Coronavirus Still a Threat to Livestock Markets

February 24, 2020 | Volume 99

The fate of the coronavirus still impacts the cattle markets. Earlier at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue addressed the scare of the coronavirus to the beef industry. It still remains a threat today.

Perdue talked to the media and said how it’s hard to know how long the coronavirus will be an issue. This comes during a time when China is supposed to buy more ag goods following the Phase 1 trade agreement.

In the News

Pork Exports Set Records in 2019

U.S. pork exports finished 2019 on an excellent note, setting new records for both value and volume, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. For the year, 5.89 billion pounds of U.S. pork and pork-variety meats valued at $6.952 billion were exported to countries around the world, an increase of 10 percent and 9 percent respectively from 2018.

Sec. Perdue Announces Agriculture Innovation Agenda

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a department-wide initiative to align resources, programs, and research to position American agriculture to better meet future global demands. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.

Biosecurity: Keep African Swine Fever Out of Your Pig Farm

From quarantining employees on the farm in the event of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in countries afflicted by this disease to dedicating transportation to pick up employees and bring them to the farm, the measures taken to stop the spread of ASF are not all simple.

But, most would agree that each additional layer of biosecurity can make a major difference when it comes to protecting your farm’s livelihood. Ilia Zubtsov, genetic and technical services manager for PIC Russia, said some of the most impactful biosecurity changes they’ve implemented on farms in Russia are not difficult to do.

Trivia Answer

This is the most popular cheese variety in both Wisconsin And the nation, according to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, which compiled these statistics. Credit mozzarella’s popularity to America’s love of pizza.