The decision by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service to finalize a proposed rule on country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for meat and poultry products with no changes is being called incomprehensible and reckless by the American Meat Institute (AMI). The move was made despite a massive outpouring of concern from affected companies and major trading partners and disregards the potential adverse retaliatory trade responses from Canada and Mexico, the AMI says.  

  Canadian pork producers should be extra vigilant with their herd biosecurity, given that Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus has been found in North America for the first time, according to the Canadian Swine Health Board (CSHB). Cases have suddenly appeared on multiple unrelated farms in the Midwestern United States, the CSHB says. There are ongoing investigations to determine the origin and common risk factors.

  Tyson Foods is providing disaster relief support in Moore, OK, the site of a series of devastating tornadoes on Monday. The company’s Meals that Matter disaster relief trailer and cooking teams from several Tyson plant locations arrived in Moore on Tuesday to begin providing meals to victims and relief workers. Depending upon the need, the trailer and cooking teams could be on site two to three weeks.

  During the first two weeks of June, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will be contacting farmers and ranchers across the country to gather information about this season’s crop production, supplies of grain in storage, and livestock inventory. NASS will gather information about U.S. crops and livestock through several surveys focusing on agricultural acreage, crops produced and stored, and hog inventory. 

Heat stress can have a major impact on sow performance and longevity and sows may feel heat stressed at temperatures lower than one might think. As temperatures surpass 70º F, depending upon humidity, sows can start to experience adverse effects from heat stress, such as reduced feed intake. Changes in the ration can help sows continue to consume the nutrients they need to maintain performance and body condition levels.

The Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is now accepting samples for diagnostic testing for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), which has been recently confirmed in the United States. Laboratory testing is the only known way to diagnose the virus. The diagnostic laboratory has assembled a team of virologists, molecular diagnosticians and pathologists to rapidly identify the virus.

  Showing pigs is a dynamic part of the pig industry in the United States. More than a million pigs are born, bred and raised for the show ring each year. But with that exciting part of the pork industry, comes a responsibility to practice good biosecurity to help protect people and pigs from disease threats.

U.S. corn farmers used some favorable weather and the marvels of technology to make large gains in getting this year’s corn crop planted last week, according to Steve Meyer and Len Steiner in today’s Daily Livestock Report (www.dailylivestockreport.com). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) weekly Crop Progress Report indicated 71% of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of May 19, 2013. Last week, USDA had pegged the percentage of the corn crop planted at just 28%.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is leading a coalition of U.S. food and agricultural groups in urging the Obama administration to convince the European Union (EU) to negotiate a “comprehensive” free trade agreement, including addressing sanitary-phytosanitary (SPS) barriers to trade.  

A dry week in the Midwest will likely be reflected in substantial, probably record-high, weekly planting progress report when those data are released this afternoon. That prospect has new crop corn futures trading near $5.15/bu. today and only four cents higher than the December contract’s lifetime low of $5.11/bu. set June 15, 2012. That, of course, was about the time that last summer’s heat and lack of rainfall began to be a clear problem and prompting Dec ’13 futures to go above $6.60/bu. by early September. Should good growing conditions prevail, $5/bu. corn will be high at harvest time.

Both agriculture committees passed their respective versions of the farm bill last week. The Senate Agriculture Committee’s bill, the “Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013,” cuts $23 billion over 10 years, while the House Agriculture Committee’s bill, the “Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013,” cuts approximately $40 billion.

Even though there is no livestock title in either the House or Senate Agriculture Committee farm bills, there are a number of key items that are important to the livestock, poultry and meat industries.

The Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA) passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a voice vote.

With the closure of the Russian market and larger domestic pork supplies in South Korea, U.S. pork exports have seen challenges in 2013, but several markets are defying the trend. One of the most notable is the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.