Articles by Tom Polansek

Heat, Humidity Kill Hundreds of Cattle During World’s Hottest Month

Hundreds of cattle died in Iowa from extreme heat and humidity in late July, the state and livestock producers said, as the world recorded its hottest month ever. The deaths show the toll of severe weather on farm animals and …

USDA Rolls Out Rule to Stop Fraud in Organic Food Sales

The U.S. government plans to impose new regulations on food producers and handlers aimed at reducing fraudulent schemes in which non-organic products are sold as organic, one of the biggest changes to oversight of the industry in decades. A final …

Avian Flu Outbreak Wipes Out Record 50.5 Million Birds

Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the …

Bird Flu Forces Free-Range Chickens Into Lockdown, From Pennsylvania to France

Organic and free-range chickens have been thrown into lockdown. Egg-laying hens that normally have access to the outdoors can no longer roam as freely or feel the sun on their beaks as some U.S. and European farmers temporarily keep flocks …

U.S. Considers Vaccines to Protect Poultry From Deadly Bird Flu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking into vaccines as an option to protect poultry against deadly bird flu, the agency’s chief veterinary officer said as the country faces its worst outbreak since 2015. Supporters say vaccines could help keep …

Delaware Poultry Farm With 1.2 Million Birds Hit by Lethal Flu

A commercial poultry farm in Delaware with 1.2 million birds has been hit by a highly lethal form of bird flu, the state said on Wednesday, significantly expanding an outbreak that has killed U.S. chickens and turkeys. The outbreak brings …

Agriculture Officials Find More Avian Flu Cases in Wild Birds, Caution Poultry Farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported two more cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds on Tuesday, raising risks for potential infections in poultry. The USDA on Friday reported the nation’s first case of a Eurasian H5 type …

Bird Flu Found in Wild Duck Could Endanger Poultry Industry

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday confirmed the first case of a highly pathogenic type of avian influenza in a wild bird since 2016 in South Carolina. The virus, Eurasian H5 avian influenza, was found in a wild duck …

Unions Say Meat Plants Relaxed COVID-19 Safety Measures After Outbreaks

Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, last year assigned a team of dedicated employees to enforce social distancing and sanitize surfaces at a South Dakota slaughterhouse where COVID-19 infected nearly 1,300 workers, the president of the local labor union …

EPA to Revisit Bayer Dicamba Herbicide Risks After 3,500 Reports of Crop Damage

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is assessing whether the herbicide dicamba can be sprayed on soybean and cotton plants genetically engineered to resist the chemical, without the procedure posing “unreasonable risks” to other crops, an agency official said on Tuesday. …