H1N1 flu fatal April 29, 2009

As intern at the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, Monday was a blur for me. It wasn’t because I dreaded dead week or the fact that I hadn’t started my extensive research assignment. It was from the H1N1 flu.

No, I didn’t contract H1N1 flu, but it did have an effect on the association.

In order to ward off a panic epidemic in Nebraska, the Nebraska Pork Producers Association had to get ready and be prepared to answer worried customers’ questions.

The National Pork Board sent out numerous press releases trying to ease people’s minds and to keep the pork industry from going into a nose dive in already tough economic times.

The National Pork Producers Council, in a press release, said “Pork is safe to eat, and direct contact with swine in the source of, and U.S. pigs have not been infected with, the hybrid influenza that has been identified in a number of people in the United States and more than 1,300 in Mexico.

So how is the fatal strain contracted? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “This virus is different, very different from that found in pigs.”

According to the CDC and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:

• People cannot get the hybrid influenza from eating pork or pork products. Most influenza viruses, including the swine flu virus, are not spread by food. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.
• There are no food safety issues related to the hybrid flu that has been identified, according to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
• Preliminary investigations have determined that none of the people infected with the hybrid flu had contact with hogs.
• “This virus is different, very different from that found in pigs.”
• The hybrid virus never has been identified in hogs in the United States or anywhere in the world.
• The hybrid virus is contagious and is spreading by human-to-human transmission.

None of the cases in the U.S have been fatal, but Mexico hasn’t been as fortunate. Where the strain was first located, Mexico has reported 150 deaths caused from the swine flu. Officials advise people to avoid international travel and report infected swine has not shown in U.S pork.

So take a risk and eat pork, or not. It’s your choice.

I’ll be enjoying pork myself.

Doane gets certified April 20, 2009

As a native “Creteian” it is good to hear Crete, Neb. is making a difference in the world, even if it may be considered small.

The National Wildlife Federation has certified the Doane College campus in Crete as a Wildlife Habitat.

The designation recognizes the 300-acre campus for creating wildlife havens.

The Wildlife and Conservation Organization chapter at Doane completed the application for the program. The campus has demonstrated that it provides food and water sources, wildlife cover, places for wildlife to raise their young, and sustainable gardening, including the use of mulch and compost.

Doane is now also included in the National Wildlife Federation’s national registry of habitat sites.

Doane’s beautiful landscape not only is helpful for the environment, it also provides a perfect backdrop for pictures. My sister and her now-husband made a special trip to the serene landscape to create beautiful outdoor pictures on their wedding day in June of 2007.

Countless other couples and individuals have benefited from the beautiful campus and now Doane is getting the recognition it deserves.

TB confirmed in captive elk herd April 12, 2009

A northeast Nebraska captive elk herd tested positive for tuberculosis, which may require game managers to kill wild deer in the area to determine if the disease has spread. 

Numerous tests have confirmed tuberculosis in elk in the privately owned herd last week and found it in three additional female elk, said State Veterinarian Dennis Hughes.

Nebraska Department of Agriculture officials have decided to kill all elk and fallow deer at the farm in northern Knox County, Hughes said.

The reason for killing all elk is to eliminate the disease off the farm and reduce spread to wild deer and elk.

Although it is possible to spread to humans, it is not the strain that typically infects people, Hughes said.  The tuberculosis found in the captive herd, which are kept behind an 8-foot fence, is known to infect cattle, deer and elk.

Tuberculosis can lead to emaciation, weakness and pneumonia in infected animals.  It can be difficult to diagnose in early stages.

The U.S Department of Agriculture will provide compensation for the destroyed animals, Hughes said.

Wild pig tested positive for pseudorabies April 10, 2009

I earlier blogged on the issue of feral pigs in Nebraska and how the Nebraska Department of Agriculture allowed professional snipers to hunt down the pests in helicopters.  Well, they didn’t get them all and now a recently killed wild pig was tested positive for pseudorabies. 

 

In the Genoa area, a wild pig was tested positive for pseudorabies, and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture is warning producers in the area to watch for symptoms. 

 

Symptoms include respiratory distress, paralysis, trembling and sudden death of piglets and unborn pigs.  The name pseudorabies came from the symptoms similar to rabies that is caused in rabbits.

 

Producers need to keep a watchful eye on their livestock and contact their local veterinarian or the state agriculture department if they notice symptoms.

