Weekly livestock news: August 9, 2021

African swine fever cases in Dominican Republic spur regional concern

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) called on countries to strengthen efforts to keep out African swine fever after the Dominican Republic reported the Americas’ first cases of the disease in nearly 40 years, Reuters reports. The outbreak began July 1, according to an OIE report, but it wasn’t confirmed through U.S. testing until July 28. Investigations are underway to figure out how the disease entered the Dominican Republic. Pigs on two farms in provinces located about 200 kilometers apart have been infected, and nearly 850 animals have died or been killed, according to the OIE. “The great diversity of production and trade systems that currently coexist in the Americas region pose unique additional challenges when it comes to facing this disease,” said Luis Barcos, OIE representative for the Americas.

Court upholds beef checkoff constitutionality

A federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of the beef checkoff program in a challenge brought by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, Feedstuffs reports. This stems from a 2020 suit brought by R-CALF, which a federal court dismissed, ruling that qualified state beef checkoff programs operating under a memorandum of understanding with USDA don’t violate the First Amendment. The new decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirming the previous ruling was “a long-awaited victory,” said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “A three-judge panel rejected R-CALF’s argument that the work of [qualified state beef councils] wasn’t receiving adequate government oversight, finding that the government speech of QSBCs and their contractors is properly overseen by USDA.”

Pilgrim’s Pride executives and Koch Foods indicted in price fixing case

A federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment charging Koch Foods for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products. Separately, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment charging four former Pilgrim’s Pride executives for their roles in the same conspiracy. The indictments allege the defendants and co-conspirators conspired to suppress and eliminate competition for sales of broiler chicken products. Koch’s senior vice president, William Kantola, is among 10 individuals indicted in October 2020 for their roles in the conspiracy, according to the Justice Department.

USDA implements heirs’ property lending program to lessen inequities in agriculture

USDA announced it will provide $67 million in loans through the new Heirs’ Property Relending Program, which aims to help resolve property issues that have kept some producers and landowners from accessing USDA programs and services, Politico reports. The program was included in the 2018 Farm Bill. Black farm families in the U.S. have often lost land after handing it down from generation to generation because they don’t have documentation and access to resources to prove their ownership. Known as heirs’ property, this land makes up more than a third of Black-owned land in the South, according to ProPublica. The new program is part of an effort to ensure those families can keep their land and access government assistance programs.

Grant will help Maine lab research seaweed’s potential to lower cows’ methane emissions

A Maine marine science lab has received $5 million to advance research into whether seaweed-based food can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cows, the Associated Press reports. Bigelow Laboratory has been working in recent years to figure out whether the feed supplements can help cut emissions of methane at cattle operations. According to project leader Nichole Price, the funding, from the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, will help scientists apply their work in a way that’s feasible on a global scale. The lab said it has had success in feed trials with individual herds. A key question is how the supplement can be produced in large enough quantities and at a reasonable enough cost to make a dent in worldwide farming operations.

Insect meal could replace one-fifth of U.K. soy imports by 2050, report shows

U.K. demand for insect meal for livestock feed could reach 540,000 metric tons by 2050, according to a recent report. And with expected production of 240,000 tons in the United Kingdom, insect meal could replace nearly one-fifth of the country’s projected 2050 soy import volume, according to the report from the World Wildlife Fund. This would free up 150,000 hectares of land—about the size of the London metropolitan area—that would otherwise be dedicated to crop production, Feed Strategy reports. “Really it’s a question of how can we use more land to feed more people directly, and in doing so help us create more space for nature,” said Mollie Gupta, forest commodities manager for WWF’s U.K. office. “This is not about abandoning the use of soy, because we know it’s a good ingredient and efficient crop,” Gupta said. “But it’s about what we can do to reduce…pressure on the landscape.”