Weekly livestock news: March 30, 2020

COVID-19 aid package includes assistance for farmers

The $2 trillion relief bill passed this week by the Senate has several provisions for farmers. This includes additional lending authority to the Commodity Credit Corp. as well as livestock disaster assistance. “The COVID-19 impact on agriculture includes a rapid and unanticipated decline in commodity prices, the likely closure of ethanol plants, the dramatic decline in full-service restaurant and school meal demand and the reduction in direct-to-consumer sales,” according to Feedstuffs. The agreement includes a $14 billion increase in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s borrowing authority under the CCC, and $9.5 billion to assist specialty crop producers, direct retail farmers and livestock operators. “The aid to farmers in this package, including funding for the CCC and the Office of the Secretary, will allow USDA to begin crafting an appropriate relief program for agriculture,” said American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall.

Homeland Security: Agriculture jobs are ‘essential’

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has deemed agriculture workers “essential critical infrastructure workers” during the COVID-19 outbreak. This is important for farmers preparing for the upcoming planting season, Bovine Veterinarian reports. At the same time, veterinarians haven’t been given the same designation. “We haven’t heard of any states labeling veterinary medicine as non-essential, although some states—such as New York—specify ‘emergency’ services as essential, or recommend against performing elective procedures that could be postponed until after these orders have expired,” said a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association. Many bovine vets have continued to make on-farm calls to treat livestock, since it’s difficult to diagnose and treat large animals remotely.

North American farm suppliers race coronavirus spread for planting season

North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions amid the spread of the coronavirus. The virus could affect the planting season by disrupting deliveries of fertilizer, seeds or chemicals. That could in turn reduce harvests and incomes for farmers who were hoping this year to sell more crops to China under the new trade deal, Reuters reports. Nutrien and Corteva are among the companies that have taken steps to ensure supplies are adequate.

U.S. government sees promising results from rapid ASF test

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it successfully evaluated a genetic test that detects African swine fever and returns results in hours, Bloomberg reports. This is the first product of its kind the agency has studied. Quick testing like this can be a “game-changer,” said John Neilan, the department’s science and technology director. The test can be used on raw pork imports and live pigs. It was developed by Nebraska-based Materials and Machines Corp., which makes diagnostic systems. The company is making the device and test available overseas immediately, but it has to go through a regulatory review process in the United States.

China adopts regionalization policy for poultry imports

A new regionalization agreement could help facilitate safer poultry trade between the United States and China, ensuring export markets remain intact in the event of an avian flu outbreak, Feedstuffs reports. Regionalization means that when disease occurs, unaffected regions are still eligible for international trade. “It is important for China to adopt a regionalization policy because the U.S. has one of the most stringent surveillance, eradication and monitoring programs in the world when it comes to avian disease,” said Tom Super, a spokesperson for the National Chicken Council. “In the event of an outbreak, most of our trading partners limit any potential restrictions to the county or state level.”

Senate confirms Brashears to top USDA food safety post

The Senate has finally confirmed Dr. Mindy Brashears to serve as undersecretary of agriculture for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This comes after years without a Senate confirmation for the top food safety post, Feedstuffs reports. Brashears was nominated in 2018 and was approved in committee, but she didn’t receive full Senate confirmation until now. She previously served as a professor of food safety and public health at Texas Tech University.