Ag in the News

11/01/2009

National and International

E. coli concerns prompt huge ground beef recall, one death reported
Fairbank Farms is recalling about 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. MORE!

AMI unveils new sustainability Web site
The American Meat Institute has unveiled a new Web site, sustainablemeatindustry.org, designed to help meat and poultry companies implement sustainability programs. MORE!

International Poultry Council expands executive committee
In this article: Members of the International Poultry Council (IPC) approved expanding the organization's executive committee by one delegate and re-elected all members of the committee for another term. MORE!

AMI presents industry awards
The American Meat Institute honored several industry leaders last week during the Worldwide Food Expo in Chicago. MORE!

Chicken wings still on the rise, NCC says
With chicken wings selling for more than boneless, skinless breast meat — traditionally the highest-priced part of the bird — many in the industry are questioning just how long this unexpected trend might continue, and what processors can do to capitalize. William Roenigk, senior vice president and staff economist at the National Chicken Council, spoke with Meatingplace about why wings are flying to new heights. MORE!

 

Wrap Up

Wet Corn Belt conditions. Areas of the western Corn Belt are expected to see harvest-interrupting rains today, with forecasts for precip to reach into eastern Belt locations later in the week. It will put another halt on harvest action, although farmers have made gains in some areas on a couple days of open weather after last week's delays.

New look at food labels. The Food and Drug Administration in 2010 is expected to release updated rules for food labels. In particular, reports say they're focusing the effort on what information is -- and is not -- put on the front of packages. It aimed at addressing a rise in nutrition claims being made.

Financial reg reform. The House Ag Committee will markup its portion of financial reg reform legislation today, focusing on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Meanwhile, Senate Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) says that work on the issue in the Senate Ag Committee will help that panel as it looks at the issue of cap-and-trade relative to climate-change legislation.

Milk production declines. USDA's monthly update indicated September milk production was 13.9 billion lbs., down 0.7% from September 2008. But August production was revised upward to 14.6 billion lbs., a decline of just 0.1% from August 2008. Production per cow remains strong, with the September mark 22 lbs. above year-ago. And milk cow numbers were down 168,000 head from last year.