm economy and motivate the young to join the agri-sector.

Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir made the announcement while inaugurating a day long Kissan Mela cum Exhibition in Budgam district yesterday.

Mir said such storage facilities would help farmers strengthen their economic conditions and motivate the youth to opt for agriculture as a profit-making activity.

"Providing market opportunities to farmers would help them to strengthen their economy and also motivate the youth to opt for agriculture as profiting activity," he said.

"The youth are coming forward to adopt the agriculture as profiting activity and I assure that the agriculture department shall provide every assistance to them for their encouragement," he added.

Mir asked the farmers to use latest techniques to enhance the quality of produce so as to meet national and global standards.

"If the farmers of J&K want to compete at national level, they have to introduce mechanisation and latest agri- techniques besides using latest agriculture inputs so as to enhance the quality production of national and global standard," Mir said.

The minister said the thrust area is to introduce mechanisation in agriculture and horticulture across the state and various schemes have been launched by the department to provide 25-50 per cent subsidy to farmers for purchasing agriculture machinery items from registered companies.

He said that during the current year, the department has a target to provide 77 Power tillers, 40 tractors, 142 Vermi compost units, 4 bore wells, 2 number of water Harvesting system, 159 poly green houses and other inputs to the farmers of Budgam district.

Minister for Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Syed Rohulla Mehdi, Vice Chairman, Kissan Welfare Board, Rachpal Singh and Director Agriculture Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad Loan also spoke on the occasion.

Rohulla said the Government has launched 6-7 schemes for establishment of sheep, poultry and dairy units on which subsidy is being provided to entrepreneurs to start self employment units.

The department is trying hard to motivate more and more young people to establish their units as this sector has huge scope in providing job opportunities, Rohulla said.

Original Article Here

Agriculture: Plant perennials to save Africa's soils

Former FDA commissioner is among 150 scientists and 50 farmers calling on Congress to regulate antibiotic use.

The overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture and medicine is putting human lives at unnecessary risk and driving up medical costs, according to a group of group of 150 scientists that includes a former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Along with 50 US farmers and ranchers who have opted out of using non-therapeutic antibiotics in their animal feed, the scientists are calling on the FDA and Congress to work together to regulate unnecessary use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.

In twin statements released on Wednesday, the scientists and farmers said that a growing body of research supported the conclusion that overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture is fueling a health crisis. One statement cited a study which estimated that antibiotic-resistant infections cost $20bn annually to hospitals alone.

Donald Kennedy, former FDA commissioner and president emeritus at Stanford University, said: "There's no question that routinely administering non-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to food animals contributes to antibiotic resistance."

Kennedy said the FDA's current voluntary approach, which asks the animal drug industry to stop selling antibiotics medically important to human disease as growth promoters in animal feed, was not enough. Kennedy, who was also former editor-in-chief of Science magazine for eight years, said: "Unless it reaches the industry as a regulatory requirement it will not be taken seriously."

Three decades after the FDA determined that growth-promoting uses of penicillin and tetracycline in agriculture were threatening human health, its own data shows that 80% of all antimicrobial drugs sold nationally are used in animal agriculture.

Louise Slaughter, a Democratic Representative for New York who is a microbiologist, joined the scientists and others in calling for regulation of animal agriculture's use of non-therapeutic antibiotics. At a press conference organised by the Union of Concerned Scientists to launch the statement, she compared agriculture's use of antibiotics in animal feed to mothers sprinkling them on their children's cereal every morning.

Antibiotic-resistant diseases now kill more Americans than HIV/Aids, Slaughter said. "Every year, more than 100,000 Americans die from bacterial infections acquired in hospitals, and seventy percent of these infections are resistant to drugs commonly used to treat them. This abuse and overuse must stop."

The scientists said that while the medical community had "stepped up to the plate" by educating doctors and reducing prescriptions, the agriculture industry was lagging behind.

They said that while the principle linking antibiotic resistance and non-therapeutic uses of antibiotics was widely accepted, antibiotics are still routinely added in massive quantities to animal feed, not to treat disease but to promote faster growth and to stave off diseases caused by poor diets and raising animals in overcrowded unsanitary living conditions.

Russ Kremer, a Missouri hog farmer who caught a blood disease after being gored in the knee by one of his pigs, said his doctor told him he had the same antibiotic resistance as his pigs. His infection was resistant to six out of seven antibiotics used to treat it, Kremer said.

Kremer said he changed his practice when he found out the feed was responsible. He said he went from having sick pigs to healthy ones. "I exterminated my herd, brought in wholesome feedstuff without antibiotics. In the last 23 years my pigs have been drug free, they have less than 1% mortality and I've saved $16,000."

