News Update
April 24, 2012
Statement by USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford Regarding a Detection of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States
USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford today released the following statement on the detection of BSE in the United States:
"As part of our targeted surveillance system, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the nation's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California. The carcass of the animal is being held under state authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed. It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health. Additionally, milk does not transmit BSE.
"The United States has had longstanding interlocking safeguards to protect human and animal health against BSE. For public health, these measures include the USDA ban on specified risk materials, or SRMs, from the food supply. SRMs are parts of the animal that are most likely to contain the BSE agent if it is present in an animal. USDA also bans all nonambulatory (sometimes called "downer") cattle from entering the human food chain. For animal health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on ruminant material in cattle feed prevents the spread of the disease in the cattle herd.
"Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world. In 2011, there were only 29 worldwide cases of BSE, a dramatic decline and 99% reduction since the peak in 1992 of 37,311 cases. This is directly attributable to the impact and effectiveness of feed bans as a primary control measure for the disease.
"Samples from the animal in question were tested at USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Confirmatory results using immunohistochemistry and western blot tests confirmed the animal was positive for atypical BSE, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.
"We are sharing our laboratory results with international animal health reference laboratories in Canada and England, which have official World Animal Health (OIE) reference labs. These labs have extensive experience diagnosing atypical BSE and will review our confirmation of this form of the disease. In addition, we will be conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation in conjunction with California animal and public health officials and the FDA.
"BSE is a progressive neurological disease among cattle that is always fatal. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Affected animals may display nervousness or aggression, abnormal posture, difficulty in coordination and rising, decreased milk production, or loss of body weight despite continued appetite.
"This detection in no way affects the United States' BSE status as determined by the OIE. The United States has in place all of the elements of a system that OIE has determined ensures that beef and beef products are safe for human consumption: a mammalian feed ban, removal of specified risk materials, and vigorous surveillance. Consequently, this detection should not affect U.S. trade.
"USDA remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products. As the epidemiological investigation progresses, USDA will continue to communicate findings in a timely and transparent manner."
Hurd's Edgy Blog on Food Safety
Do you want some real straight talk about food safety issues in animal agriculture from someone who has been at one of the highest levels in ag policy for our government?
Then check out the new blog Food Safety and Animal Health, from Scott Hurd, at Iowa State University (ISU) College of Veterinary Medicine.
You can find Hurd's blog here.
Hurd has been at the forefront as an expert on food safety topics such as antimicrobial use and resistance, among others. After serving until 2009 as the deputy and acting undersecretary for food safety at the USDA, where he was the country's highest-ranking food safety veterinarian and policy advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture, Hurd's ability to spin down scientific and regulatory issues into understandable language is commendable.
A favorite source of information for Bovine Veterinarian on many topics, I asked Hurd about his new blog and why he decided to start it. "It seems every week a reporter is asking me about some food safety issue," Hurd says. "The interviews never allow me to say my whole story. So this helps me to form my opinions and say what they may have missed."
Hurd intends to write about "Anything that relates to the nexus of animals and food safety. There seem to be an endless stream of negative stories and misinformation. I had decided to do it before 'pink slime,' but that pushed me over the edge!"
A sample paragraph from Hurd's April 19 blog, titled, "Do the science of food safety: booorrring!" tells it like it is and ended with: "I strongly suggest that we listen to the flock of scientists employed by FSIS, FDA, universities, and the food industry; boring as it may be. We pay them! They have no desire to make anyone sick, nor incite unnecessary controversy. They don't get extra funding to scare people. They desire to find answers, fix problems, and make a positive difference."
Hurd says his blog is intended for anyone who will listen, but mostly reporters. He believes his food safety peers "Will appreciate someone sticking their neck out" on complex and controversial topics, and says so far, his peers have given him positive feedback.
Visit Hurd's blog and see what he has to say about some of our most important food-safety issues today — no holds barred.
AFBF Urges Senate Ag Committee to Move Farm Bill Forward
Numerous provisions of the Senate Agriculture Committee's draft Farm Bill follow the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) core principles for "rational, acceptable farm policy," but there is room for adjustments to improve the legislation.
