- With research confirming that swine viruses can be transmitted through feed and feedstuffs, new studies are looking at how to prevent the spread of foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever, via these vehicles. Based on new research, the Swine Health Information Center, the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians have revised the information for feed holding times.
- Plant-based imitations of butter and other dairy products pose an increasing challenge for consumer understanding in the butter sector, which is dealing with proliferating imposters even as butter’s popularity grows. The American Butter Institute filed a lengthy complaint to the FDA in September calling out imitators. It also supports the National Milk Producers Federation’s citizen petition with the agency filed in February, outlining a road map toward a constructive resolution of the problem of mislabeled, fake dairy products. That petition may be accessed here.
- The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, established under the leadership of dairy farmers and leading companies, announced its eighth annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award winners during a May 8 ceremony in Rosemont, Illinois. The 2019 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards winners are: Cinnamon Ridge Farms (Donahue, Iowa); Majestic Crossing Dairy (Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin); Philip Verwey Farms (Hanford, California); General Mills and Foremost Farms (Reed City, Michigan); and Gleaners Community Food Bank (Detroit).
- An official manual for the Beef Quality Assurance program that is both detailed and extensive is now being distributed nationwide throughout the cattle industry. The manual and the BQA Program are both managed by the producer education team at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff.
- The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, with funding provided by the USPOULTRY Foundation, have launched a new My American Farm game, along with a supporting lesson plan, an activity sheet and an eComic. The An Egg-Citing Poultry Adventure game and resources were developed to help third through fifth grade students better understand the poultry and egg industry, with students adventuring through the progression of stages in poultry and egg production in the game.