Asked why the agricultural industry, farmers and ranchers were so resistant to removing the antibiotics, Kramer said: "We were given information that suggested antibiotics in feed was more efficient in keeping down instances of disease. We got caught up in that as if it was a routine feed. There is a mindset that believes if you remove antibiotics their product will deteriorate and profits will go down."

Animal feed that did not contain antibiotics was still not widely available, he said.

Kremer is among 50 farmers and ranchers who produce meat without using non-therapeutic antibiotics and who signed a second statement in support of the scientists.

Food poisoning caused by salmonella and campylobacter have been most strongly linked to non-therapeutic use of antibiotics, but other antibiotic resistant E.coli infections and methicillin‐resistant staphylococcus aureus infections have also been linked to the problem, according to the scientists.

Original Article Here

Animal agriculture even more vital

By Archie Clutter, Ronnie Green and Greg Ibach

Clutter is dean of the Agricultural Research Division at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Green is the Harlan vice chancellor of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ibach is director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

In Nebraska, outstanding beef is a point of pride. This week, researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will gather at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island with a focus on beef in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources display area.

Animal agriculture serves the world today in a wide range of ways that are critical to the health and vitality of the global population, as well as to our overall quality of life. Meat, dairy and poultry products supply concentrations of dietary protein, vitamins and minerals that are essential to growth and development of healthy humans and a long, healthy life. Additional animal products shape the fabric of our lives in many ways, including elements of clothing, shelter and medical tools and technologies.

As we face the immense and unprecedented challenge of providing sustained food security for a global population that recently reached 7 billion and will surpass 9 billion well within the lifetimes of our current high school and college students, we will need every bit of our collective intellectual resources and creative ingenuity to maintain that high quality of life.

Today’s livestock farms and ranches in Nebraska possess the capacity to convert a wide range of grasslands and feed sources in the delivery of nutrient-rich food for human consumption. We must find new ways to increase the effectiveness of that delivery. Never before has the importance of animal agriculture been greater.

There is already abundant evidence that population growth, combined with desired and adequate growth in affluence, results in greater demand for animal protein. Demand is being met by production in all corners of the world, but only in America do we have such tremendous capacity for animal agriculture combined with strong commitment to animal care and well-being.

Over the past several decades the University of Nebraska has helped to develop — and Nebraska livestock farmers have adopted — methods that represent a holistic approach of preventive health care, complete nutrition, protection from predators and thoughtful animal husbandry. This partnership — along with the rich resources of grassland, cropland and water — positions Nebraska in the epicenter of animal agriculture and enables Nebraska farmers and ranchers to meet growing global food demands with sound animal care.

And today our livestock farmers clearly strive to remain the best at blending time-tested methods of husbandry and stewardship with new innovations developed through applied science.

Continuing improvement of programs such as Beef Quality Assurance established in the 1980s, and emergence of new initiatives such as the We Care Program by America’s Pork Producers, exemplify that ongoing commitment to animal care and well-being. Nebraska farmers are leaders in these efforts and hold themselves, as a community, to the highest standards for animal care in providing a consistently nutritious and abundant supply.

In this process of striving for greater understanding of the needs and well-being of agricultural animals — and alignment with the search for greatest effectiveness in the provision of nutritious animal food products from limited natural and feed resources — it is imperative that the University of Nebraska remain true to its land-grant mission for teaching, research and extension. The university will continue to be an unbiased source of research information, from our own scientists and their collaborators, on the response of animals to on-farm environments and management methods that accommodate animal needs in a sustainable way. Our extension personnel will continue to deliver that unbiased knowledge to a broad and diverse audience.

We must provide a learning environment for our young people in which they gain a better understanding of good-quality management for animal agriculture and of the diverse human population that will benefit from animal products.

As we consider this dynamic and critical time in the history of our civilization, and the role that animal agriculture can and must play in sustaining global food security and a good quality of life for our sons and daughters, words from our youth and an organization that provided us with an early vision and education for feeding the world come to mind.

The creed of the Future Farmers of America begins: “I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words but of deeds — achievements won by the present and past generations of agriculturists; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.”

We absolutely believe in the future of animal agriculture.

Original Article Here

Mink farms ethical in raising livestock

BY DAN MULLEN

Ty Savoy has a right to his opinion that “animals are 100 per cent equal to us” (“Hell on earth for animals,” May 12 letter), and Sharon Earl’s facts are skewed concerning mink, but she is certainly right when she says animals “deserve to live their lives free from cruelty” (Aug. 25 letter).

