The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza (HPAI) of North American wild bird lineage in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States this year. The flock of 73,500 is located within the Mississippi flyway. Samples from the affected flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at Tennessee's Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. Virus isolation is ongoing, and NVSL expects to characterize the neuraminidase protein, or "N-type", of the virus within 48 hours.

APHIS is working closely with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

In a statement, Tyson said it was working with state and federal officials to contain the virus by culling the flock.

In addition, the Tennessee facility has been placed under quarantine, along with about 30 other farms in a 10 km radius of the affected farm. Flocks in that area are being tested.

Our Top Ag Story on HPAI hitting this commercial Broiler operation this weekend on our website features links to the Tyson statement, the Tennessee of Ag Department Statement and more- click or tap here to check it out.

 
On Friday morning, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture Mike Conaway addressed attendees of the 2017 Commodity Classic during its General Session, touching on several policy issues relevant to the ag sector that are being discussed in Washington, D.C. The Chairman believes that a well-rounded Farm Bill will work to protect farmers and those that depend on nutritional assistance.

"I am going to work very hard to being production agriculture's best friend and advocate, period" Conaway said. "I'm also going to assure that our committee is a spokesman across every issue that touches your quiet lives."

The Chairman believes given the current economy, the reason for a Farm Bill will be easier to explain in 2018 than it was in 2014, referring to critics of the last Farm Bill that questioned the need of safety net programs. However, he adds that it will take the united support of farmers and their respective associations and representatives to get the next Farm Bill passed in an efficient and timely manner.

You can hear Chairman Conaway's remarks made during the Commodity Classic General Session and read more about his speech by clicking or tapping here.

 
The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. this week is proud to receive an upgraded credit rating status from B to B+, reflecting the company's commitment to remaining a statewide leader in the insurance industry. OFBMIC was given a secured rating status with a positive outlook by A.M. Best, a nationally renowned credit rating service that specializes in insurance.

The Oklahoma-based insurance company has enhanced its credit rating status for two consecutive years.

"Since the beginning of my tenure three years ago, Oklahoma Farm Bureau has continued to improve in financial strength and solidity," said Tom Buchanan, OKFB president. "We're proud to again prove our dedication to serving and protecting Oklahomans."

Click here for more on this story about the improved credit rating for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance.

 
During the Commodity Classic in San Antonio this past week, our own Carson Horn caught up with Kent Martin, a sorghum producer from Carmen, Oklahoma. Martin joined the National Sorghum Checkoff Board this past December as an at-large director, a position which Oklahoma growers earned through increased production recently. Although relatively new to his position on the board, Martin demonstrates great knowledge about the commodity and issues facing the sorghum community. In his discussion with Horn, he challenged producers to do their homework, learn about their industry and strive for innovation to become successful.

"As we challenge the farm profitability, it's becoming very competitive and it's becoming very difficult to make things work on the farm," Martin said. "Things like this, Commodity Classic, your local extension, any of the websites with checkoff organizations for your commodities, those are all great sources of information for these crops."

Click or tap here to read more and for a chance to listen to Carson and Kent talk sorghum and more.

 
Two pioneers in agricultural big data - the Ag Data Coalition and the Grower Information Services Cooperative - have merged their technology repositories.

This announcement by two of the largest efforts to develop a secure data repository for farmers' agronomic data represents a monumental development in precision agriculture.

The merger will provide the opportunity for the power of big data in agriculture to be firmly in the hands of America's farmers, said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"Today is an exciting day," Duvall said. "These kinds of revolutionary changes in agriculture are rare, and this merger provides farmers the kind of certainty and security they have been seeking when it comes to agronomic data management."

While the data repositories developed by each group are similar, integration of the two will bring the best of both worlds to one project. Principals from each group anticipate the merged database will be ready to store and manage data beginning after this spring's planting season.

To read more about this merger- click or tap here.

 
The National Pork Producers Council elected new officers and members to its board of directors at its annual business meeting - the National Pork Industry Forum - held this past week in Atlanta.

Elected as president of the organization was Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Ill. Maschhoff is chairman of Maschhoff Family Foods and co-owner and chairman of The Maschhoffs, the largest family-owned pork production company in North America. A fifth-generation pork producer, Maschhoff formerly served on the Illinois Pork Producers Association board of directors as well as on the boards of Midland States Bank and Midland States Bancorp Inc. Currently he serves on the board for various local organizations including, Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School, Potter Electric and First Light USA.

The Maschhoffs have sow farms in Oklahoma as well as in other states across the midwest.

Click or tap here to read more about the NPPC leadership team announced this past week at the National Pork Forum.
 

 
I was happy to welcome Holly Blakey of the Oklahoma FFA Foundation to our In the Field segment on Saturday morning during the KWTV News9 Saturday morning news program.

Blakey is currently the assistant executive director of the Oklahoma FFA Foundation - starting at the beginning of this year. The appointment was made official by the foundation board of directors this past fall. Following Kendall Brashears' retirement as the executive director in June 2017, Blakey will assume the executive director's role.


Blakey is a FFA Alum- and served as an Oklahoma state officer in 1990-91 as she represented the Morrison FFA Chapter.

We talked with Holly about the Foundation and the support it has gathered to help keep Oklahoma FFA as one of the premiere state programs in the country.

Click here to go and watch our Saturday morning visit with Holly!