|
* * * * * * * * * *
1. Officials seek help in livestock, poultry damage assessment [SC]
Tom Hallman, Media Release
The Clemson Newsstand
October 5, 2015
COLUMBIA - Agriculture damage assessment from the historic flooding has begun, and officials are asking farmers for help in reporting damage involving South Carolina livestock and poultry.
Clemson Livestock Poultry Health (LPH), a state regulatory agency that protects animal health and investigates diseases, asks that livestock owners document any property damages - along with photos, if possible - to appropriate parties, including to local county Clemson Extension agents, who serve on the county emergency board.
"It's important that we know what problems we face so that resources can be allocated to meet the need," said Charlotte Krugler, LPH emergency preparedness veterinarian. "The state also needs damage estimates as part of the second phase federal disaster application. We don't know at this point what aid may be available, but we can be sure there will be none if the damage is not reported."
LPH personnel have been stationed in the S.C. Emergency Operations Center since its activation at noon Friday. Clemson Extension staff have the official damage assessment report form with which to document losses to the center.
For farms that have suffered large numbers of storm-related animal deaths, farmers are urged to contact the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's Agriculture Compliance office to determine if the farm's carcass management plan needs to be reviewed or changed for this event.
Full text:
********
|
|
2. Scattered EHD Reports in the South
By Josh Honeycutt
Field and Stream
October 5, 2015
There's a lot of recent talk is about chronic wasting disease (CWD) and its ability to destroy herds. CWD deserves every bit of the press time it gets (and even a little more). However, hemorrhagic disease (HD), commonly referred to as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), takes its toll on whitetail populations, too. Louisiana is one state currently sounding the EHD alarm. Scott Durham, deer study leader with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, confirmed the rumors.
"I'm a little concerned about our deer herd," Durham said. "We're getting quite a few reports of HD and blue tongue virus (BTV) throughout the state, [with] more reports in southern Louisiana."
Full text:
********
|
|
3. UC researchers combat deadly bat fungus [edited]
By Emily Benson
Santa Cruz Sentinel
October 3, 2015
SANTA CRUZ -- More than 5.7 million bats have been killed by white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease, since it first emerged in the U.S. nine years ago.
In some disease-stricken areas, 90 to 100 percent of bats have died, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Some bat populations have declined so much that scientists believe that some species may go extinct.
This winter, a group led by Winifred Frick and Marm Kilpatrick, professors in the UC Santa Cruz Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, will test two trials for reducing bat mortality.
The researchers won a joint grant from Bat Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, as well as funding from the Fish and Wildlife Service, to conduct the trials. The scientists received two additional grants from the Fish and Wildlife Service for other projects related to white-nose syndrome.
The field tests this winter will focus on a strain of bacteria with antifungal properties that occurs naturally on some bats. Earlier experiments conducted by the researchers confirmed that applying the bacteria to bats inhibits the growth of the disease-causing fungus in the lab. The upcoming trials will allow the researchers to see if it's effective in the wild, too.
Full text:
********
|
|
4. Public's help sought in hoof disease fight [OR]
Henry Miller
Statesman Journal
October 5, 2015
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking hunters and others who spend time in the woods to watch for and report sightings of elk that are limping.
It could be a sign the animal is infected with hoof disease, a bacterial infection that causes severe lameness. Elk with the disease have deformed and overgrown or broken sloughed hooves and other abnormalities.
Sightings can be reported online at stjr.nl/Hoof_disease
Reports also can be filed by calling the department's Wildlife Health Lab at (866) 968-2600 or via email at Wildlife.Health@state.or.us.
********
|
|
5. UT College of Veterinary Medicine adds wellness to requirements [TN]
MJ Slaby
Knoxville News Sentinel
October 4, 2015
Not far from the horse stalls and constant activity at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, a group of students gather for an evening workout.
Most days at the vet college start at 7:30 a.m. to find a parking spot and can last until 5 p.m., said first-year veterinary students Katlyn Currie and Jacob Parkison. Each week of classes is different from the last.
To make sure they find time for exercise, Currie and Parkison said they go as often as they can to the daily evening workouts led by Sarel Van Amstel, a professor of farm animal medicine and surgery and an avid athlete who rotates through a variety of workout DVDs.
The workout space is in the equine performance and rehabilitation center, used for horse conditioning and recovery. But for a small slice of each night, it becomes an area used for the health and wellness of the horses' human caretakers.
Being a veterinarian is not about spending all day with animals, said Elizabeth Strand, director of veterinary social work and a clinical associate professor at UT.
When the fantasy and reality of the job are so different, she said new veterinarians can become disenchanted as they clash with clients and co-workers, struggle with work-life balance and work to repay student loans. That daily grind can lead to poor mental health, she said.
Roughly one in 10 veterinarians report serious psychological distress and more than one in six have thought about suicide since graduation - rates that are higher than reported by the general population, according to a national study of more than 10,000 practicing veterinarians published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year.
Strand said the veterinary profession has turned to colleges to help students develop mental wellness before becoming practicing veterinarians.
********
|
|
6. Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Regarding the Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
USDA News Release
October 5, 2015
WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today made the following statement following the successful conclusion of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
"An agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations provides a more level playing field in trade for American farmers. The agreement would eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs on our products and deter non-science based sanitary and phytosanitary barriers that have put American agriculture at a disadvantage in TPP countries in the past. Despite these past barriers, countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently account for up to 42 percent of all U.S. agricultural exports, totaling $63 billion. Thanks to this agreement and its removal of unfair trade barriers, American agricultural exports to the region will expand even further, particularly exports of meat, poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, oilseeds, cotton and processed products.
"Increased demand for American agricultural products and expanded agricultural exports as a result of this agreement will support stronger commodity prices and increase farm income. Increased exports under TPP will create more good paying export-related jobs, further strengthening the rural economy. Today, agricultural trade supports more than 1 million jobs here at home and contributes a trade surplus year after year to our nation's economy. All of this activity benefits rural communities and keeps American agriculture on the cutting edge of global commerce. The TPP agreement will contribute to the future strength of American agriculture and helps to ensure that the historic agricultural trade gains achieved under President Obama since 2009 will continue.
Full text:
********
|
|
7. Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Is Reached
By Jackie Calmes
The New York Times
October 5, 2015
ATLANTA - The United States, Japan and 10 other Pacific basin nations on Monday agreed after years of negotiations to the largest regional trade accord in history, an economic pact envisioned as a bulwark against China's power and a standard-setter for global commerce, worker rights and environmental protection.
The announcement here that weary trade officials had finally agreed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership was merely "an important first step," the United States trade representative, Michael B. Froman, said. Now their agreement faces months of debate in each of the 12 nations, including in Congress, where some bipartisan opposition was immediate.
********
|
|