But most Canadians believe we have a right to use animals for food, clothing and other purposes. We certainly agree that farmers have a responsibility to provide for the welfare of their animals and to care for them in an ethical manner.

Standards for the nutrition, care and euthanasia of farmed mink are set out in recommended codes of practice developed by Agriculture Canada — the same sort of codes that are applied to all sectors of animal agriculture.

The code is currently being revised, (facilitated by the National Farm Animal Care Council), to ensure that the most current research on best practices for mink farming is included.

The Nova Scotia Mink Breeders Association is actively involved in this review, along with other Canadian producers, veterinarians, animal welfare agencies and officials from Agriculture Canada and the provincial governments.

We look forward to the completion of the updated code to further support our ethical responsibility as livestock ranchers. While some people feel that we should not use animals at all — and they are entitled to their opinion — 97 per cent of Canadians do eat meat and wear products from animals.

Mink farming plays an important role in the agricultural chain — farmed mink are fed with leftovers from abattoirs and fish plants that would otherwise go to landfill. Farmed mink also provide fine oils for skin care, waterproofing leather and organic fertilizers. Nothing is wasted.

Nova Scotia’s mink production also contributes to the provincial economy. Thousands are employed directly or indirectly and pelt exports bring over $130 million into the rural economy.

Nationally, the fur trade contributes $800 million to the Canadian economy, including more than $450 million in exports.

While the jobs and revenues are certainly important, Nova Scotia farmers are also proud that the mink we produce are recognized as being among the finest in the world — quality standards that simply cannot be achieved without providing excellent care for our animals.

Dan Mullen is president of the Nova Scotia Mink Breeders Association.

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Federal immigration program can help young workers

In an animal laboratory in central California's dairy country, Juan Carlos Martin cleaned and fed dozens of cows.

Smuggled through a U.S. border checkpoint in a car at age 13, the Mexico native had hoped for an education and career, but started working full time at the end of high school after an accident incapacitated his father.

Now 23, Martin was surprised to learn this week that he may be eligible for the new federal program that temporarily defers deportation and grants work permits to young illegal immigrants.

Much of the attention surrounding the program that began last Wednesday has focused on students. But researchers say it could also benefit hundreds of thousands of young adults working in low-wage industries such as agriculture.

"The stereotype about the young people who are eligible is that they're college students and academic superstars that speak English perfectly. And that is, of course, not true for all of them," said Ed Kissam, a labor policy researcher.

To be eligible, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, were younger than 31 as of June 15, have been living in the country at least five years, are in school or graduated, and have not been convicted of certain crimes.

The program is also open to individuals who haven't graduated high school or received a GED, as long as they enroll in an adult education program, vocational training or even English language instruction.

Agricultural workers like Martin say a work permit and the benefits that come with it could open doors previously closed, leading to better paying jobs, improved working conditions and benefits, and a path to higher education.

"This would change my whole life," said Martin, a high school graduate. "I came to this country with the goal of studying and getting ahead. But you really can't do it without a work permit, a Social Security number and a drivers' license."

Despite the possibilities, workers and advocates say farmworkers and others who are out of school could face significant hurdles when applying: a lack of information about the program, limited English skills, little access to legal advice and limited access to adult school to fulfill the program's education requirement.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals does not grant legal residency or a path to citizenship.

More than half of the 1 million young illegal immigrants eligible for the program are in the labor force, mostly working in low-wage industries — holding either a high school degree or GED, or lacking a degree altogether, an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute shows.

Agriculture could be one of the most affected. Two-thirds of farmworkers are foreign-born Mexicans, the majority without legal status, and many are young — more than half are under the age of 31, according to the National Agricultural Workers Survey. Data from the survey shows that at least 54,000 farmworkers could qualify for the program.

Jaime Hernandez, 23, who picks strawberries in the Santa Maria area for $8 per hour, found out about the program from a friend and is hoping to apply.

Hernandez, who crossed the Arizona desert with his parents at age 11, dropped out of high school in Madera, Calif., to work in the fields and help his family make ends meet. He recently finished a GED course, but never took the diploma exam, because his 10-hour workdays didn't leave him time. He now plans to sign up for the test.

If he is granted a work permit, he plans to get a better-paying job, and go back to school to become a lawyer or a radio engineer.

"I'm afraid, I don't have the money to pay for a lawyer, and I don't know if I am guaranteed acceptance or if I will be rejected," Hernandez said. "But still, it's worth it ... I'm not giving up."

