This week a long-awaited scrapie rule was published in the Federal Register.
Peter Orwick is the American Sheep Industry Association’s executive director and he said the rule, which was first proposed in 2015 by APHIS, has been anticipated by the U.S. sheep and goat industry since 2016.
“Importantly, the rule incorporates into regulation APHIS’ long-standing policy to use genetic testing to identify genetically resistant or less susceptible sheep for exemption from destruction and as qualifying for interstate movement. The rule takes effect on April 24, 2019,” said Orwick.
He said some changes will be noticed by goat producers and those moving animals in slaughter channels or transporting unidentified sheep or goats. In the meantime, ASI will keep the industry informed as it continues to evaluate the changes to the scrapie eradication program regulations, and its impact on producers.
Farmers indicate they may plant less corn than previously thought by the USDA, according to the annual Farm Futures planting survey.
The survey states that after planting more soybeans than corn in 2018 for the first time in 35 years, farmers want to return to more normal rotations this spring.
The survey also found winter wheat plantings are expected at 31.3 million acres, which would drop all-wheat seedings to 45.9 million, down 2.4 million or 5.1 percent from 2018. That would be the lowest total since at least 1919.
On Friday, the USDA will release its latest round of crop reports.
It’s no secret that the month of February was one for the books. The Montana Ag Networks Jason Laird is one of the forecasters – who will show us the long-lasting impacts from the brutal weather – on this weekend’s Face the State Program.
“This weekend we’re going to give an in-depth look to the month of February weather wise across the state of Montana” said Laird. “We’re going to look at everything from record breaking temperatures to precipitation and probably most importantly take a really in-depth look at agriculture in Montana and just how the cold month of February has affected things everything from winter wheat to livestock and even looking at the possibility of insect impacts.”
Watch Face the State Sunday morning on your local MTN station.
In a new USDA Long-Term Projections Report, pork production is projected to edge past beef production at just over 30 billion pounds by 2028.
Increasing corn prices and lower pork prices in the first half of the decade are expected to lower the hog feed price ratio, creating incentives to decrease farrowings.
But increased slaughter weights and the continued commercialization of the industry support the upward trend in pork production. Overall, beef production levels are expected to rise less than 1 percent per year, increasing from almost 28 billion pounds in 2019 to nearly 30 billion by 2028.
-Reported by Russell Nemetz/MTN News
