UC DAVIS TO LEAD NEW USAID PROGRAM

UC Davis Helping Africa

To Prevent Poultry Diseases

A new program that will identify genes crucial for breeding chickens that can tolerate hot climates and resist infectious diseases — specifically the devastating Newcastle disease — has been launched under the leadership of the University of California, Davis.

The global economic impact of virulent Newcastle disease is enormous. The project is particularly important for Africa, where infectious diseases annually cause approximately 750 million poultry deaths. Newcastle disease, a global threat to food security, first appeared in 1950 in the United States. In 2002 it resulted in the death of 4 million birds at more than 2,600 California locations and cost $160 million to eradicate.

The new effort, called the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, aims to dramatically increase chicken production among Africa’s rural households and small farms, advancing food security, human nutrition and personal livelihoods. The innovation lab recently was established with a $6 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative.

Huaijun Zhou, principal investigator for the program and an associate professor of animal science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, noted that disease resistance is one of the most economically important traits for poultry production but also challenging to achieve through genetic selection and traditional breeding alone.

“We are thrilled by the opportunity to apply cutting-edge technology and advanced genomics to solve this problem in poor, developing countries,” said Zhou, whose research focuses on the relationship between genetics and the immune system.

“Developing a chicken that can survive Newcastle disease outbreaks is critical to increase poultry, meat and egg production in Africa and in other regions of the world,” said David Bunn, director of the new innovation lab. “Increasing the production of chickens and eggs can have a dramatic impact on the livelihoods of poor rural communities.”

Homestead and small-scale poultry production is considered to have tremendous potential for alleviating malnutrition and poverty in Africa’s climate-stressed rural communities. Improving the productivity of such poultry operations also promises to improve incomes and nourishment for women and children, who typically raise poultry for both income and food in Africa.

Collaborating with Zhou and Bunn at UC Davis are Rodrigo Gallardo, an assistant professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Ermias Kebreab, a professor in the Department of Animal Science. The UC Davis team will partner with animal science professors Sue Lamont and Jack Dekkers, both at Iowa State University; Boniface Kayang, head of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Ghana; poultry health expert Peter Msoffe of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania; and Carl Schmidt, a professor of animal science at the University of Delaware.

About USAID and Feed the Future

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of foreign policy goals of the United States. As stated in the President’s National Security Strategy, USAID’s work in development joins diplomacy and defense as one of the key pieces of the nation’s foreign policy apparatus.

USAID promotes peace and stability by fostering economic growth, protecting human health, providing emergency humanitarian assistance, and enhancing democracy in developing countries. These efforts to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide represent U.S. values and advance U.S. interests for peace and prosperity. More at: http://www.usaid.gov.

Feed the Future is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth and trade that increase incomes and reduce hunger, poverty and undernutrition. More at http://www.feedthefuture.gov.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 30th, 2013|

Church Brothers Produce Names New Food Safety Head

McDonald Heads Up Food Safety

for Church Brothers

Salinas-based grower/shipper of fresh vegetables Church Brothers/True Leaf Farms has named Drew McDonald Vice President of Quality, Food Safety & Regulatory Affairs. Drew will be working with all of the growing and processing operations under the Church Brothers family of companies.

Drew has over 18 years’ experience in fresh-cut produce and fresh food operations and has worked with multiple buyers and suppliers assessing and assisting in the development and management of industry-leading quality and food safety programs.

He is experienced with grower, processors, and suppliers of fresh food and produce items sourced from large commercial operations down to small, local farms throughout North America and world-wide.

He currently serves on numerous food safety-related technical committees and has participated in the authorship of many produce food safety guidelines.

Previously McDonald worked for Danaco Solutions, Taylor Farms, Dole Fresh Vegetables and Campbell’s. Drew received his education from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and currently resides on the Monterey Peninsula with his wife Aimee and their three daughters.

Steve Church, CEO commented: “I don’t think we could have picked a better person for the job and we’re delighted to have Drew on board.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 30th, 2013|

CALIFORNIA DAIRY PRODUCERS EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES

Dairies Seek Federal Marketing Order

Dairy farmers and their representatives say they are moving forward with other efforts to bring more equity to the state’s milk pricing system, including joining the federal milk marketing order, after the California Department of Food and Agriculture denied another request to further raise the price of milk used to make cheese.