Organizations helping eligible applicants say many workers don't know they may be eligible.

"Working people in the fields, many don't understand the program," said Ramiro Medrano, an adviser with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District near Watsonville, which is holding an information session about the program Sunday. "Most call about their kids. When I ask them, 'How old are you?' it turns out the parents could qualify."

The UFW Foundation has also been holding information sessions and phone meetings with farmworker union locals to spread the word.

For eligible workers who have never filled out an application and speak little English, applying for Deferred Action is intimidating, said the group's Richard Gorman. "Our hope is that once they have papers, once you take away the fear of deportation, that will encourage workers to stand up for themselves and for others in their own workplaces, to form a union or complain to their boss when there is a problem."

Some farmers are worried the program could cut into their workforce. One group of growers, the Nisei Farmers League, is discouraging farmworkers from applying, worried workers or their families could be deported once their addresses are given to the federal government.

Another worry: Because the application for work authorization asks for all previously used Social Security numbers, the information could lead the government to track down agricultural employers who hired the illegal workers and subject them to audits or sanctions, said the league's president, Manuel Cunha.

"There is no safe haven at the end of the day," Cunha said.

Federal immigration officials have said they won't use information from the applications for immigration enforcement against workers. Officials declined to comment on whether information provided by applicants would be used to prosecute or audit employers.

Original Article Here

Peacocks Deaths

KARACHI/MITHI/TANDO JAM: While the local people of Thar Desert have refuted official claims of over 6,000 ailing peacocks being vaccinated, a team of experts from Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam also described the provincial wildlife department as incapable to eradicate the viral disease known as ‘Ranikhet’ that has perished over 150 birds so far.

Only three teams consisting of officials of wildlife and animal husbandry departments are visiting the affected areas and distributing medicines among the villagers asking them to administer the same to the peacocks if found suffering from viral disease.

Wildlife Minister Dr Daya Ram Essarani had claimed Tuesday in an official handout that over 6,000 peacocks had so far been vaccinated, which contradicts his own statement in a press conference held in Karachi on Monday that access to thousands of peacocks is impossible, as their population is not concentrated at some particular area and they live in groups in wild bushes at scattered places.

“It is impossible to vaccinate over 6,000 peacocks in just couple of days,” local newsmen, non-governmental organisations activists and other people said. “The reports of more deaths of these beautiful birds are pouring in daily, as the disease has spread to over 20 villages,” they added.

The local journalists, who broke the news of outbreak of disease and deaths of peacocks, alleged that wildlife department’s officials were hiding the facts. “Minister himself tried to hide the fact saying that only 11 peacocks died and 14 were suffering from disease.”

Meanwhile, a team of mobile veterinary extension services unit of Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam consisting of Dr Allah Bux Kachhiwal, Dr Abdul Latif and others, submitted its report to the vice chancellor after visiting different villages of Thar Desert including Bhakoyo, Natho, Bhatian Ji Wery, Bakohar etc. The team had taken bones, feathers and other remains of dead peacocks to the laboratory to diagnose the disease.

According to its observations, the ailing peacocks lose their energy to fly or even walk and fall down due to weakness. The ailing weak birds also fall prey to wild animals. The symptoms of the disease include cough at the initial stage and then shrinking of veins that results in severe pain in neck, attack of paralysis, swelling of eyes and diarrhea.

The team claimed that more deaths of peacocks were only due to delay in vaccination, attacks on ailing weak birds by wild animals and trapping in thorny wild bushes.

They experts suggested that the dead birds should immediately be buried so that the disease doesn’t spread to other areas. They said the disease affected the peacocks at Village Bhattian Ji Wery first and then spread to the others. ppi