 

There are methods of preventing the disease by vaccinating stock and minimizing contact with outside animals. The virus is shed in the saliva and nasal secretions of infected swine and is spread through oral or nasal contact.

 

 However, if a pig becomes infected, there is little hope of saving it.

 

A similar pseudorabies outbreak was discovered in the area in early 2007.

UNL’s agricutlure research division lacks recognition March 30, 2009

Many professionals call the University of Nebraska-Lincoln their home with the goal to better the economic and social sustainability as well as growth in Nebraska. 

I’m talking about the men and women who work within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The IANR at UNL is Nebraska’s primary provider of agriculture and natural resources programs in support of Nebraska’s number one industry – agriculture.

The taxpayers’ investment, as well as the states, in IANR is continually paid many times over with an estimation at 15 to 1.  In the 2005 fiscal year alone, IANR received $71.6 million in state funds, which may seem a lot, but what the state got in return far outnumbers the payment.

IANR provided more than $750 million in annual benefits from the institute’s research, teaching and extension activities and approximately $388 million in annual benefits through the economic ripple effects of IANR conducting business in Nebraska. 

But how often does anyone realize the significance of IANR?  How many students realize their university is a leading research facility? 

If only Nebraskans would recognize the good IANR produces.

IANR developed wheat varieties that perform well in Nebraska fields are worth $30 to $35 million annually to Nebraska producers, based on increased yield alone.

Along with the University of Florida, IANR scientists discovered new beef products that added $50 to $70 in value per head over the past seven years.  In January 2006, Nebraska had 2.6 million cattle on feed and at $50 per head, that’s $130 million.

And now a team of researchers has found a way to grow plants resistant to an herbicide called dicamba, a discovery that could lead to healthier, more plentiful crops while another researcher is working on a dietary supplement that could make weight loss easier.

The number of benefits created by IANR is endless, but sadly how many Nebraskans appreciate the work?

UNL research is not given the credit it is due. 

IRS, USDA crack down on millionaires March 23, 2009

The Agriculture Department and the Internal Revenue Service lay down the law on millionaires who receive farm subsidies by mistake.

More than 2,700 millionaires received farm payments without being eligible according to a report released last year.  Millionaires such as a sports team owner and a financial firm executive received farm subsidies even though they probably were ineligible. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last Thursday that his department will now work with the IRS to verify the incomes of subsidy recipients.  The department said they did not have access to IRS information prior to the released report that could have disqualified the ineligible recipients. 

Those receiving government farm payments will be required to sign a separate form that will give the Agriculture Department access to IRS information about their income.

The Government Accountability Office reviewed farm payments sent between 2003 and 2006.  During that timeframe, farm entities or individual were ineligible for subsidy dollars if averaged adjusted gross income exceeded $2.5 million over three years – unless 75 percent or more that income came from farming, ranching and forestry. 

The report concluded 2,792 recipients surpassed the $2.5 million and got less than 75 percent of their income from these activities.  The payments to them totaled more than $49 million. 

To go further than the new rules made by the Agriculture Department, Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind has introduced legislation that would implement penalties for noncompliance.  It would also require all applicants to be screened automatically, instead of asking producers to sign a waiver allowing the department to access their information.

The new USDA rules are part of an Obama administration effort to improve efficiency in agency activities and to trim waste from departmental budgets.

Feral pigs hunted down by helicopter March 9, 2009

Sharpshooters killed 15 feral pigs near Harlan County Reservoir in an effort to eliminate a destructive invasive species.

The helicopter-assisted shooting of the wild pigs was not the first of its kind.  A similar aerial hunting last year removed 69 animals in the same area. 

“If we would have gone out and killed 70 again it would have been an indication that we missed too many (last year).  We think we really knocked the population down,” Sam Wilson told the Lincoln Journal Star.  Wilson is the nongame mammal and furbearer specialist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

By only killing 15 feral pigs this year has given hope to many wildlife biologists that the state’s largest feral pig infestation is close to being wiped out said Wilson.

Helicopter pilots who specialized in feral pig suppression and two trained aerial gunners employed by the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services were hired by the agency to take out the feral pigs.  The U.S Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Harlan County reservoir, also participated in the operation.