In a decision announced last week, CDFA extended an overall temporary price increase of 12.5 cents per hundredweight of milk that had been in place since July and was set to expire at the end of the year. The temporary price increase will now continue through June 2014 and apply to all classes of milk, including an increase of 15 cents per cwt. for Class 4b milk, which is used to manufacture cheese.

Producers have long contended that the state’s milk pricing system underpays them compared to what dairy farmers in other states earn under the federal milk marketing order. They say the main problem is the undervaluation of whey in the state milk pricing formula. Dairy organizations petitioned the department this summer to raise the 4b price up to 46 cents per cwt. and to change the sliding scale used to determine the whey value.

The groups said they petitioned the hearing thinking the proposed increases were part of a deal negotiated with processors, who later said during the September hearing that there was no agreement.

In a recent letter to dairy stakeholders, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross acknowledged her decision would bring disappointment “in light of the publicity surrounding the perceived agreement between producers and processors during the legislative session.” But she said the hearing testimony “failed to provide justification for the petitioners’ position that price relief be based solely on the whey factor and the 4b formula,” he said.

The CDFA hearing panel recommended keeping the current temporary price increase in place until the end of the year, but Ross said she decided to extend it despite “positive signs in the marketplace” because she felt the country’s economic recovery remains fragile and because she wanted to “provide a consistent level of revenue to producers to ensure a stable milk supply.”

Kings County dairy farmer Dino Giacomazzi said next year’s outlook for producers appears better because feed costs have come down and are expected to drop further due to the anticipated large U.S. corn crop, but he also said he doesn’t think corn prices should figure into a discussion about California milk pricing.

“We’re here trying to find the fair and correct way to determine milk price to producers in California. Just because our costs are coming down doesn’t mean that the CDFA should sit on their hands and do nothing to solve the problem,” he said.

Rob Vandenheuvel, general manager of the Milk Producers Council, said the message he got from the secretary’s decision is that there’s still a need for additional producer revenue, even though the department chose not to apply it “in a way that we felt was appropriate.”

“They wanted to apply it across the board for all classes (of milk) and we thought that the problem was isolated to the 4b price,” he said.

Ross said she simply couldn’t do what some producers have asked, “because there’s not the economic data for the formulas, or there are legislative and administrative hurdles to doing what some people want us to do.”

Vandenheuvel said producers have been “exploring alternatives,” noting that the state’s three dairy cooperatives plan to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture to replace the current state milk marketing order with a federal order.

Lynne McBride, executive director of California Dairy Campaign, said joining the federal order is now “the only viable way to bring our state dairy producer prices in line with prices paid across the country.”

But not all producers believe joining the federal order is the panacea for their current problems.

Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United Dairymen, said one concern about going this route is the risk of losing the state quota system, which he described as a billion-dollar asset for California dairy farmers. The latest CDFA decision, he said, will “continue to foster momentum towards just finding something other than CDFA.”

Marsh said his organization will now go back to the state Legislature to ask for guidance, because some of its members have been sympathetic to dairy farmers’ plight and had testified at the last CDFA hearing about the need for milk pricing reform.

Bill Schiek, an economist for the Dairy Institute of California, which represents the state’s processors, said his group respects the secretary’s decision and her desire to balance the needs of producers and processors.

“I think she understood that conditions are improving for dairymen. The secretary has been responsive, and processors and cheese makers have been responsive,” he said, noting that CDFA had already granted emergency price relief twice this year and has now extended it again.

He also said the institute is “committed to the work” of the California Dairy Future Task Force, a group of producers and processors that Ross formed last year to work on reforming the state milk pricing system.

Ross said work of the task force had been pushed aside earlier this year as dairy groups introduced legislation to try to change how the state determines the whey value.

She said a group of “industry technical experts” is now working on “potential alternative pricing scenarios” that could replace the current formulas, and that the department has contracted economist Dan Sumner, Director, UC Agricultural Issues Center based at the University of California, Davis, to analyze those scenarios. She said CDFA staff is also drafting pricing proposals needed to make the changes, and she expects those proposals by Dec. 15.

