This week has been a busy schedule, attending annual meetings of the Joint Nevada Weed Management Association and Nevada Association of Conservation Districts and then to the Governor’s Agricultural Conference followed by the Nevada Cattlemen’s annual meeting.  It was a good schedule of interacting with Farm Bureau members who are wearing multiple organization hats and are deeply involved with a number of other groups.  The speakers and information shared at these meetings was also very valuable and interesting.  Thanks for the number of persons who came up to say “Hi” and discuss a number of pertinent issues that continue to revolve around Nevada agricultural interests.

As the lame-duck session of the U.S. Congress winds down to an end several legislative proposals that members of the Nevada Congressional delegation have introduced were acted on by the committees where they were under consideration.  The Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act, by Senator Jacky Rosen was approved of by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in this form. The Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act of 2024, by Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei was approved of by the House Natural Resources Federal Lands Committee in this form.

As the legislative clock continues to click away the remaining time of the legislative lame duck it is uncertain whether the bills will advance or whether the proposals in one body will be accepted and approved of on their respective floor votes or eventually be considered in the other side of the legislative building.  

Nevada Farm Bureau will continue to interact with members of the delegation and monitor what plays out.

If you haven’t already picked up the news on Nevada Farm Bureau’s Facebook page the results of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF’s) annual nationwide survey for what Thanksgiving dinners will be costing have dropped slightly from last year’s level.

This year’s AFBF survey marks the 39^th annual check-in within an every state shopping analysis for what it costs to provide all the traditional fixings for a group of 10.   As the Market Intel report, by AFBF’s economic team of Samantha Ayoub and Bernt Nelson, on the survey shares that from a regional basis the bill in the Western part of the U.S. this year will be about 15 percent higher than what other areas of the country will be paying. This year’s price tag of $67.81for the Western Region compares with $58.90 in the Midwest; $56.81 in the Southern Region and $57.36 in the Northeast.

The 2025 Nevada Farm Bureau Policy has been posted to the organization’s website sharing the policy positions that Nevada Farm Bureau voting delegates determined earlier this month when they met in Fallon for the 105^th Annual Meeting.  For the most part the direction established in past years continues to maintain a steady course, but several policy positions have been updated to reflect current ideas and concerns.

The 2025 Nevada Farm Bureau Policy positions will provide directions to organization advocates when interacting with Nevada legislators on bills in the 2025 Nevada Legislature.  The policy also sets the course in Nevada Farm Bureau’s responses to proposed state regulatory activities.

Proposals from Nevada Farm Bureau’s voting delegates on national issues have been forwarded the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and representatives from all of the state Farm Bureaus will be considering national resolutions in the organization’s meeting of the AFBF Resolutions Committee and eventually the national voting delegates when they meet in San Antonio, Texas in January.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was detected in December 2014 for the first time in 10 years.  A little more than a month later the first commercial flock was identified in California.  Between January and March, 2015 high path avian influenza broke out in Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas poultry operations.  Through early April, 2015 turkey flocks were hit hard in Minnesota and in April and May layer flocks in Iowa had significant outbreaks.

USDA has reported that 2014-2015 there were 211 detections on commercial operations and 21 backyard premises.  In this timeframe, 21 states (including Nevada) experienced high path avian influenza outbreaks.  7.4 million turkeys were lost in this episode and over 43 million egg-layers/pullet chickens died or were euthanized in order to stop the spread.

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economist Bernt Nelson brought the on-going story of high path avian influenza up-to-date since 2022 through this post to Market Intel.  Recent developments have included the discovery of dairy cattle in March of 2024 and also there were reports of the cross-over of H5N1 to a back-yard hog farm operation in Oregon.

Nelson’s report includes information on 494 dairy herds in 16 states being affected.  He also covers the involvement of Farm Bureau throughout the current experiences as well as the work that is underway researching development of vaccines.