Weekly Livestock-Equine News: February 3, 2025

Labor shortages prop up agtech VC investment

The agtech sector experienced a tumultuous 2024 with VC investment declining 25.6% to $6 billion globally, according to Agtech VC Trends from PitchBook. The precision agriculture segment led the way for startup investment, as labor shortages drove innovation in automation, robotics, and software solutions. Analysts expect a rebound for the sector off the back of an economic recovery and declining interest rates.

Avian flu strikes second biggest US egg producer

Egg producer Rose Acre Farms confirmed avian flu at its facility in Seymour, Indiana. The company started noticing mortality on Jan. 25 and reports it is working with state officials and monitoring its other facilities.

Rising feed prices drive up milk production costs

Global milk production costs have risen significantly over the past five years, according to a report from RaboResearch. From 2019 to 2024, the total cost of milk production increased an average of 14% across the world’s eight top-producing dairy regions, including California and the Upper Midwest. Feed expenses have been the largest culprit, with average feed bills rising by 19%.

Mass deportations could weigh heavy on livestock industry

Members of the livestock and agriculture industries have rising concerns about the disruption and financial impact of mass deportations on producers and consumers. Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, said that in southwest Kansas, where most of the feedyards, dairies and processing facilities in the state are located, the unemployment rate is about 2.5%. There is not enough slack in the system at that level to fill those jobs, he said.

Oregon bill would ban new livestock farms in state’s most polluted areas

The biggest dairy and other livestock farms in Oregon would be prohibited from building or expanding in some of the state’s most polluted groundwater regions under a proposed bill. Environmental groups believe such a law would keep nitrate pollution from getting worse in communities that rely on well water for drinking, while farm lobbying groups believe a ban would put unnecessary burdens on an industry they say is already over regulated.

Caution the better part of valor regarding H5N1

A human H5N1 pandemic is not inevitable, but a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote, according to scientists who spoke with The New York Times. Toothless guidelines, inadequate testing and long delays in releasing data — echoes of the missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic — have squandered opportunities for containing the outbreak, experts said.