A new state was added to the list of those where highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) cases have been confirmed. On Tuesday, USDA-APHIS confirmed the presence of HPAI in two wild birds, a goose and a duck, in McCracken County, Kentucky. These birds were found within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified. … Read More
USPOULTRY Video Provides Peek at Processing
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) announces the release of a new video that provides a look at how chickens and turkeys are processed in the United States. The video takes a behind-the-scenes look at today’s high-tech, highly efficient poultry processing plants and highlights the food safety and sanitation practices employed by the modern poultry industry. Food production and safety … Read More
Industry Addresses New H5N2 Outbreaks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) provided an update on highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza outbreaks via a press conference this morning. This comes after the recent confirmed case on an Iowa egg farm. USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, CDC Medical Officer Dr. Alicia Fry and USDA Southeast Poultry Research Director David Swayne … Read More
More Cases of Avian Flu Found
Still more cases of the highly pathogenic form of H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) were confirmed by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) last week in commercial turkey flocks in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. USDA also announced on Friday that they will begin streamlining updates about HPAI through daily GovDelivery messages as well as continue posting the new … Read More
U.S. Poultry Industry Statement on Avian Flu
In light of the recent detections of avian influenza (AI) in the United States, the U.S. poultry industry would like to assure the public that detailed response plans are in place for controlling the spread of the virus and for eliminating the virus entirely. The U.S. government and poultry industries have sophisticated systems and techniques to detect the introduction of … Read More
Animal Ag Groups Back RFS Reform Act
Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR) and Peter Welch (D-VT), today re-introduced legislation called the RFS Reform Act “to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to help ease concerns created by the ethanol mandate and protect consumers, livestock producers, food manufacturers, retailers, and the U.S. economy.” Livestock and poultry producer organizations are among those supporting the … Read More
High Path Avian Flu Found in California
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic (HPAI) H5N8 avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Stanislaus County, California. This is the first finding of HPAI in a commercial poultry operation since the disease was discovered last month in wild birds and backyard flocks in Washington and Oregon. Samples from the … Read More
Poultry Industry Adds 477,000 Jobs
The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, and United Egg Producers have made available an updated economic impact study that highlights the increased positive impact the poultry industry has on jobs, wages and federal and state revenue in the United States. A dynamic and integral part of the national economy, from 2012 to 2014 … Read More
Poultry Groups Oppose OFCCP Reporting Proposal
On Jan. 2, the Joint Poultry Industry Human Resources Council filed comments opposing the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) proposal to require federal contractors to submit yet another regulatory report, the so called annual “Equal Pay Report.” The OFCCP was originally created to enforce, for the benefit of job seekers and wage earners, the contractual promise of affirmative … Read More
Poultry Industry Improves Worker Safety Record
The incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses within the poultry sector’s slaughter and processing workforce has fallen by 80 percent over the last 20 years and continues to decline according to the 2013 Injury and Illness Report recently released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Poultry processing’s 2013 rate of 4.5 represents an outstanding 80.2 percent … Read More