Courtesy Dailytimes

Agriculture: Heat can lead to toxic water sources

By Joni James

Hot weather, as many producers know, can cause several problems for livestock.  Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are present in many Kansas waters.  Under certain conditions, harmful algal blooms (also called HABs) can produce toxins that pose a health risk to people and animals.  It favors warm, stagnant water, especially if it’s nutrient-laden, so ponds that collect runoff from farm fields are at higher risk.
Blue-green algae looks like a pale greenish oil scum on the top of the water, except around the edges where it’s more a cobalt blue color.  Because of the recent hot, dry conditions, producers should check their ponds frequently to see if they see the scum developing.  Algae blooms can happen with just a couple of days.
Management options for producers who suspect a blue-green algae problem include:
• Do not wade, swim in or drink from these water sources.
• Provide alternate drinking sources for livestock.
• Fence cattle away from affected ponds.
• If you have to use ponds as a water source, fence cattle away from downwind areas where accumulation of the bacteria is likely to occur.
• Test pond scum to see if blue-green algae are present.  The Kansas Vet Diagnostic Lab and other area labs can test water samples for producers who suspect a problem.
More information about blue-green algae is available at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website at http://www.kdheks.gov/algae-illness/index.htm.
Wheat variety disease and Insect Ratings for 2012
The annual update of K-State’s Wheat Variety Disease and Insect Rating publication was released last week.  This year’s update focused on verifying and updating the ratings for stripe rust and barley yellow dwarf, which were serious problems in Kansas again this year.  The publication has undergone some important revisions in the last few years and now includes a table that can help farmers quickly evaluate the overall disease package of a variety.  The newest version of the table ranks the most commonly grown varieties as above average, average, or below average, with respect to their reaction to the most frequent and important disease problems in eastern, central and western regions of the state.
The publication can be accessed on line at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/plant2/mf991.pdf or picked up at the Extension Office.

Joni James is a Kansas State Research and Extension Agent for Harvey County. Agriculture is her specialty.

 Original article here

House agriculture panel threatens California animal safety laws

Taking aim at California's pioneering efforts to bolster animal safety, the House Agriculture Committee has moved to block states from imposing their own standards for agriculture products on producers from other states.

That could jeopardize California laws to protect chickens as well as one to ban foie gras, which took effect this month.

The panel's amendment to the farm bill was a response to a California law, which will take effect in 2015, that requires that all eggs sold in the state be produced by hens held in cages big enough to allow the chickens to stand and spread their wings. The amendment, if it becomes law, would prevent the state from applying this standard to eggs from other states.

Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who represents the country's leading egg-producing state, said he introduced the amendment because the California law and others like it "scrambles and creates a patchwork quilt of state regulations."

"If California wants to regulate eggs that come into the state, fine," King said. "But don't be telling the states that are producing a product that's already approved by the USDA or the FDA how to produce that product."

He said that the California requirement violates the commerce clause of the Constitution, which gives the federal government jurisdiction over interstate commerce issues.

The amendment says that states that object to the way an agriculture product is produced in other states cannot block the sale of that product.

King's amendment was approved this week as the committee debated, in a marathon session, the once-every-five-years farm bill. The farm bill cleared the agriculture committee early Thursday morning.

The King amendment sparked outcries from animal rights advocates and warnings that it could have far-reaching consequences beyond the treatment of birds.

"It is exactly the sort of thing that's done at midnight on a Wednesday night," said Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. "We've never seen anything that would so profoundly threaten the ability of states to protect consumers, farmers and the environment."

Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said the measure could nullify California's foie gras ban. That ban makes it illegal to raise, sell or serve the product, which is derived from force-feeding of birds.

And it could prevent states from enacting laws that would, for example, prevent the sale of food produced by forced labor, he said.

"The scope of this amendment is so absurdly far-reaching that it's even difficult to talk about," Pacelle said.

The measure was debated for about 20 minutes, with Democrats Dennis Cardoza of Atwater and Kurt Schrader of Oregon the only members to speak against it.

Cardoza, who is retiring at the end of this term, said voters "made an awful mistake" when they passed the egg law in November 2008. Schrader also questioned the wisdom of the California law. But, defending California voters' rights to pass laws governing activity in their state, both pleaded with their fellow committee members to back away from the amendment.

The pleas didn't have any effect as members representing the South and Midwest expressed frustration with California's activism on agricultural and environmental issues.

"It is driving us crazy, because these things come to our states … and then they're trying to pass them in our states, and we don't want them," said Minnesota DemocratCollin C. Peterson, the ranking member on the committee.

"California can't make your state do something," Cardoza fired back. But undermining California's law would hurt the state's economy, he said.

If "you can put small cages in Nevada, right across the border and our state can't prohibit it, then that's a problem for us," Cardoza said.

Original Article Here      

Farmers call for promoting genetically-modified crops

Agricultural scientists on Thursday urged the government for policy interventions and promoting biotechnology and genetically-modified crops to meet the challenges of food security. They warned that the country's population would double in two decades and said that it would exert an immense pressure on the existing land and water resources. 

Addressing a one-day seminar on 'Challenges and opportunities in GMOs for Agriculture', they said that about 58 percent of the country's population was reported to be food insecure. He said that crop-related agriculture was the backbone of food security which was all about making food accessible, affordable and available for all people all the time. 

