Agriculture and Farming

Subterms

    More stories

    • 100 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Egg Recall by Wisconsin Farm

      by

      Officials said 65 people in nine states have been infected in the outbreak, which has been traced to an egg farm. No deaths have been reported.A salmonella outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in nine states prompted a recall of certain brands of eggs on Friday after officials said they traced the source of the infections to a farm in Wisconsin.State health officials said that 42 of the 65 people infected were in Wisconsin. Many people reported eating eggs at restaurants in the state before they got sick.Officials were able to trace the source of the eggs to Milo’s Poultry Farms of Bonduel, Wis., where they identified the outbreak strain in a packing facility and a hens egg-laying house, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.All carton sizes and egg types produced at the farm, which either bear the label “Milo’s Poultry Farms” or “Tony’s Fresh Market,” were recalled by the farm, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.The eggs were distributed to retail stores and food service suppliers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, the F.D.A. said. The recall includes all expiration dates. The exact number of eggs recalled was not immediately available.No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, but 24 people were hospitalized. The first case was reported in late May, but most infections were reported in July and August, according to the C.D.C.The reported number of people infected is likely an undercount because it usually takes weeks to determine if an infection is part of an outbreak and because some people may recover without testing for the bacteria, the C.D.C. said.Aside from Wisconsin, infections were reported in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah and Virginia. Illinois reported the second-highest number of infections with 11, followed by Minnesota, which reported three.The symptoms of the bacterial infection include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain and usually begin within three days of ingesting the contaminated food, the F.D.A. said.Symptoms usually clear up within a week, but people with weakened immune systems, including young children and older adults, are more susceptible to severe, and sometimes fatal, infections, the F.D.A. said.The egg recall came after a deadly summer outbreak of listeria that prompted the recall of seven million pounds of Boar’s Head deli meat products.That outbreak has resulted in nine deaths and dozens of hospitalizations and the temporary shutdown of a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia, where inspectors had found black mold, water dripping over meat and dead flies. More

    • 113 Shares109 Views

      in Elections

      Klamath River Dam Removal Should Allow Salmon to Thrive

      by

      The Klamath River was once so flush with fish that local tribes ate salmon at every meal: flame-roasted filets on redwood skewers, stews flavored with fish tails, strips of smoky, dried salmon. In the language of the Yurok, who live on the river among California’s towering redwoods, the word for “salmon” translates to “that which we eat.”But when hydropower dams were built on the Klamath, which wends from southern Oregon into far northwest California, the river’s ecosystem was upended and salmon were cut off from 420 miles of cooler tributaries and streams where they had once laid their eggs. For decades, there has been little salmon for the tribes to cook, sell or use in religious ceremonies. The Yurok’s 60th annual Salmon Festival this summer served none of its namesake fish.But tribal members hope the situation is about to dramatically change.Four giant dams on the Klamath are being razed as part of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, a victory for the tribes who have led a decades-long campaign to restore the river. This week, as the final pieces are demolished, a 240-mile stretch of the Klamath will flow freely for the first time in more than a century — and salmon will get their best shot at long-term survival in the river.“The salmon are going to their spawning grounds for the first time in 100 years,” said Ron Reed, 62, a member of the Karuk tribe who has been fighting for dam removal for half his life. “There’s a sense of pride. There’s a sense of health and wellness.”Juvenile chinook salmon before being released into the Klamath River near Hornbrook, Calif.Salmon play an outsize role in nourishing and holding together ecosystems, scientists say, and their plight has fueled a growing trend of dam removals nationwide. Of the 150 removals on the West Coast in the past decade — double that of the previous decade, according to data from American Rivers, an environmentalist group — most have benefited salmon. Chinook salmon, or king salmon, in the Klamath are predicted to increase by as much as 80 percent within the next three decades.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Farm Workers Union Battles With California Grower, Wonderful Nurseries