The reservoir wants the feral population gone and out of the area forever, but don’t go killing them yourself.  It’s illegal to hunt or possess feral pigs in Nebraska because it creates erratic behavioral patterns making it harder for U.S Department of Agriculture to find and destroy the feral pigs.

Feral describes a species that was once tamed or domesticated and has since reverted to a free-roaming life in the wild.  The feral pigs destroy crop, prey on wildlife and present a disease threat to domestic swine.  The invasive species also tamper and destroy the local ecosystem.  A sow can produce two litters of more than 10 piglets annually, allowing them to quickly spiral out of control. 

All of the carcasses were recovered and tested pseudorabies, swine brucellosis and swine fever.

The entire feral pig population hasn’t been wiped out yet, but the Game and Parks Commission wants to hear from local hunters or others who see feral pigs, but they urge hunters not to attempt to shoot the animals. 

 

Legislative bill may save FFA March 2, 2009

I recently wrote a blog about the bountiful opportunities that the National FFA Association provides to students nationwide since it began in 1928, but that organization’s long life may come to an end.

The Nebraska Department of Education has provided state leadership and administration for Career Education Student Organizations since 1928. However, financial support for Career Education Student Organizations in Nebraska is stretched beyond capacity. Now, without the necessary resources, the Nebraska Department of Education can no longer fund the Nebraska FFA Association.

To save the FFA organization, proposed Legislative Bill 476 would provide ongoing support for the organization by establishing the Center for Student Leadership and Extended Learning. However, if proposed bill 476 doesn’t pass, things could get very tricky for FFA organizations throughout the United States. The Center, if bill 476 passes, shall have three primary purposes, which includes student leadership, extended learning and research and it will be housed within the Nebraska Department of Education as part of the Curriculum Instruction and Innovation Team.

Nevertheless, not only will it be a replacement for current funds, Legislative Bill 476 presents an opportunity to improve the organization and success of Career Education Student Organizations in Nebraska.

To see more information on LB 476 visit http://www.supportstudentleaders.com/index.html

Proposed puppy mill bill worries Farm Bureau February 23, 2009

Farm Bureau members and others with ties to livestock agriculture in Nebraska are up in arms over proposed bill LB241 legislation wording, which could possibly regulate Nebraska livestock production in the future.

 

The proposed bill LB241 is aimed at regulating puppy mills and cat havens and prohibiting inhumane animals practices.

 

If the language that limits commercial dog breeders to 250 animals is taken out of LB241, the state’s largest farm organization will sigh in relief. However, if the current language passes, the Farm Bureau will lobby even more against LB241.  That’s because the Farm Bureau thinks that what applies to dogs and cats today may be applied to cattle and hogs tomorrow. 

 

Don’t get the Farm Bureau wrong, they are against inhumane practices toward all animals including the wrongdoings of puppy mills and cat havens, but they don’t what happened in California and Colorado to happen here. 

 

As of November 2008, California’s Proposition 2 prohibits such practices as confining egg-laying hens and veal calves in cages.  The same goes for a Colorado move to phase out gestation crates for breeding sows and similar means of confining veal calves.

 

When it comes to livestock management, said Craig Head, a member of the Farm Bureau’s government relations team told the Lincoln Journal Star, “we’ve always taken the position that producers and veterinarians are the people best suited to make those determinations.”

 

“We don’t have an issue with it,” he said of LB241, “as long as the size issue is out of there.”

Cutting the cheese February 17, 2009

Nebraska is cutting the cheese and by that I mean Nebraska is feeling the pinch within its dairy production.

The number of dairies around Nebraska isn’t going down because of the hard labor involved in running a successful farm.  The decrease is caused primarily by the economic downturn.

Dave Murman, a Glenvil milk producer and president of the Nebraska State Dairy Association, told the Lincoln Journal Star the effect has been especially pronounced in the last three months, but the total price drop since last summer is about 40 percent.

Dairy farms are down to about 300 with 59,000 dairy cows, which is major decline from the 70s when Nebraska was the home to 5,200 dairies and over 174,000 head.

As a result of consumers dining out less and the economy slipping farther into a dangerous time, California and other big dairy states, cows are being sent to slaughter while they are still in their prime milk-producing years.

Amount of dairy products down, meat products go up.

On February 13, an announcement of income loss payments from the federal government.  Plans are also in the works for a herd buyout program in the private sector to cut milk supply to match the weaker demand.

Murman said it simply with “I feel we have to take drastic measures.”