Source: California Farm Bureau Federation

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 30th, 2013|

THREE VOLUNTARY RECALL EXPANSIONS

Salad Dressing in Packaged Salads May Have Listeria

The USDA Food and Drug Administration(FDA) announced TODAY that
Taylor Farms in Maryland and Texas are voluntarily recalling approximately 22,849 pounds of broccoli salad kit products due to concerns about possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination in the salad dressing.

The USDA FDA also announced that BI-LO supermarkets is calling for an immediate recall of the Taylor Farms Spinach Antipasti Salad sold at one BI-LO store in Martinez, GA. This recall is an expansion of an earlier recall announced by Reser’s Fine Foods Inc. of packaged Taylor Farms salad kits with dressing included sold between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27. According to the FDA, the reason for the recall is the potential that the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

In addition, USDA FDA announced that Reser’s Fine Foods of Beaverton, Oregon is voluntarily expanding its October 22, 2013 recall of refrigerated ready-to-eat products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled refrigerated ready-to-eat products were distributed nationwide and Canada.

The Taylor Farms salad vegetables are NOT suspected of contamination.

There are no confirmed illnesses associated with these products.

Reser’s reports that the salad dressing included in the spinach salad pack is in question. The product is sold in retail and food service establishments. The packages will be marked with a Use-by-Date or Best By Date and followed by a plant identifier code of 20. Products affected by this recall are listed on the FDA website.

Consumers who purchased the product may take it back to the store for a refund or discard it.

Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. For further explanation, go to the FDA website press release.

For more information please contact Reser’s Fine Foods Consumer Hotline 1-888-257-7913 (8am-10pm EST) or visit the FDA website.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 29th, 2013|

Nut Theft Ordinance Continues to Be Enforced

Tulare County Walnut Buying Period Starts Nov. 1

Marilyn Sinoshita

Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita announced today that the walnut-buying period will begin Friday, November 1^st as the County’s nut theft ordinance continues to be enforced.

“Commercial production and handling of walnuts constitute an important industry here in Tulare County” Kinoshita said. “Unfortunately, some people steal them from orchards and attempt to sell the walnuts illegally on the streets. County staff has been actively enforcing the nut theft ordinance by conducting compliance checks at places where walnuts are sold to ensure that this practice stops.”

In 2012, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved amendments to an existing nut theft ordinance to assist with an issue that has long plagued the walnut industry. Walnuts are typically shaken from the trees and left unattended until workers can gather them up, making them prime targets for overnight heists.

One amendment to the ordinance mandates that non-processing walnut-buying stands shall not operate within the boundaries’ of Tulare County until a “Walnut Buying Period”, as established by the Agricultural Commissioner, is in effect. Kinoshita said that consensus was reached amongst walnut growers to determine the appropriate start date.

What documentation is required to sell walnuts at a non-processing walnut-buying stand?

The County’s nut theft ordinance states:

Upon probable cause to believe any amount of walnuts regulated pursuant to this ordinance is in unlawful possession, proof of ownership shall be made available for inspection upon request of the commissioner or any peace officer. The record shall contain the following information:

(a) Name, address, driver’s license number, telephone number, signature of seller.

(b) Name, address, telephone number, and signature of buyer.

(d) Common or generic name and quantity of the commodity involved.

(e) Date and time of the transaction.

A copy of the record shall be retained by the seller for a period of 60 days after delivery and by the buyer for a period of two years from the date of such sale.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 29th, 2013|

Growers Surveillance Captures Pictures of Theft

Ag Crime Alert, Yuba City Area

A grower’s security surveillance system captured the below images of a hay theft taking place at 8:44 p.m and 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, in an area south of Yuba City, north of the Sutter Bypass.

Please contact the Sutter County Sheriff’s Department with any information:

(530) 822-7307

Let’s work together to catch these thieves.