      by

      Wonderful Nurseries, owned by Stewart and Lynda Resnick, has sued the state to overturn a labor organizing law championed by the United Farm Workers.The allegations ricocheted through the agricultural fields and into a Central Valley courthouse, where one of California’s most powerful companies and an iconic union were trading charges of deception and coercion in a fight over worker representation.Some farmworkers at Wonderful Nurseries — part of the Wonderful Company, the conglomerate behind famous brands of pomegranate juice and pistachios, as well as Fiji Water — said they had been duped into signing cards to join a union. On the other side, the United Farm Workers, the union formed in the 1960s by labor figures including Cesar Chavez, contends that the influential company, owned by the Los Angeles billionaires and powerhouse Democratic donors Stewart and Lynda Resnick, is trying to thwart the will of workers through intimidation and coercion.For months, the back and forth has played out before the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, which arbitrates labor fights between workers and growers, and in a courthouse not far from Wonderful’s sprawling fields.In May, the company filed a legal challenge against the state that could overturn a 2022 law that made it easier for farmworkers to take part in unionization votes.After vetoing a previous version over procedural concerns, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure following public pressure from President Biden and Representative Nancy Pelosi, then the House speaker. The U.F.W. heralded the bill’s enactment as a critical victory, but several big growers said that it would allow union organizers to unfairly influence the process.The law paved the way for farmworkers to vote for union representation by signing union authorization cards, a process known simply as card check. Its passage coincided with an era of greater mobilization to unionize workers during the pandemic and a willingness to press demands for better working conditions and respect from employers, said Victor Narro, project director and labor studies professor at the U.C.L.A. Labor Center.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      President of Florida A&M Resigns Amid Donation Controversy

      by

      Larry Robinson took responsibility for accepting a $237 million gift that is now on hold and under investigation.The president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University is stepping down from the top post two months after he acknowledged that he had mishandled a large donation that a donor had promised to the university but has since been put on hold.During commencement festivities in early May, Florida A&M, a historically Black public university in Tallahassee, announced that a business executive was making a donation worth more than $237 million. Questions soon arose over whether the source of the donation had been properly vetted, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.President Larry Robinson did not give a reason for his resignation in his open letter announcing his resignation or in a news release on July 12. But two months earlier, at a board of trustees meeting on May 15, Mr. Robinson took responsibility for “mishandling” the proposed donation and decided to “cease the engagement agreement” with the donor, according to the meeting’s minutes log.“He apologized to all parties involved and acknowledged the missteps in the University’s approach,” the log said.The gift had been promised by a business executive named Gregory Gerami and a family trust. Mr. Gerami was invited to speak in May at commencement, during which the donation was promoted. Photographs show Mr. Gerami, Mr. Robinson and others posing behind a large, ceremonial check for the amount of $237,750,000.But just four days later, Mr. Robinson told the university’s board that he had “received information suggesting the gift was not as it appeared,” according to minutes from the May 15 meeting. Mr. Robinson and Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who at the time was the school’s vice president, then “contacted the donor to cease the engagement agreement.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      3 Presumed Bird Flu Cases Reported in Colorado

      by

      The cases, which have yet to be confirmed, were identified in farmworkers culling infected birds. The risk to the public remains low, health officials said.Three workers at a poultry farm in northeast Colorado have preliminarily tested positive for bird flu, according to state health officials.The workers had been culling birds from an infected population at the farm, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said on Friday. All three workers had direct contact with infected birds and were experiencing mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis and “common respiratory infection symptoms,” the department said.The results are preliminary, and the tests have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, the C.D.C. said.So far, four farmworkers in the United States have been infected with the virus, called H5N1, which is tied to a continuing outbreak among dairy cattle in several states.One case has been reported in Colorado, another in Texas and two more in Michigan, according to the C.D.C. All of those cases involved direct exposure to dairy cows, according to the state and federal health authorities, and officials have said that there is no evidence that the H5N1 virus spreads easily among humans.The risk to the public remains low, the C.D.C. said, but the agency added that it had sent a team to Colorado at the state’s request to help investigate.The C.D.C. said that it would look into whether workers were wearing personal protective equipment. Farmworkers are advised but not required to wear such equipment, including masks, safety goggles and gloves.“These preliminary results again underscore the risk of exposure to infected animals,” the C.D.C. said of the three new cases in Colorado. “There are no signs of unexpected increases in flu activity otherwise in Colorado, or in other states affected by H5 bird flu outbreaks in cows and poultry.”Avian influenza refers to a group of flu viruses primarily adapted to birds. The virus infecting farmworkers, H5N1, was first identified in 1996 in China and reported in people in 1997 in Hong Kong. A new form of H5N1, which surfaced in Europe in 2020, has rapidly spread around the world, and an outbreak in the United States has affected more than 99 million birds.The outbreak has been spreading among dairy farms since at least March, and 152 dairy herds in 12 states have tested positive for the virus. Scientists are researching how the virus is being transmitted through cows.The virus has also spread to a wide array of animals, including marine mammals like seals and bottlenose dolphins, skunks, squirrels and even domestic cats. More

