AgNet Online

From cattle, to hogs, to broilers the numbers have been updated as far as projections for 2008 stand with livestock prices. Report  (1:00 mp3)

A business plan has been released by USDA in their effort to get animal ID underway across the nation.  Report (1:30 mp3)

The annual Alabama Chicken & Egg Festival is set to take place this weekend in Moulton.  Report (1:30 mp3)

             To learn more click Here

According to figure’s put out by USDA, those in the livestock industry may be looking at lower total income in 2008. Report (1:00 mp3)

Next month’s Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival features two new “eggciting” new contests this year.

The “Guitar Hero” contest and egg and spoon race join the egg toss, chicken wing and hard-boiled egg eating contests, Colonial Sanders look-a-like, “Catch-a-Falling-Egg” competition, chicken clucking contest and karaoke for big chickens.

The Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival is set for April 12 & 13 at the Lions Club Fairgrounds in Moulton.

Report (1:00 mp3)

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alabama and the state’s RC&D councils want to help farmers apply for energy conservation retrofits.

Report (1:00 mp3)

Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks recently returned from the Eastern European Country of Ukraine. Commissioner Sparks led the first American trade mission to participate in a food based trade show in Ukraine. The trade mission included three Alabama poultry related companies and the trade show component showcased six Alabama food product companies and four additional Southern based food product companies.

Report (1:00 mp3)

Premise registration is the first step in the overall animal identification process, and while more needs to be done, USDA Under Secretary Bruce Knight says progress is being made in that area.  Report (1:00 mp3)

To learn more about Animal ID click Here

This week’s Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast events hosted by the Georgia Agribusiness Council in Atlanta drew a good crowd of the state’s agriculture leaders, numerous lawmakers and legislative staffers. One of the big news items of the day is the announcement by GA Governor Sonny Perdue that some of the watering restrictions in Georgia will be relaxed, for now anyway, to help support the nursery industry and efforts by the public to establish new plantings of trees and shrubs. Governor Perdue also is set to sign a new state water bill today that Georgia agriculture industry leaders have been very involved in helping to develop. In the reports posted herein, hear Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s comments to the media (mp3)right after he spoke to the GAC breakfast this morning. Also hear comments from Georgia Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association Exec Charles Hall (mp3) including an update about a referendum deadline coming up for GA Vegetable producers to vote on a new marketing order; Georgia Farm Bureau President Vincent ‘Zippy’ Duvall comments (mp3) on the water bill and other present concerns for Georgia agriculture; and GA Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin also offers comments (mp3) for our listeners, speaking to us just before the GAC breakfast this morning. Also to see who’s in these photos, just place your cursor over each photo and the cut line will appear.

As the International Poultry Expo gets underway this week in Atlanta, the Propane Education and Research Council is turning up the heat on a hot product for poultry producers.

Find out more at agpropane.com.

Report (1:30 mp3)

FEBRUARY 4TH IS THE DEADLINE - HAVE YOU RETURNED YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE YET?

As a producer you should of received your Ag Census form in the mail, and you are urged to complete it and return it by the deadline.  Tyron Spearman tells us today just how important this census is.  Report (:45 mp3)

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Some wonder what hog and poultry prices will be like in 2008, so one economist looks at the numbers for both commodities.  Report (1:00 mp3)

USDA Under Secretary Bruce Knight has information about the recently released business plan for Advancing Animal Disease Traceability.  Report (1:00 mp3)

To see this plan, click Here

From Thanksgiving through Christmas many people think of turkey for their holiday meals, but turkey growers have been working to make sure it’s a meat people think of all year long.  Report (1:00 mp3)

Nominations are now open for appointments to a committee which helps with the prevention of foreign livestock and poultry diseases in the United States.  Report (:25 mp3)        Nominations can be sent to this address:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

4700 River Road, Unit 41

Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1231

New forecasts are out for meat production and prices, and while some numbers are down a bit from earlier projections, overall they still look good.  Report (1:10 mp3)

It only happens once each five years and producers of any kind of agriculture products are required to be counted. We’re working with USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service in our region again to help get the word out about the Census of Agriculture, so stay tuned for lots of information and frequent reminders about it in the coming weeks. Agriculture Census questionnaires will be mailed the last week of this year and should be returned by the first week of February 2008. Prompt action by producers will save a lot of extra time and effort to chase down the forms not returned on time. Learn more from USDA’s special Census of Agriculture website.
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USDA has a program underway to help small & economically disadvantaged livestock producers take part in the National Animal Identification System. Under Secretary Bruce Knight says it’s all an effort to get more producers involved in the system.   Report (1:10 mp3)

A hearing took place this week concerning modern packagaing of meat products using new technologies.  Report (:20 mp3)

For the 30th time the Sunbelt Ag Expo opened today in Moultrie, Ga with exhibits for the entire family. Gina McDonald says this includes some new things to see and learn about in the livestock section of the Expo.  Report (1:30mp3)

The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition will take place October 16-18 in Moultrie, Georgia with a variety of displays and demonstrations, including some for livestock producers.  Report (1:15 mp3)

There is a fight underway in California over how much room a chicken needs to lay an egg, as animal welfare groups are trying to get the issue on the ballot.  Report (:40 mp3)

Besides being National Honey Month, September is also National Chicken Month.

Here’s some ideas on how to celebrate.

Report (1:00 mp3)

A Suwannee County poultry producer talks about improving their efficiency and the environment with the use of best management practices and how USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Florida helped.

Report (1:30 mp3)

The latest report on egg production from USDA’s Agricultural Statistics service shows July egg production in Georgia was down one percent from a year ago and hatch of egg-type chicks was down one percent.

Report (:30 mp3)

China has blocked the imports of some U.S. pork & poultry.  Report (:45 mp3)

The number of premises registrations in Georgia continue to rise.  Report (:20 mp3)

The University of Georgia will be receiving funding to help with a project for poultry farmers.  Report (1:00 mp3)

The propane industry was in Washington DC this week for Propane Days. When Gary Cooper was in DC recently, he interviewed Mark Leitman with the Propane Education and Research Council, or PERC about the latest propane products for agriculture. Find out more at agpropane.com.

Propane for Cotton and Poultry Report (1:30 mp3)

Propane for Produce Report (1:30 mp3)

The melamine contaminated feed that got into hog and poultry rations continue to cause a concern for USDA officials, but there’s no reason for consumers to be concerned about eating pork or chicken.

Report (1:00 wma)