Speakers include President of Farmers Associate of Pakistan Dr Tariq Bucha, former provincial minister for livestock Mumtaz Khan Manhais, UAF's Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, Professor Bruce Alberts of te University of California San Francesco. The seminar, in which about 36 agriculturist and journalists from across the country participated, was arranged by the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation with the courtsy of Monsanto at the Video Conference Room of the University. 

Professor Bruce Alberts emphasised to keep the science healthy as it is a torch that illuminates the world beyond geographical distribution. Advocating GMOs, Dr Bruce said that the technology the only way forward to meet food security challenges in the coming years. 

The UAF Vice-Chancellor said that the seminar would pave a way for creating awareness about GMOs and future prospects of agriculture in the country. Describing the media a powerful tool for making awareness about various daunting Highlighting the university's academic programmes, he said that the UAF was going to offer bachelor's programmes in microbiology and biotechnology, adding that PhD in genetics and ecology was also on the cards. Dr Ahmad said that over the past 50 years, UAF had produced around 969 PhDs, adding that half of them had been produced over the past five years. 

Vowing to establish more regional centres in the province, he said that UAF scientists had developed a red rot-resistant sugarcane variety, which would be distributed after getting government approval and certification. Former Livestock Minister and progressive farmer Mumtaz Khan Manhais underscored the need for promoting corporate farming comprises collective farm mechanisation, quality and balance input application to reduce the cost of production by promoting participatory approaches of ownership by all the participating farmers. 

Urging the agricultural journalists to highlight the significance of $350 billion Halal market, he said that Saudi Arabia imported sacrificial animals from Australia by spending more than Rs 40 billion. Expressing dismay over the burning of wheat straw worth Rs 48 billion every year in the province, he said that it could be made productive by converting it into animal feed and silage. 

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012

West African Animal Health Specialists Deepen Skills in First Joint USDA-USAID-Africom Workshop

Banjul — In the first such workshop hosted jointly by U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), lab technicians and epidemiologists from five West African nations gathered June 4-8, 2012, in Banjul ,The Gambia, to learn techniques and share insights around combating transboundary animal diseases.

Transboundary animal diseases cross borders and hinder the production of livestock, which is a critical component of African nations' economies and food supplies. Some animal diseases also pose a serious health risk to humans.

More than 20 participants from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia focused on six diseases: peste des petite ruminants, African swine fever, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, foot-and-mouth disease, Newcastle disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza This was not a week of lectures; instructors from Senegal, Cameroon and South Africa led practical teachings on the surveillance, diagnosis, prevention and control of each of the six diseases. The workshop was designed to help build capacity in partner African nations to control and prevent these devastating diseases.

Workshop topics ranged from methods of physically examining live animals to performing necropsies on poultry, goats, and a pig to collecting the correct tissue samples for later testing. For many participants, it was the first time they received professional instruction in such techniques as drawing blood or performing a necropsy on a pig.

Representatives from each country also took turns presenting their current issues and methods for data collection and information sharing.

"The countries are very willing to help each other," explained Dr. Connie Bacon, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) advisor with USAID/USDA for West Africa and the principal organizer of the event. "They realize that not one country will solve an animal disease. It really needs to be a regional and subregional effort."

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), transboundary animal diseases account for 20 percent productivity loss in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of these diseases further weaken already vulnerable areas and can undermine the stability of a fragile region.

For example, according to the UN Refugee Agency, the turmoil in northern Mali recently has led to the displacement of more than 300,000 people -- and their livestock.

Those livestock now risk being exposed to different diseases in a new area as well as transmitting any diseases they might be carrying. "It's a perfect environment for transboundary animal diseases to take hold," said Bacon, pointing out, "Really, the situation in Mali has changed the whole livestock profile of the region."

Three representatives from U.S. Africa Command attended the workshop: Dr. (Lieutenant Colonel) Clayton Chilcoat, the command veterinarian; Bruce Zanin, USDA/FAS agriculture and food security advisor; and Daniel Kasmierski, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) science and technology advisor.

"It was a really tremendous effort," said Zanin. He attended all the session and, along with the other AFRICOM attendees, provided additional insight.

As well as learning useful techniques, the participants also gained valuable connections to each other, Zanin said. "Their problems are shared problems," he said. "They have to work with their governments and their bureaucracies" to articulate their needs and the importance of tackling these diseases.

The workshop was organized by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Office for West and Central Africa, in collaboration with USAID and the Ministry of Agriculture of The Gambia. It was supported by U.S. Africa Command as part of a broader infectious disease-focused initiative.

"I think it was a learning experience for everyone," said Bacon.

