Texas farmworker only person known to contract bird flu from cattle
At least 200 people have been monitored for possible exposure to the H5N1 bird flu virus and 30 people have been tested, but a dairy worker in Texas is the only person known to contract the disease from cattle, said the Centers for Disease Control. “No additional human cases have been detected” since bird flu was discovered for the first time in cattle six weeks ago.
Revive discontinued reports, lawmakers ask USDA
Three lawmakers who oversee the USDA budget urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reinstate a handful of reports that were cancelled recently for budgetary reasons. “These reports provide critical supply-and-demand data that are not available in any other [USDA] report and are essential to preventing market volatility,” wrote Reps. Andy Harris and Sanford Bishop and Sen. John Hoeven.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
‘Catastrophe’ for golden rice: An appeals court in the Philippines blocked the production, sale, and testing of so-called golden rice, saying there was no scientific consensus on the safety of the rice that has been genetically modified to contain vitamin A. One of golden rice’s developers called the ruling a “catastrophe.” (Science)
Fish are getting smaller: Around the world, fish are becoming smaller in size as adults, possibly in response to global warming but scientists disagree on why. (Washington Post)
Ground beef recall: Cargill, one of the largest U.S. meat processors, said it recalled 16,000 pounds of ground beef products from 11 states due to possible contamination by E. coli. (Cargill)
Large global wheat crop: Buoyed by the expectation of near-record production in India and Pakistan, world wheat production was forecast at 791 million metric tons in 2024, a hair larger than the 2023 harvest. (UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
Climate Corps hosts named: Twenty-eight groups, from Ducks Unlimited to the Nature Conservancy and the Michigan state Agriculture Department, were selected as host members of USDA’s Working Lands Climate Corps. (USDA)
ON THE CALENDAR
Monday
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers holds “Future of Food and Farming,” a showcase of “the modern agricultural equipment that is essential for a sustainable future of safe and abundant food, fiber, and fuel,” on the National Mall, through Wednesday.
International Dairy Foods Association holds a spring meeting, Savannah, Georgia.
Food Safety Magazine holds Food Safety Summit, through Thursday, Rosemont, Illinois.
USDA releases weekly Crop Progress report, 4 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Purdue University releases Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly gauge of the agricultural economy’s health.
USDA releases annual Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts report, 3 p.m. ET.
Wednesday
FDA commissioner Robert Califf is lead witness at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget for the Food and Drug Administration for fiscal 2025, 10 a.m. ET, 124 Dirksen.
EPA administrator Michael Regan is lead witness at Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the agency’s proposed fiscal 2025 budget, 10 a.m. ET, 406 Dirksen.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is lead witness at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the agency’s proposed fiscal 2025 budget, 10:30 a.m. ET, 562 Dirksen.
National Agricultural Statistics Service holds a webinar “to spotlight available data for recently discontinued programs,” which include the cattle inventory scheduled for July and county-level crop and livestock reports, 1 p.m. ET. Registration is required.
Friday
USDA releases monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports, noon ET. Each May, the USDA makes its first estimate of the 2024 winter wheat harvest in the crop report and it makes its first projections of the fall harvest, including corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice, in the WASDE report. Winter wheat estimates are based on spot checks of wheat fields and surveys of growers; 9,300 growers were contacted for the May 2023 estimate. Projections are based on USDA’s planting intentions survey and assume normal weather and trend-line yields.
Sunday
The U.S. celebration of Mother’s Day, to honor motherhood, was the work of Anna Jarvis, beginning with an observance in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia, says History.com. Aided by a letter-writing campaign and wide popularity of the idea, President Wilson signed a measure designating the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day, in 1914. Within a few years, Jarvis was repelled by the commercialization of the day and lobbied to have the holiday removed from the calendar.