AFBF President Bob Stallman delivered that message to Senate Agriculture Committee leaders in a letter Monday following a meeting of the organization's board of directors. In the letter, AFBF urged the committee to approve the draft "as a vehicle to move the Farm Bill to the Senate floor in a timely manner." While the letter said, "the importance of completing a farm bill cannot be overstated," it also said that AFBF would seek opportunities "to make adjustments and refinements to improve the legislation."
The letter, sent to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), started by commending them for moving forward in a bipartisan fashion to write the 2012 Farm Bill.
The letter specifically outlined AFBF's support for several points included in the Senate farm bill, including the decision to "stand firm on utilizing the figure of $23 billion in savings suggested to the Super Committee last fall"; the fact that the Senate bill protects and strengthens the federal crop insurance program and does not reduce funding for the program; that programs are not based on cost of production; and that it includes "a commodity title that attempts to encourage producers to follow market signals rather than make planting decisions in anticipation of government payments."
AFBF's letter stated that while the draft legislation addresses many of its policy priorities, the organization continues to support a single program option for the commodity title that is extended to all crops and it has concerns about the need for improved "equity across all commodities." The letter also stated that AFBF will continue to work toward provisions in the bill for a financial safety net that includes a "catastrophic revenue loss program based on county level losses" with coverage at 80% of revenue levels.
"Catastrophic loss events are typically beyond any producer's control, and are events that would endanger the financial survivability of the farm," Stallman said. "These events, in the past, have prompted enactment of ad hoc disaster programs. Having a catastrophic plan in place would protect farmers from these situations and extend program benefits only when they are needed, rather than potentially being a supplemental source of annual income."
While AFBF will seek further refinements in the Senate farm bill, Stallman's letter highlights a number of the bill's provisions supported by the organization. Included among a larger list of those provisions were:
- Support for elimination of direct payments, countercyclical payments, the average crop revenue election program and the SURE program;
- Maintaining the current marketing loan program;
- Rejecting any provision linking conservation compliance with crop insurance;
- Eliminating the dairy price support program and the Milk Income Loss Contract program and using the funds associated with those programs to offer a voluntary gross-margin insurance program for dairy producers;
- Mandating that USDA's Risk Management Agency develop by 2013 a revenue insurance product that meets the needs of peanut producers; and
- Achieving the vast majority of necessary reductions in conservation funding from land-retirement programs rather than working-land programs.
RFD-TV, Alltech Announce Partnership with iHigh.com
RFD-TV and Alltech have announced a partnership with iHigh.com that could reshape the way people around the world look at agriculture. By providing schools, clubs and other ag-related youth organizations with free web tools and video-streaming capabilities, the viewing public will have a glimpse into everyday life in rural America. This user-generated content can in turn be broadcast to RFD-TV's 41 million homes.
"Those of us in agriculture have an obligation to tell our story," said Alltech president, Pearse Lyons. "People need to know where their food comes from and what we're doing to feed a growing population. Alltech's mission is to help farmers feed the world. With the iHigh.com platform, agriculture organizations have the opportunity to tell what life is like on the farm, from the farm. This partnership with RFD-TV amplifies that message and takes it mainstream."
Launched on Feb 15, by the creators of RFD-TV, Rural TV is a multimedia agribusiness and rural lifestyle network. The network is dedicated to educating and entertaining the growing global population, while maintaining a strong link with traditional country enthusiasts and those in professional agricultural industries.
Rural TV features primetime news broadcasts focused on agribusiness and rural policy issues; weather; world commodity market updates; extensive event coverage; international trade; farm and horse shows; expanded livestock auctions; equipment and ranch reports; plus independent productions designed to give both agricultural professionals and hobbyists information and insights to fit every interest and operation.
In addition to having their own channel for unique online content, RFD-TV, Alltech and iHigh will work with other agriculture organizations and maximize their resources in helping those organizations spread their message. Students, their parents and those who are interested in life in rural America will now be able to watch events such as livestock shows, award banquets and educational seminars live on their computers, iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Android devices. Agriculture organizations that broadcast their events will be able to generate revenue through advertising sales on their channel.
iHigh.com has developed a proprietary broadcast method that it gives to youth-oriented organizations, free of charge, to help them broadcast their content live on the Internet, mobile phones and tablets.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.