A coalition of 207 farm, faith, environmental, labor, rural and consumer organizations delivered a message this week to the Senate urging lawmakers to “reject any effort to repeal, rescind or weaken country of origin labeling (COOL) in any federal spending legislation.” “Congress needs to stay the course on COOL and leave it alone, especially now that the Obama administration has … Read More
Pork Board Funds New Swine Health Center
At its regularly scheduled November meeting, the National Pork Board’s board of directors approved the funding of a national Swine Health Information Center. The new, autonomous venture will focus its efforts on implementing industry preparedness for disease challenges that could affect U.S. swine herds. According to Dr. Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology at the National Pork Board, … Read More
Pork Producers Want Congress to Fix COOL
The COOL Reform Coalition sent a letter last week asking Congress to act immediately on developing a contingency plan for the Country of Origin Labeling Law, which was recently ruled non-compliant by the WTO. “This problem is going to have to get resolved in the next Congress,” said Dr. Howard Hill, president of the National Pork Producers Council, one of … Read More
Protein Export Numbers
Leann Saunders, Chairman U.S. Meat Export Federation, was on hand during National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk to update us all on current and future export numbers for beef, pork and lamb. “It has been a great year for exports when you look at statistics January through December. We’ve seen unprecedented growth, 5 billion in pork exports, 5 billion … Read More
Pork Producers Name Asst. Director of Science & Technology
The National Pork Producers Council has named a new assistant director of science and technology. This NPPC news release says Dr. Daniel Kovich will focus on food and feed safety and animal handling issues. Kovich comes to NPPC from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, where he managed state animal welfare and control programs, including animal control officer … Read More
USFRA Names New Executive Committee
The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA®) has announced its new 2015 Executive Committee members and Nancy Kavazanjian, farmer director of the United Soybean Board, was named as Board chairperson. As chair, Kavazanjian will work closely with the CEO of USFRA and members of the Board in providing thought leadership and serve as a national consumer spokesperson on behalf of … Read More
Pork Board's Strategic Plan to Focus on People, Pigs and Planet
National Pork Board officials have debuted a strategic plan designed to guide the organization through the next five years. This news release says the 2020 Strategic Plan will start this January and focus on anticipating and managing the changing world facing U.S. pork producers now and in the future. Rooted in collaboration between industry and supply chain partners, the new … Read More
USFRA to Participate in NY Times Event
The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) is bringing the voices of farmers and ranchers to the New York Times “Food for Tomorrow” conference next week. USFRA will host a breakfast and panel discussion entitled “Big Ag, Big Food: How Being Good for the Environment Is Not about Size” at 8:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 12 at the Stone … Read More
Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance Created
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) have announced the creation of the Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance in Production Agriculture. The task force is comprised of representatives from U.S. agriculture colleges/land grant universities and veterinary colleges as well as key representatives from the production animal agriculture community and the … Read More
Research Proposals Sought to Target PEDv
Zoetis is seeking proposals for well-defined studies that focus on optimizing the immune response of sows and gilts for the control of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv). The studies should provide insights into new methods that can help control PEDv in breeding and farrowing herds. Zoetis will award a total of $125,000 to a study or studies under its PEDv … Read More