Thanksgiving Prep, Bird Flu, & Safeguarding Beer

As we prepare for Thanksgiving next week, we saw several articles about the holiday. However, we also learned about six unique strains of African swine Fever, 5 million birds slaughtered, and climate change threatening beer.?

Read on to learn about what else the week had to offer.?

COVID in Humans and Cattle

Researchers from the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ (VMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, and Outreach (VERO) program have joined an international team studying how coronaviruses are spread and whether an individual’s microbiome (the collection of microbes living in or on the body) might impact that transmission. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause a variety of diseases in many species, from the common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in people, to diarrhea in calves and respiratory disease in adult cattle. Read more about it in our?International Project Studies Coronavirus Transmission in Humans, Cattle?article.?

Supporting Rural America's Mental Health

Rural Minds, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit with a mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and resources, today announced the launch of a comprehensive online resource center to provide actionable mental health information. The material is designed to address the unique challenges faced by rural Americans and offer information that can be used by anyone at no charge to help address the growing mental health crisis in rural communities. Read more about it in our?New Program Offers Resources to Support Mental Health Across Rural America?article.?

Hemp Detering Insects

Cannabinoids, naturally occurring compounds found in hemp plants, may have evolved to deter pests from chewing on them, according to experiments that showed higher cannabinoid concentrations in hemp leaves led to proportionately less damage from insect larvae. Read more about it in our?Hemp Cannabinoids May Have Evolved to Deter Insect Pests?article.?

Preparing for Thanksgiving

Whether you have cooked dozens of turkeys or are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the very first time, dealing with that large naked bird can be intimidating. Whether you have cooked dozens of turkeys or are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the very first time, dealing with that large naked bird can be intimidating. Read about?Frozen or Fresh: Which Turkey Should You Buy?,?How to Safely Prepare Your Thanksgiving Turkey, and?How to Cook Turkey Stuffing Safely.?

In other Thanksgiving news, the?Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner is Down Slightly from a Record High in 2022. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 38th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic holiday feast for 10, which is $61.17 or less than $6.20 per person.

Also, the NFU released the?2023 Farmer’s Share of Thanksgiving Food Dollar. These figures reflect how much family farmers earn compared to the amount consumers pay at the grocery store.

Agriculture Sustainability

Climate change is anticipated to further the challenges producers are already seeing in two key beer crops, hops and barley. Some hops and barley growers in the U.S. say they’ve already seen their crops impacted by extreme heat, drought, and unpredictable growing seasons. Researchers are working with growers to help counter the effects of more volatile weather systems with improved hop varieties that can withstand drought and by adding winter barley to the mix. Read more about it in our?How Researchers, Farmers, and Brewers Want to Safeguard Beer Against Climate Change?article.?

Crop and Food World

Researchers have been studying how the plant hormone ethylene regulates growth and stress responses in plants. In a study published in July 2023, researchers made an unexpected and exciting observation. They found that when seeds germinate in darkness, as they usually are underground, adding ethylene can increase both their growth and stress tolerance. Read more about it in our?Exposing Plants to an Unusual Chemical Early on May Bolster Their Growth and Help Feed the World.?

In other news, in a collaboration between the Feedstock Production and Sustainability themes at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), researchers have studied the effects of elevated O3 on five C3 crops (chickpea, rice, snap bean, soybean, wheat) and four C4 crops (sorghum, maize, Miscanthus × giganteus, switchgrass). Their findings indicate that C4 crops are much more tolerant of high O3 concentrations than C3 crops. Read more about it in our?New Study Indicates C4 Crops Less Sensitive to Ozone Pollution Than C3 Crops?article.?

Also, a genetic breakthrough has opened new opportunities for iron-fortified vegetables and cereal crops to help address the global health issue of anemia. John Innes Centre researchers used a newly available map of the pea-genome to identify the underlying genetic sequence responsible for two high-iron mutations in peas. Read more about it in our Genetic?Discovery Promises High-Iron Vegetables and Cereals?article.?

Finally, demand is growing for organic cotton in the U.S., but imports continue to pick up the slack of inadequate domestic production. A new project led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research aims to turn the situation around by identifying the challenges and opportunities for U.S. organic cotton growers. Read more about it in our?A Drive to Make U.S. a Leader in Organic Cotton?article.?

Livestock World

Nearly 5 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been slaughtered this year because of a persistent bird flu outbreak that began in 2022, but as big as that number may sound, it’s far less than the number of birds killed last year which means consumers aren’t seeing as much impact on poultry and egg prices. Read more about it in our?The Bird Flu Outbreak Isn’t Over, but It’s Less Severe, Helping Egg and Poultry Prices Recover?article.?

Farming Economy/Policy

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the passage of a stopgap spending bill by both the House of Representatives and Senate, which includes a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. Read more about it in our?Farm Bill Extension Announced?article.?

In other news, production prospects across most basic foodstuffs are favorable, but extreme weather events, rising geopolitical tensions, and sudden policy changes pose risks for global food production systems and could potentially tip delicate demand-supply balances and dampen prospects for trade and global food security, according to a new report from FAO. Read more about it in our?FAO Food Outlook Predicts Declining International Trade in Some Basic Foodstuffs?article.?

Also, unit sales of 4WD ag tractors continued growing in both the U.S. and Canada in October, making a strong opening in the final quarter of 2023, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Read more about it in our?4WD Tractor Sales Continue Growth Trend Into October?article.?

Finally, the profit outlook for U.S. grain elevators storing corn and soybeans has improved significantly for the 2023-24 marketing year with buy basis falling and carries returning to futures markets. Read more about it in our?Grain Storage Outlook Improves for U.S. Elevators, but Bushels Remain Elusive?article.?

New With USDA

This week, The USDA contributed?to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, invested?Nearly $28M to Support Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, released a?New Plant Hardiness Map, and confirmed?Six Unique Strains of the African Swine Fever Virus.?

Also, agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mandy Cohen announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further their joint work to protect communities from the impacts of?wildfire?smoke, while promoting land management practices that reduce the risk of large, severe fires. Read more about it in our?Addressing Wildfire Risk and Protecting Communities From Smoke?article.?

Other Top Stories

Just as when potted plants are introduced outside in spring, they undergo an acclimation period when they come back in. The difference is that at the beginning of the season, we “harden them off,” or move them into a shady spot for incrementally longer periods each day until they adjust to the stronger sunlight and breezy air of the great outdoors. The reverse, however, is often done in haste on the weatherman’s whim, so it doesn’t usually afford the same leisurely dawdling. Read more about it in our?A Slow Transition to Winter Keeps Houseplants Healthy?article.?

Also, through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has teamed up with the Global Food Security and Agriculture Consortium of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), known as NASA Harvest, to improve crop yield estimates, provide tailor-made solutions to assess crops and help organize rapid responses for disasters. Read more about it in our?From the Soil to the Stars?article.?

Finally, smart agriculture is increasingly being employed in Japan, arousing expectations that producers will be able to entrust artificial intelligence with more labor-intensive tasks to alleviate severe manpower shortages. Large-scale greenhouse farmers are leading the way, having begun to use AI-equipped robots developed by venture businesses in ways that seem, more or less, to change the future shape of cultivating and harvesting agricultural products. Read more about it in our?Use of AI Robots on the Rise in Japanese Agriculture?article.?

Come Back Next Week!

Be sure to check in next week for our weekly national news roundup, and don't forget to follow us on all our socials! We can't wait to see what next week holds for agricultural news.