USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is asking its inspectors to review data from any programs that establishments use to control or monitor salmonella in raw classes of product. FSIS issued Notice 57-11 in light of recent illness outbreaks related to salmonella contamination in raw ground turkey products.  Read More

Avicorvi S.A.S. is announcing the revolutionary and long waited "Phenomenon" Turkey Nipple Drinker, a single watering system solution for the turkey industry, from start to finish.  Designed and developed exclusively for poults and turkeys, it has been successfully proven from day one poults to adult turkeys over 18 weeks of age. Based on the same patented and exclusive non-pin based technology used in the Avicorvi Nipple for Chickens, this new nipple drinker has a wide nozzle to help the adult turkeys to precisely activate the nipple’s internal valve and effectively direct the water into the beak, without leaking or spillage, providing much more abundant and cleaner water than any other similar product, with great poults and turkeys performances. Starting at 40mils/minute at about 5" (12.7cm) of water column height, it can be setup to deliver over 220mils/minute. This new product can be installed using our Avicorvi Nipple Installation System, which surpasses and replaces the common uses of aluminum rails, galvanized or metal pipes, significantly reducing installation and maintenance costs; or following other installation methods. For details or to request information and an optional product sample (U.S. and Canada territories only), please contact Jaime Orozco, Avicorvi North America, cell (805) 300-5227, email Jaime@Avicorvi.com; or using the traditional and effective US Postal Service, PO Box 0272, Folsom, CA 95763-0272. Outside North America region, contact our headquarters sales department in Colombia (South America) at info@Avicorvi.com, fax +(57.6) 326-0406. Visit our products’ web page at www.AvicorviNorthAmerica.com for details.

The Environmental Protection Agency has published in the Federal Register a proposed rule providing two ways to obtain information from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to help the feds enforce federal water-quality standards.

EPA is proposing two options for collecting facility-specific information to ensure CAFOs are complying with the federal Clean Water Act. Under one option, the agency would be authorized to collect information from all CAFOs. The other option would allow the agency to get the information from CAFOs located within areas identified as having water-quality issues "likely associated with CAFOs." Read More

Click here for the comment page at www.regulations.gov. Click here for a fact sheet and here for Q & A sheet.

Attention CA Elementary School Teachers:

As we approach Thanksgiving, learn about how the Presidential Turkeys were raised last year by California’s own Foster Farms. The official turkeys were presented to President Obama at the White House and were “pardoned”. A four-page activity guide is available to download from learnaboutag.org/turkey. The four-page, full-color guide, developed by California educators and in coordination with California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom and Foster Farms, introduces students to the history of our nation’s Presidential Turkey tradition and engages them with activities about the popular poultry. It is aligned to California state content standards for grades 4-6 in English-language arts, history-social science, math, science, and health education.

California Poultry Federation also offers a Gobble It Up turkey CD for grades 4-6. This CD contains information about the California Poultry industry. The goal of Gobble it Up is to provide elementary students fun and active learning centered around the turkey. The materials are aligned with the California State Content Standards for grades 4-6. Please email felicia@cpif.org to request one for your class. A chicken CD, Chicken, from the Egg to your Table, also is available. Check out the CPF website at www.cpif.org.

Vern and Barbara Deatherage received the annual Good Egg Award for their work with homeless people at Modesto Gospel Mission.The state’s poultry industry presented the award at its 49th annual Good Egg Breakfast Thursday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Modesto. "They have their hands on the hearts of people," said the Rev. Michael Atinsky, who presented the award. About 325 people attended the breakfast, enjoying custom-made omelets and raising scholarship money for poultry science students at Modesto Junior College.

The Center for Food Integrity works toward building trust and confidence in today’s food system. As consumers become more interested in how their food is grown, processed and brought to market, the food system must ensure it is doing the right things in a way that builds trust. The Center for Food Integrity is dedicated to building that consumer trust and confidence — bringing together stakeholders at every level of the food chain to reach consumers in meaningful ways with a unified voice and address the issues most critical to consumers.

Today, October 24, The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has launched a campaign called “Food Day.” According to CSPI, Food Day is a nationwide campaign to change the way Americans eat and think about food. It encourages people to support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way. The primary goal of Food Day is to gather signatures to send to Congress to support CSPI’s agenda.

While CFI shares, in theory, a few of CSPI’s stated goals, such as expanding access to food and alleviating hunger, the organization’s anti-agriculture agenda will likely disparage many of the current efforts of the food system. It is important that all farmers and those involved in the food system make their voices heard. Let the public know that on Food Day – and every day – we need to celebrate food choice! Supporting a diverse food supply, raised using a variety of farming methods, is vital to ensuring that we all have access to affordable food.

Click here to see a video just released by CFI titled What is the Ethical Choice? And click here for more audio and video files.

Food Day 2011 Messaging

Soaring feed costs are forcing Valley poultry producers to cut costs, raise prices — and, in some cases, close their doors.

Feed prices have climbed as much as 50% since last year, fueled by the ongoing demand for corn — a major ingredient in livestock feed.

Farmers say the competition from ethanol makers pushed the price for corn to a record $7.99 a bushel in June. Since then, corn prices have slipped, reaching $6.30 a bushel last week on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast that calls for a 1% drop in production.

Still, egg farmer Mike Corcoran took slight comfort in the news. Read more