Nebraska Department of Agriculture
Ag Update – January 5, 2012

National News

‘Hog producers follow prudent path’

(Agweb.com) Hog production returned to profitability in 2011, but producers remain cautious about the future. This is evidenced by the modest expansion of the breeding herd as reported by USDA at the end of the year, said a Purdue University Extension economist.

"Limited expansion would seem to be the prudent path until more is known about 2012 crop yields and feed prices. This suggests no expansion of the breeding herd until mid-summer 2012," said Chris Hurt.

Pork production is expected to rise by 2 to 2.5 percent in 2012, but most of that increase is due to more pigs per litter rather than from larger farrowings. Exports are expected to remain strong so that the per capita pork availability in the United States will only increase by about 1 percent, he said.

For more on this story, please visit: http://www.agweb.com/article/hog_producers_follow_prudent_path_/
 

 

‘FDA rule limits cephalosporin use’

(Brownfield) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an order that prohibits certain uses of the cephalosporin class of antimicrobial drugs in cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys. The order prohibits what are called “extralabel” or unapproved uses of cephalosporins including use for disease prevention.

Veterinarians may still use or prescribe cephalosporins for limited extralabel use on cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys as long as they follow the dose, frequency, duration and route of administration on the label. They may also prescribe extralabel uses on minor species of food producing animals such as ducks and rabbits. The order does not limit the use of cephapirin, an older cephalosporin not believed to contribute to antimicrobial resistance.

For more on this story, please visit: http://brownfieldagnews.com/2012/01/04/fda-rule-limits-cephalosporin-use/
 

 

‘Study: Parasitic fly could explain bee die-off’

(Associated Press/ Omaha World-Herald) Northern California scientists say they have found a possible explanation for a honey bee die-off that has decimated hives around the world: A parasitic fly that hijacks the bees' bodies and causes them to abandon hives.

Scientists say the fly deposits its eggs into the bee's abdomen, causing the infected bee to exhibit zombie-like behavior by walking around in circles with no apparent sense of direction. The bee leaves the hive at night and dies shortly thereafter.

The symptoms mirror colony collapse disorder, in which all the adult honey bees in a colony suddenly disappear.

The disease is of great concern, because bees pollinate about a third of the United States' food supply. Its presence is especially alarming in California, the nation's top producer of fruits and vegetables, where bees play an essential role in the $2 billion almond industry and other crops.

For more on this story, please visit: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120104/AP10/301049830
 

 

Nebraska News

‘Nebraska wheat crop off to a good start’

(Brownfield) Nebraska’s winter wheat crop is off to a good start, despite dry winter conditions across much of the state.

According to the latest crop and weather report from the Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the crop is rated 74 percent good to excellent.

That compares to a condition rating of 42 percent good to excellent last January.

For more on this story, please visit: http://brownfieldagnews.com/2012/01/04/nebraska-wheat-crop-off-to-good-start/
 

 

‘Developer to renovate Industrial Arts Building as a greenhouse’

(Lincoln Journal Star) A nearly 100-year-old remnant of the State Fair's run in Lincoln will find new life as a greenhouse.

Construction is expected to start in March.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln leaders announced plans Thursday to renovate the 93,000-square-foot Industrial Arts Building at Nebraska Innovation Campus. An earlier plan to demolish it led to an outcry from preservationists, who called on the university to renovate it.

"It isn't preserving everything, but it is preserving quite a bit of it," said UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman.

The announcement was made at a Thursday morning news conference.

The university's primary developer for the former State Fair Park, Nebraska Nova Development LLC, plans to pay to renovate the building into greenhouse and office space. The planned renovation doesn't have a price tag, although university leaders unveiled artistic renderings of the project.

"It would definitely be cheaper to build a new building from scratch. There is going to be significant costs incurred of doing this project," said Zach Wiegert, manager of Nebraska Nova. "It's being done for the historic aspect to give respect to a historical building, as well it will be kind of a beacon project for the campus."

The Innovation Campus Development Corp. has approved the project, which will maintain the building's exterior while adding a second floor to be used as a state-of-the-art greenhouse and office space.

For more on this story, please visit: http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/developer-to-renovate-industrial-arts-building-as-a-greenhouse/article_5046b2a2-31e7-55ba-8028-197770568894.html
 

 

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The Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s “Ag Update” features stories on a variety of agriculture-related topics, as reported by media from around the world, and selected by Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) staff. Readers wishing to view the full article should see the news source referenced at the beginning of the each news item or click on the web links, if provided. NDA is not a news organization and does not have reporters on its staff. Posting of these stories should not be interpreted as an endorsement of a particular viewpoint, but as a summary of news reported by legitimate news-gathering organizations or from press releases sent out by agriculture organizations.

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Nebraska Department of Agriculture
PO Box 94947
Lincoln, NE 68509