Two States Report New Avian Influenza Cases
By Courtney Love 9/19/2022 Tennessee and Nebraska have confirmed two new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in backyard flocks. Tennessee is the 40th state to have a flock test positive for bird flu as the disease resurges in certain parts of the nation. For Nebraska, this is its ninth case since April. According to […]
Wind, PRRS and Pig Farm Biosecurity: Learn from Our Outbreak
By BENNY MOTE-UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN Traditionally, Nebraska has fared better than many of our neighbors when it comes to swine diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). However, the last several months have been extremely brutal here in Nebraska in relation to PRRS breaks. High health farms that have […]
Salmonella Standards: FSIS Turns its Focus to Pork
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is taking a closer look at Salmonella performance standards for livestock as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce human illness by Salmonella by 25%. Last October, FSIS announced it would be mobilizing a stronger and more comprehensive effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. […]
Economic consequences of stopping ‘thinning’ in broiler production
Retail chicken prices would have to rise to compensate stopping partial depopulation of broiler flocks. Flock ‘thinning’ is often used in broiler production to optimise the use of farm space and rear a larger number of birds while still respecting the EU regulations that set the maximum stocking density in a house at 42 […]
Don’t be on the fence about biosecurity. Create a plan.
Free online templates walk farmers through biosecurity questions to develop a farm plan. Mindy Ward | Jul 07, 2022 Cattle farmers lag behind both poultry and pork producers when it comes to protecting the nation’s beef industry from a disease outbreak. Developing a biosecurity plan can help close the gap. In Kansas, Justin Smith, Kansas Department […]
Biosecurity: What It Is and Why It Matters
Biosecurity was originally defined by Koblentz (2010) as “a set of preventative measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases.” This has since been updated and adopted into EU Animal Health Law (2016) as “the sum of management and physical measures designed to reduce the risk of the introduction, development and spread […]
COW VET TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR CATTLE ON A CALVING SCHEDULE
The office store Staples has an “easyÀ button that appears in their advertisements and other promotions. The premise is that Staples makes doing business easy. It would be nice if there were an “easyÀ button for all businesses, including cow calf operations. While we may not have an easy button, there are steps we can […]
Get the Facts on Chicken Tractors
Chicken tractors are movable chicken coops that can benefit both backyard breeders and small-time farmers. Sometimes on wheels and usually with a rope or some sort of pulley attached, chicken tractors lack a floor and allow chickens to graze in different areas of a pasture as the structure is moved. As chickens scratch and peck […]
12 Tips for Keeping Goats in the City
Move over chickens, and make way for the goats. Just as it has become increasingly popular to keep chickens in America’s backyards, more people are raising goats on city and suburban lots. Jennie Grant, a Seattle goat keeper who Time magazine dubbed “the godmother of goat lovers,” has had a hand in making that happen. […]
Wide Open Agriculture has secured its largest distribution deal to date
Our Australian partner Wide Open Agriculture has secured its largest distribution deal to date with Woolworths Supermarkets to carry their regeneratively farmed, carbon neutral oat milk in half of its stores, commencing March 2022. Wide Open Agriculture managing director Dr Ben Cole said that they’re thrilled to collaborate with Woolworths and have been impressed by […]