Thanks to Megan Foster with the Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau for getting this information to California Ag Today.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:14-07:00October 28th, 2013|

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: CROP PROTECTION REGISTRATIONS

New Registrations

DUPONT CROP PROTECTION
DuPont Coregent Insect Control
For the control of various insects such as beet armyworms, cabbage loopers, and corn earworms on various crops such as cabbage, corn, and cotton

LOVELAND PRODUCTS, INC.
Lpi 643 Insecticide

For the control of various insects such as European red mites, avocado thrips, and white apple leafhoppers on crops such as apples, avocados, and cotton

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:15-07:00October 28th, 2013|

USDA REMINDS DAIRIES OF MILC PRODUCTION EVIDENCE DEADLINE

November 1^st MILC Program Deadline

Juan M. Garcia, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), reminded producers yesterday that final production evidence and any supporting documentation for eligible months that Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) payments were available must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2013

“The MILC program helps dairy producers get through tough economic times and is another reason we need a new Farm, Food and Job bill,” said Garcia. “When low dairy prices create a hardship for dairy producers, payments are made to those who participate in the program to ensure they have the financial assistance they need to maintain their business,” and to ensure the stimulation of local economies.

Statutory authority for the MILC program expired Sept. 30, 2013; new legislation is required for the MILC program, or its replacement, to provide assistance.

For more information on MILC, contact a local FSA office or search “MILC” at www.fsa.usda.gov.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:15-07:00October 27th, 2013|

Sun-Maid Honored with Best of Show at PMA

Sun-Maid Is Honored with “Best of Show”

at Fresh Summit New Orleans

John Slinkard, left with Authur Patryk

The 250,000 square-feet exhibit hall at the New Orleans Convention Center was filled with more than 1,000 exhibits, and the Produce Marketing Association judges selected Sun-Maid Growers as Best of Show in the Island Booth Category at Fresh Summit, held Oct. 18-20.

“We are ecstatic that we won and we are very honored,” said John Slinkard, Vice President of Customer & Supply Chain Services for Sun-Maid Growers of California. “We think our booth is dramatic and represents our brand very well.”

“One of the big challenges and the impetus behind the exhibit design was to revitalize the iconic Sun Maid girl logo and bring it into the current era,” noted Arthur Patryk, an exhibit consultant with Skyline who created the exhibit.

“This exhibit also had to adapt to the various layouts in different convention centers,” said Patryk. “In New Orleans, the elaborate 4-sided exhibit had equal representation of branding on the front and back, as well as the sides, with huge images of the famous Sun-Maid girl.

Sun Maid just celebrated their 100th anniversary, and that was incorporated in the exhibit space.

The award-winning exhibit was introduced four years ago in Orlando, then Atlanta, Anaheim and New Orleans.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:15-07:00October 27th, 2013|

CALIFORNIA DAIRIES TO SUPPLY CHINA’S MILK DEMAND

California to Export UHT Milk To China

U.S. suppliers find their latest export opportunity in ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk, particularly to China, as reported by Western United Dairymen TODAY.

With its growing middle class, China’s demand for imported UHT milk is soaring. U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) reported China’s consumption jumped from nearly 18 million pounds in 2010 to a forecast of 331 million pounds this year, and is expected to reach 1.3 billion pounds by 2020.

UHT milk is “ultra pasteurization” for one to two seconds with higher temperatures than traditional pasteurization. It allows a 9-12-month shelf life without refrigeration—until opened. The Chinese UHT import market was worth $76 million in 2012, but topped $85 million just six months later, and Chinese buyers want U.S. dairy products.

While UHT milk could significantly cut the need for refrigeration, thus reducing green house emissions, high heat in the UHT process can change the taste and smell of dairy products, and UHT milk cartons are raising environmentalists’ eyebrows.

California is the nation’s largest dairy-producing state. It produced nearly 42 billion pounds of milk in 2011, 21 percent of the nation’s total output, according to the Dairy Institute of California. With an oversupply of milk, California may be the most logical U.S. supplier to China.

California’s dairy industry has gone through hard times, losing more than 300 dairies since 2007, as reported by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Feed prices have skyrocketed from competition with the biofuels industry, regional droughts, and increased shipping and transportation costs. Worse yet, California’s large dairy farms are affecting Central Valley air and water quality, including groundwater.

If these impediments in California’s dairy industry can be resolved, this new dairy relationship with China may very well be a good fit.