Original Article Here

Agriculture Coalition Says Use Science in Regulating Antibiotics

A coalition of agricultural organizations sent a letter Wednesday to Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), who is seeking to restrict severely antibiotic use in livestock and poultry production. The coalition pointed out the stringent federal approval process and regulation of antibiotics, the lack of human health risks from their judicious use in livestock production and the benefits they offer in food animal production.

Members of the coalition include the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Feed Industry Association, American Meat Institute, Animal Health Institute, American Veterinary Medical Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Meat Association and the National Turkey Federation.

In February, Slaughter asked food companies to submit to her by June 15 their purchasing policies related to antibiotic use in food animals. She is the primary author of the “Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act” (H.R. 965), which seeks to ban the use in livestock and poultry production of several classes of antibiotics employed for preventing and controlling diseases and for promoting nutritional efficiency.

“Antibiotics used in veterinary medicine are reviewed and approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA),” the coalition stated in its letter. For animal antibiotics, the safety assessment is more stringent than it is for human antibiotics in three ways: 1) If there are risks to humans, FDA will not approve the antibiotic for animals; 2) FDA requires a food safety assessment to ensure meat is safe; and 3) FDA studies the pharmaceutical thoroughly to guarantee it does not increase the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food. The coalition further explained that FDA recently issued new regulations that effectively prohibit the use in food animals of “medically important” antibiotics for improving nutritional efficiency. The rules also ensure veterinarians will be involved in overseeing all uses of these products.

The coalition cited several published, peer-reviewed risk assessments showing any threat to human health from antibiotic use in livestock and poultry production is negligible, and pointed out many of the bacterial illnesses becoming resistant to antibiotics in human medicine have little or no link to antibiotic use in food animals.

Finally, the coalition cited some of the benefits of judicious antibiotic use in livestock and poultry. “The careful use of antibiotics to keep animals in top health is an important first step in providing the safest possible meat supply,” the letter said.

“All public health professionals, including veterinarians, are serious about reducing the risks of antibiotic resistance and are working to minimize those risks,” they wrote. “It is vital that public policy decisions about the use of these products be made on the basis of science and risk assessment.”

When it comes to their use in livestock and poultry production, concluded the coalition, “The research is clear that the contribution of using antibiotics in food-animal production to the human burden of antibiotic resistance is quite small, if it exists at all.”

You can also view the full response letter here.

Animals aren't being protected by Agriculture Ministry, government says

By Ilan Lior

The Agriculture Ministry should no longer be responsible for protecting animals, the coalition decided Sunday, a week after a report by an animal rights group accused the ministry of giving preference to the interests of farmers over the welfare of animals.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided in a 10-3 vote that the coalition will support a bill putting the Environmental Protection Ministry in charge of implementing the Animal Cruelty Law. Agriculture Minister Orit Noked appealed the decision.

"There has been a lot of criticism of deficiencies in dealing with matters connected to animal rights in Israel," states the explanatory portion of the bill, sponsored by MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu ). "Animals, which are by their nature perhaps the weakest group in Israel, are exposed to much harm and to the absence of sufficient protection on the part of the state."

Part of the problem, according to the bill, is the "inherent conflict of interest between the various tasks" of the Agriculture Ministry.

Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said his ministry pledges to take on the added responsibility without seeking additional funding.

"A society is judged by its treatment of the weak," he said. "Animals are helpless, and today they are not protected sufficiently. My ministry commits to taking on the responsibilities without making any demands for a budget or personnel. We are willing to carry out the important task of maintaining animal welfare and enforcing [the law] against abusing them."

Noked appealed the committee vote, saying farmers, and not just animals, must be protected.

"The law as it stands today expresses the need for a suitable and responsible balance between various interests and values, like protecting public health, preventing the spread of animal diseases and agricultural needs," she said. "The ministry has the professional knowledge and enforcement authority to deal with the matter."

Noked and her predecessor as agriculture minister, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Shalom Simhon, voted against coalition support for the bill, as did Meshulam Nahari, a minister without portfolio.

The Agriculture Ministry has been tasked with implementing the Animal Cruelty Law since it was passed 18 years ago, but animal rights activists say it has neglected its duty and failed to set guidelines to protect many of the animals in the country.

The bill states that the Environmental Protection Ministry is better suited to the task, particularly since it is already responsible for some aspects of animal protection.

"Unifying the responsibilities under a single government ministry will contribute to increased protection of animals in Israel, prevent the doubling up of enforcement and monitoring authorities, and make the systems meant to promote [animal] well-being and rights more efficient," the bill states.

