California State University, Fresno, recently received a $7,000 student recruiting grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation. The check was presented by Richie King, Vice President of Chicken Plant Operations, Foster Farms, and USPOULTRY board member, to Dr. Michelle Ganci, Lecturer, Poultry Instructor and Internship Coordinator, Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education Department, California State University, Fresno.

"The funding provided by USPOULTRY will help support a number of educational programs at Fresno State," said Dr. Charles Boyer, Dean, Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, California State University, Fresno. "The support provides partial funding for supplies and educational materials for the FFA State judging contest including bird cages and egg candlers, as well as lab coats for the poultry inspections we do. In addition, research supplies for a few student projects will be provided by the gift."

The National Poultry Improvement Plan is certainly one of the most important poultry health programs in the world, and over the years we have been fortunate to have program leaders at the National office who were not only very competent in their work, but passionate about their jobs. A year ago Andy Rhorer retired from the NPIP after a glorious career working with many of us across the United States. And last week his long time assistant and NPIP employee, Marlene Busick, enjoyed a retirement/Christmas party in Georgia. While we could not make the trip to the South, we celebrated with her from our Modesto offices; and all of our California members wish Marlene a wonderful, productive retirement. I’ve been doing this job for more than 20 years, and Marlene has always been the go-to person when our office had questions and concerns. Of course, Andy was always available as well, but they made a great team. Marlene knows the NPIP rules and regulations as good as anyone I know, and she is a resource that all of us have been lucky and excited to use over the years. We will miss her. The NPIP is in competent hands with Dr. C. Steven Roney and Penny Kesler, both trained by Andy and Marlene, and prepared to move the NPIP on into 2012. From California to New York we have challenges with poultry health. The USDA APHIS Cooperative Agreements have assisted every NPIP office and state poultry companies with a surveillance and monitoring program second-to-none. It continues to be a gem in our state, and we have the cooperation of 100 percent of the chicken and turkey companies, and 95 percent of the layer industry. There is no question that we will miss Marlene in 2012, but she leaves a legacy and enduring presence here in our California offices; and we admire her for the many years of service to poultry men and women throughout the United States.

     The California NPIP office is managed by Monica Della Maggiore who accepted the position 9 years ago when long-time employee Doris Pokorny retired. While the California Poultry Federation is focused on legislative and regulatory issues in our state and the nation, the NPIP program is also one of our most important programs. If we are successful, the benefit is healthy birds!

The Renewable Fuels Association spent nearly $259,000 in the third quarter to lobby the federal government on ethanol tax incentives and other issues, according to a disclosure report. That’s up from the $213,000 the trade group spent a year earlier and the $251,000 than it spent in this year’s second quarter, according to reports it filed with the House clerk’s office.   Read More 

Years before the Obama Administration dumped $70 billion into solar and wind energy and battery operated cars, and long before anyone heard of Solyndra, President Bush launched his own version of a green energy revolution. The future he saw was biofuels. In addition to showering billions of dollars on corn ethanol, Mr. Bush assured the nation that by 2012 cars and trucks could be powered by cellulosic fuels from switch grass and other plant life. To launch this wonder-fuel industry, the feds under Mr. Bush and President Obama have pumped at least $1.5 billion of grants and loan subsidies to fledgling producers. Mr. Bush signed an energy bill in 2007 that established a tax credit of $1.01 per gallon produced.  Read More

Bill Mattos is in Washington D.C. this week talking to elected officials about ethanol and other issues. Click here to read a letter sent today to all the energy staff in Senate that voted for the amendment authored by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Tom Coburn, and was adopted in June by a vote of 73-27, to end longstanding ethanol subsidies.

The CDFA Animal Health Branch is California’s organized, professional veterinary medical unit that protects livestock populations, consumers and the State’s economy from catastrophic animal diseases and other health or agricultural problems. Click here to read the December issue of the AHB newsletter, which contains stories of interest to the poultry industry. The newest issue of CAHFS Connection, the newsletter published by the state lab system, is available here.

The soybean checkoff talks a lot about U.S. soybean farmers’ No. 1 customers – poultry and livestock farmers. But these sectors impact more than just a soybean farmer’s profit potential. According to a recent soybean-checkoff-funded study, poultry and livestock supported 1.8 million U.S. jobs and added $19 billion in tax revenue annually to the U.S. economy. Read More     

Consumers continue to have important questions and concerns about their food. They want to know "Is the food we’re eating healthy long-term?" and "Is the planet able to sustain the amount of food we’re producing?". They also want to be sure our farmers and ranchers are feeding their own families the same food they’re growing and raising for Americans. U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) kicked off The Food Dialogues with the Town Hall in September, and just as consumers are committed to continue asking complex questions about their food, our farmers and ranchers are equally committed to continue listening and addressing their concerns from their own personal perspective and experience. While the dialogue began with our Town Hall, we know open and honest conversations should be ongoing.  Read More

"Short supply and elevated prices are a pretty common theme throughout all protein sectors," said John Carley, VP and Senior RM for Wells Fargo Bank. He was speaking to feed ingredient purchasing managers and other poultry industry professionals who had gathered at the 2011 Grain Forecast and Economic Outlook Conference in Atlanta, GA. The conference was sponsored by USPOULTRY.

Carley provided an overview of the protein markets in his presentation, A Wall Street View of the Protein Markets. He gave a review of some of the top industry companies from all protein sectors. He concluded his presentation with a look at the food and agribusiness’ view of the protein markets. Carley commented, "The view of Wall Street, in my opinion, is strong. I think the protein sector is well positioned, both domestically and in the export markets. The broiler business has done a nice job of not relying on Russia for dark meat exports and has found other markets in which to move product."

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