    • 113 Shares159 Views

      in Elections

      How Reliant Is the U.S. on Avocados From Mexico?

      by

      A temporary halt on inspections by U.S.D.A. workers in Mexico on safety concerns highlighted how dependent the United States had become on one region for supplies of the popular fruit.Americans have a growing appetite for avocados, and a single state in Mexico supplies nearly all of the fruit eaten in the United States.This reliance is highlighted when imports are disrupted. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently suspended inspections of avocados and mangoes set to be shipped from Mexico, citing security issues for agency workers stationed in Michoacán, a state in western Mexico where criminal groups have sought to infiltrate the thriving avocado industry.The U.S. ambassador to Mexico said in late June that inspections would “gradually” resume, and visited Michoacán last week to meet with state and federal authorities.Here’s what to know about the avocado trade between the United States and Mexico.Where does the U.S. get its avocados from?The average American consumes more than eight pounds of avocados per year, roughly triple the amount in the early 2000s, according to the U.S.D.A.Most of that rise in demand has been met by imports. The United States imported a record 2.8 billion pounds of avocados in 2023, accounting for about 90 percent of the fruit supply, up from 40 percent two decades ago. A vast majority of U.S. avocado imports come from Mexico, which has become the world’s top producer, largely in response to the pull of rising demand from U.S. consumers. Most of Mexico’s avocado production is centered in Michoacán.California produces about 90 percent of the avocados grown in the United States. But irregular weather patterns linked to climate change, including droughts and wildfires, have put a strain on the state’s farms in recent years, further feeding a reliance on imports.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Elections

      For South Africa’s Cabinet, Bigger May Not Mean Better

      by

      To accommodate a broad and diverse alliance of parties, President Cyril Ramaphosa increased the size of his executive team. Now the challenge is getting a diverse group of politicians to agree.After South Africa’s president announced the largest cabinet in the nation’s democratic history on Sunday, some critics were questioning whether the attempt to pacify diverse political interests would complicate efforts to tackle the country’s myriad economic and social problems.President Cyril Ramaphosa had for years promised to shrink the size of government — partly because of demands by the public and political opponents. But with his party, the African National Congress, having failed in the recent election to secure an absolute majority in Parliament for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago, he has had to incorporate a broad coalition of parties in his executive.He increased the number of cabinet ministers to 32 from 30, and the number of deputy ministers to 43 from 36. The combined 75 ministers and deputy ministers is the most in any administration since the first democratic election in 1994. Now comes the challenge of bringing together this diverse array of politicians to form a coherent policy agenda for a nation struggling with high unemployment, entrenched poverty and the shoddy delivery of basic services.“So every political party had a thorough critique of an unnecessarily bloated cabinet up until the choice was between a bloated executive or their party member not receiving” a position, Moshibudi Motimele, a political studies lecturer at the University of the Free State in South Africa, wrote on social media.“I repeat,” she added, “the politics being played here is about power and positions and absolutely nothing to do with people and policy.”But Mr. Ramaphosa and the leader of the second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, have insisted that the executive formed out of about a month of negotiations following the election in May will work together to set South Africa on the right path.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      U.S.D.A. Suspends Avocado Inspections in Mexico, Citing Security Concerns

      by

      The move, prompted by fears for agency workers’ safety, could eventually affect U.S. avocado supplies if the inspections are not resumed.Security concerns for agency workers have led the United States Agriculture Department to suspend its inspections of avocados and mangos imported from Mexico “until further notice,” the U.S.D.A. said on Monday.Produce already cleared for export will not be affected by the decision, but avocado supplies in the United States, which mostly come from the Mexican state of Michoacán, could eventually be affected if the inspections are not resumed. The inspections “will remain paused until the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place,” a U.S.D.A. spokesman said in an email. The agency did not say what had prompted the security concerns. But Mexican news outlets recently reported that two U.S.D.A. inspectors had been illegally detained at a checkpoint run by community members. In Michoacán, which stretches from the mountains west of Mexico City to the Pacific Ocean, some Indigenous communities have set up security patrols to defend themselves against criminal groups.The United States Embassy in Mexico confirmed on Monday that the inspectors were no longer in detention.“The interruption of avocado exports from Michoacán was due to an incident unrelated to the avocado industry,” Julio Sahagún Calderón, the president of Mexico’s association of avocado producers and packers, known as APEAM, said in a statement. He added that the group was working “intensively” with Mexican and U.S. authorities to resume the inspection of avocados from Michoacán.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More