Parental Exemption of Child Labour in Ag Rule
US - The US Department of Labour's Wage and Hour Division has announced that it will re-propose the portion of its regulation on child labour in agriculture interpreting the "parental exemption." The decision...

CME: Job Growth Has Returned
US - Friday’s employment reports from the Bureau of Labour Statistics indicate that job growth has returned, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner.

Applying New Technology to Track FMD Vaccine
US - A highly contagious infection, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) threatens the health and economic value of livestock in many countries. The disease hasn't occurred in the United States since 1929, but...

AFBF Files for Judgment in Chesapeake Bay Case
US - The Environmental Protection Agency’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulation for the Chesapeake Bay watershed establishes new controls on land use that trespass into territory Congress legally...

NFU Will Not Support Legislative Changes to COOL
US - National Farmers Union (NFU) has urged US Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk to pursue a robust appeals process on the recent decision of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that ruled against the...

Groups Support US-EU Trade Agreement
US - A coalition of food and agricultural organisations led by the National Pork Producers Council expressed in a letter sent to the Office of the US Trade Representative its support for a free trade agreement...

Congress Urged to Reject Antibiotic Restrictions
US - The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging congressional members to oppose legislation that would restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry. In letters to Senate and House members,...

NPPC Opposes Federal 'Farm Takeover Bill'
US - The National Pork Producers Council criticized congressional legislation introduced today that would prescribe cage sizes for egg-laying hens, saying it would set a "dangerous precedent" for allowing...

Court Ruling Benefits Consumers & Ag Industry
US - National Farmers Union (NFU) is pleased with the US Supreme Court’s recent unanimous decision in National Meat Association v. Harris in which the court ruled that hogs suffering from fatigued hog...

High MRSA Bacteria Levels in Retail Pork Products
US - Retail pork products in the United States have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University...

NFU Urges EPA to Use Existing Data for CAFOs
US - National Farmers Union (NFU) submitted commented yesterday to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Concentrated Animal Feeding...

Broadening Feedstocks Eligible for RFS
US - US Representative Pete Olson (Texas) is introducing bipartisan legislation to increase competition, stabilise food prices and enhance American energy security and global competitiveness.

Nutrient Data in Time for the New Year
US - Two timely nutrient data sets provided by US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are being used by the beef and pork industries to provide new Nutrition Facts labels for their products. Federal...

Disappointment at Closure of USDA Facilities
US - National Farmers Union (NFU) expressed disappointment after US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the closure of more than 250 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) facilities.

Antibiotic Rule - a Small Step and a Sad Indictment
ANALYSIS - The US Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban 'extra-label' or unapproved uses for certain antibiotics is a small step in the direction towards reducing the potential risk of antibiotic...

AVMA Responds to Order Limiting Use of Antibiotics
US - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced Friday that the FDA's order prohibiting certain uses of cephalosporins in food animals appears consistent with the current AVMA position...

FDA Issues Order Restricting Cephalosporin Use
US - The FDA has issued an order to restrict the use of cephalosporin antibiotics, which are given to some cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys before slaughter.

End of Ethanol Tax Credits Affects Feed Market
ANALYSIS - The US ethanol tax credit, which is worth roughly $6 billion, is due to end at the turn of the year, writes ThePigSite Editor in Chief, Chris Harris.

NPPC Urges Bolstered Confidence in Futures Market
US - Pointing out that pork producers depend on risk-management tools, including futures contracts, to deal with the volatility in feed grain and hog prices, the National Pork Producers Council early this...

Call for Federal Action on Antibiotic Use
US – Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has called for swift action to end the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock production.

Coalition Urges Japan’s Inclusion in TPP Talks
US - A coalition of food and agricultural organizations today urged the Obama administration to work with Japan to smooth the way for that country’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),...

Key Parts of GIPSA Livestock, Poultry Marketing Rule
US - The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is expected to publish in the Federal Register on Friday, 9 December, the long-awaited final rule implementing several components...

Pilot Programme Stands to Boost US-Canada Trade
US - A new pilot programme to conduct inspections in plants in-country will help facilitate trade between the US and Canada and prevent delays at the border, according to the American Meat Institute.

USDA's 2008 Farm Bill Provisions; NFU Responds
US - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday announced USDA has published the Final Rule implementing the 2008 Farm Bill provisions to better protect livestock producers and poultry growers under the...

FSIS Proposes Rule to Expand Generic Label-Approval
US - The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to amend the meat and poultry products inspection regulations to expand the circumstances in which FSIS will generically approve the labels...

Limited Transmission of Novel Flu A (H3N2) Virus
US - In November the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed three cases of swine-origin triple reassortant influenza A (H3N2) (S-OtrH3N2) virus infection in children in two counties in I...

2012 Farm Bill: Concerns Over Legality of US M-Cool
US - A US-based Agricultural Economist expects Congress to address concerns over the legality of Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling next year when it writes a new US farm bill, writes Bruce Cochran...

Evidence: Ban on Growth Promotion Use of Antibiotics
US - In a review study, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine zero in on the controversial, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals and fish farming as a cause of antibiotic ...

COOL Compliance with WTO Rules Pleases NFU
US - National Farmers Union (NFU) was generally pleased with Friday's (18 November) ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which found that Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) is allowable under WTO...

EPA’s Regulatory Burdens Threaten Family Farms
US - In just the last three years, the Environmental Protection Agency has set in motion a significant number of new regulations that will significantly change the face of agriculture. The coming changes...