Poultry companies struggling to meet higher USDA standards for Salmonella need to increase control efforts in live production to help avoid dreaded Category 3 designations as well as potential regulatory action that could shake customer confidence. “Processing can’t do it all,” insisted Douglas L. Fulnechek, DVM, who spent 28 years with USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) before joining the animal-health company Zoetis in 2016 as senior public health veterinarian.

“For poultry companies to meet today’s rigorous USDA/FSIS standards, there needs to be a comprehensive, integrated plan involving live production and processing to minimize the presence of Salmonella throughout the entire operation. Everyone needs to be part of the solution,” he said.  Read more

Ceva Animal Health has been recognized as the fastest growing Top 10 veterinary health company. Currently the sixth largest animal health company in the world, our goal is to be the first independent player to reach the top 5 by the year 2020.

Ceva offers a growing line of products to meet the health needs of companion animals, poultry, and swine. Our expertise centers on the two fields of pharmacology and biology, where we have dedicated teams that aim to meet the specific demands of each species. Contact Jim Basler for more information. jim.basler@ceva.com or (469) 644-6850

What’s for dinner tonight? There’s a good chance you don’t know yet, said David Portalatin, vice president and industry adviser for The NPD Group, Inc.

“The vast majority of Americans have no idea what’s for dinner,” Portalatin said during a June 11 presentation at the Sosland Publishing Purchasing Seminar in Chicago. “Our research tells us that as late as 30 minutes before dinner there will still be about 18 percent of you who don’t know the answer to that question.”

Solving that dilemma may be a key to growth in a stagnant market, he said.

While consumer retail spending is up, total food consumption may be flat to declining as the aging boomer population eats fewer meals. Annual meal occasions per capita dropped 3.8 percent to 1,473 in 2018 from 1,532 in 2008, according to The NPD Group.  Read more

Corn futures prices rallied about $0.90 per bushel since the beginning of May.

The rally reflects expectations that planted acreage will fall well short of March intentions and on yield concerns associated with wide-ranging late planting.

Demand weakness continues to emerge in the export market, but supply issues look to overwhelm any decrease in demand.  The release of USDA’s Grain Stocks and Acreage reports on June 28 looks to set the tone for summer corn prices.

The reduction in corn planted acreage by three million acres and corn yield by 10 bushels per acre in the June WASDE appears to be a harbinger of things to come this year.  The June estimate of planted acreage of corn is generally expected to be far less than intentions of 92.8 million acres reported in March. Read more

Federal lawmakers continued to press for more data regarding the feasibility of moving the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) agencies of the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) outside the Washington, D.C., area. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a plan in August of 2018 to align the ERS with the Office of the Chief Economist and relocate ERS and NIFA employees outside the National Capital Region.

“It’s been our goal to make USDA the most effective, efficient, and customer-focused department in the entire federal government,” Perdue said. “In our administration, we have looked critically at the way we do business, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the best service possible for our customers and for the taxpayers of the United States. In some cases, this has meant realigning some of our offices and functions, or even relocating them, in order to make more logical sense or provide more streamlined and efficient services.”  Read more

(correction to last name)

Shirley Helfand, wife of Stuart Helfand, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2019.  The Helfands are member/growers of the Squab Producers of California. Shirley and Stuart were married 57 years and have 3 sons and 12 grandchildren. In addition to working along side her husband in the squab business, she worked for the California Franchise Tax Board for 43 years. Shirley was born October 9, 1936, grew up in Auburn, CA and attended Placer High School. Our condolences go out to the Helfand Family.

Shirley Helfan, wife of Stuart Helfan, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2019.  The Helfan’s are member/growers of the Squab Producers of California. Shirley and Stuart were married 57 years and have 3 sons and 12 grandchildren. In addition to working along side her husband in the squab business, she worked for the California Franchise Tax Board for 43 years. Shirley was born October 9, 1936, grew up in Auburn, CA and attended Placer High School. Condolences go out to the Helfan Family.