US Department Of Agriculture Considers Vaccinating Chickens Amid Ongoing Bird Flu Outbreak
Image Source: Mike Blake/Reuters
The largest avian flu outbreak in US history began early in 2022 and has since affected more than 58 million farmed birds in 47 states, driven up egg and poultry prices, and raised concerns about another human pandemic. The H5N1 virus that causes bird flu has already spread to mammals such as mink, foxes, raccoons and bears, yet experts at the Centers for Disease Control say the risk of a human pandemic low. Nonetheless, the Agriculture Department has begun testing poultry vaccines for a potential large-scale bird flu vaccination program, a first for the country. Test results are due in May. Meanwhile, officials encourage poultry farms to prevent transmission of bird flu through biosecurity measures like enhanced disinfection procedures for farm workers.
UN Food And Agriculture Organization Dubs 2023 "The Year Of Millets"
Image Source: AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi
Quick-growing, drought-resistant millets have become the darling of rural grain farmers around the globe. While the pandemic and the Ukraine war upended grain prices and supplies, farmers in Africa, India, and China pivoted from wheat and corn to planting hardy millets like fonio, sorghum, teff, and finger millet. Millets make up only 3% of the global grain trade but have helped reduce food insecurity enough in places like Zimbabwe that the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization is supporting millet farmers with various initiatives, naming 2023 "The Year of Millets."
First Successful Indoor Wheat Crop Grown In Germany
Image Source: Courtesy of Infarm
While vertical farms can produce mounds of lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries, calorie-dense grains have been more challenging. By optimizing its growth environment and crop cycle time, German company Infarm has now produced the first successful crop of indoor-grown wheat. At scale, the crop is the equivalent of 117 tonnes per hectare (52.2 US tons per acre) per year, 26 times the average open-field farming yields. It's a significant agricultural milestone that may help improve global food security.
Washington State Bans Open Pen Fish Farming
Image Source: David Bergvall/Washington State DNR
Washington has joined California, Oregon, and Alaska in outlawing net-pen aquaculture in West Coast waters. British Columbia also plans to phase out the practice by 2025. Critics say the concentrated animal feed operations spread disease to native stocks and reduce wild fish populations. Supporters argue that fish farming is critical to feeding the globe's growing population. Currently, salmon aquaculture accounts for about 70% of the US market. Can wild salmon fisheries be managed well enough to feed the world's hunger for this popular fish? We shall see.
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