Local animal rights group Anonymous for Animal Rights, which released a report last week attacking the Agriculture Ministry for "systematically evading its responsibilities" to protect animals from abuse, cruelty and torture, welcomed the move.

"We welcome the fact that the government has not remained indifferent to the terrible injustice done in making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for the Animal Cruelty Law and to the tremendous harm the ministry caused to animals," the group said in a statement. "We are convinced that this is an important and significant step to advance the rights of animals in Israel and stop the institutional harm being done to them."

The group said in its report that the Agriculture Ministry had taken steps to protect animals only in response to "heavy pressure," which it said was primarily due to the ministry's "inherent tendency" to prioritize the interests of the agriculture industry.

Original article Here

Farmer's Notebook - Reducing input costs becomes imperative

M. J. PRABU

Biogas is one of the components of low input sustainable practice. Photo: Special Arrangement

About 35 per cent of external input cost seems to have been reduced

The main objective of technology-based agriculture must be to reduce input cost while increasing the yield, particularly for small and marginal farmers.

Agriculture scientists would like farmers to realise that reduction of chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides can benefit both man and earth over the long run. Farmers in particular would stand to gain as a major portion of their money is spent on buying these chemicals.

The focus, they believe, must shift to educating farmers on the value of waste matter being generated in both their fields and homes, and availability of technologies to convert waste into wealth. Their farm economics will definitely improve if they realise and adopt this.

It is precisely on these lines that scientists at the Myrada Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Gobichettipalayam, in Erode, Tamil Nadu have beenworking for the past several years in implementing a project called IFD (Integrated farm development model). Also called as LESA (LowExternal Input Sustainable Agriculture), the project is at present operational in about 32 villages in Erode district.

Designed well

According to P. Alagesan, Programme Coordinator, IFD is an innovative model especially designed for small-scale farmers for improving farm productivity in a sustainable manner by recycling farm and home wastes.

“The main concept of IFD is to integrate the animal and human wastes into useful and productive components for the manufacture of vermicompost, pest repellents and biogas, thereby reducing input cost for farmers,” he says.

For example, in villages, the urine and dung from cattle are usually washed into a drain or the dung is collected, dried and used as cooking fuel.

“But our IFD farmers collect the urine and dung in a collection tank and use it for generating biogas and manufacturing bio growth promoters such as Panchagavya and Amirtha karaisal, and to make bio pest-repellants,” explains Mr. Alagesan.

Breeding earthworms

The spent slurry from the biogas plant is used for making high quality manure by adding other farm wastes to it, and can also be used for breeding earthworms.

“To ensure food and fodder security, our research team has been conducting several programmes to emphasise the importance of kitchengardens.

The size of the kitchen garden depends on the family size and income (usually 2-5 cents). A limited supply of water channelled through a low cost micro-irrigation system ensures a good harvest,” he elaborates. High yielding green fodder varieties are also grown in these gardens to provide fodder for animals. By growing these fodder varieties,the cost of buying feed has come down by nearly 12 per cent, according to Mr. Alagesan.

Technology must be farmer friendly, and IFD farmers have been trained in scientific storage of harvested produce. The farmers store theirharvested grains in special grain structures called ‘pucca koti' (in Hindi) and metal bins.

These storage structures have been able to minimise grain loss by nearly 20 per cent, and also protect the harvested produce from pestand pathogenic infestations.

Finally, the waste generated from the farmer's family is also not wasted. An eco-san toilet has been designedto collect the faeces and urine separately.

The faeces is covered with wood ash after collection and it falls into a soil pit and decomposes into a rich nutrient which can be safelyused as manure.

The urine is separately channelled to the kitchen garden where it seeps into the earth to nourish the plants.Studies conducted in these villages have shown that about 35 per cent of external input cost has been reduced by effective utilisation offarm and home wastes.

Forest regeneration

Use of biogas (2 cubic metre capacity has the potential to save about 210 kg of fuel wood per month) has also brought down firewood consumption. In a village called M.P. Doddi, about nine tonnes of fuel wood in a month has been saved, having a direct impact on regeneration of forest area around the region.

Respiratory problems commonly encountered by the rural women in smoky kitchens have largely been minimised.UNICEF has identified this as an innovative model and has planned to replicate it in other parts of the country.

For more information readers can contact: Mr. P.Alagesan, Programme Coordinator, Myrada Krishi Vigyan Kendra, No: 57 - Bharathi Street,Gobichettipalayam - 638 452, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, e-mail: myradakvk@dataone.in, website: www.myradakvk.org, mobile: 09443897654, Phone : 04285 226694 and 226695.

Original Article Here