FDA opens livestock feed-safety portal

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has opened a new online service for consumers, producers and veterinarians to report problems with livestock feed.

The alert system, the Livestock Food Reporting portal, will send the reports directly to the FDA.

FDA spokesman Juli Putnam said that although the FDA does not receive many complaints about feed for livestock animals, the tool is designed to harmonize reporting to federal agencies in case a problem does arise.

“The safety reporting portal provides anyone with internet access the ability to report a safety concern about medical products as well as foods, cosmetics, animal feed, pet food and veterinary products,” she said in an email.

The portal is aimed at producers who raise horses, cattle, swine, poultry and fish. Reports are urged if there is a problem with a feed product, such as a defect that could potentially harm animals, or an animal has an adverse reaction to feed.

Before the website, the only way to file a complaint was by telephone.

Despite the website’s easy accessibility, Buddy Guyot, manager of the Beebe Sale Barn, said that he would contact the Arkansas State Plant Board if any problems were to arise.

“They inspect all my feed. They check the ingredients, tag and weigh it,” Guyot said. “If I had a problem I would call them.”

While officials with the Arkansas State Plant Board said the only issues they see are fairly routine, having a tool the general public can use could prevent a disease from spreading.

“Anything that can be done and the faster it is known about could help prevent a major tragedy,” said Jamey Johnson, director of the feed and fertilizer division at the Plant Board. “The faster the news gets out, the sooner a solution can be rectified.”

Johnson said his only concern is that people don’t know about the new filing procedure.

“I’m sure the general public doesn’t know about it and because of that I think if there was a problem [in the state] we would get a call first,” he said.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 26, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 26

Tyson puts lunches to the test to ensure they’re kid-friendly

If taste-testers object, no menu spot
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

When it comes to school lunches, Tyson Inc. takes kids seriously.

So seriously that if one of its products gets less than a 78.5 percent approval rating from a jury of young tastetesters, it is pulled from the menu.

Before a product appears on the lunch line, it is tastetested by as many as 1,000 school-age children. If it gets a thumb’s down from 21.5 percent of the children, the company’s chefs and dietitians are sent back to the kitchen.

“If we don’t get 78.5 percent, we don’t take it to the next phase. We figure out why and see how we can do better,” said Michael Turley, vice president and general manager of government sales for the company. “Flavor is so important. If kids don’t eat it, we haven’t accomplished anything.”

For 30 years, Tyson has been providing products to the National School Lunch program. Tyson sells its school-lunch products to 41 of the 238 Arkansas school districts, as well as about 6,000 districts nationally.

Four years ago, the U.S. Agriculture Department set new meal requirements called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which included more lower calorie items with whole grainrich foods, reduced fat and reduced sodium items in school lunchrooms.

“We were headed down that route well before there was a requirement to do so,” said Turley, adding Tyson began research and development into creating wholegrain products in 2009. “We knew it was the right thing to do.”

Robert Ginder, general manager of nutrition services for Bentonville schools, said that the district uses only Tyson products, unless items are sold out.

“Occasionally we don’t have enough of Tyson’s foods, then Sysco [a food-service company] offers substitutes,” he said. “Ninety percent of Tyson products are sold in our schools.”

Ginder said the children like most of the lunch items created by Tyson, with the exception of its newest item, Peruvian chicken. The white meat chunks look like popcorn chicken, but instead of a grain-battered outer crust, it is glazed with a spicy sauce.

“We served the spicy chicken in elementary schools last week, and it was a quite bit spicier than we expected,” Ginder said. “The children do want spicy, but they don’t want it to be too hot.”

Finding a happy medium is a delicate situation because “the younger kids are finicky,” Ginder said.

Tyson also works with some schools to design complete meals.

“We take things that schools commonly purchase and find commonality across the schools to create a meal design,” Turley said. “We like to focus on things the school can actually execute with items they already buy.”

For instance, the company suggests fresh spinach atop whole grain-breaded chicken patties with a light cream sauce.

Melinda Losey, food service director for the Jessieville School District, said that any chicken item, especially a breaded one, is accepted by the children.

“The kids love anything that is a chicken patty, nugget or strip, but chicken strip day is always the biggest sales day,” she said. “If it doesn’t crunch, they don’t really want to eat it.”

She said that the new whole grain-breaded patties offered by Tyson are consumed without a second thought.

“They haven’t noticed the difference in the breading; I don’t think they know,” Losey said with a giggle.

Next year, the USDA will require that all bread and breaded products are whole grain.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 23, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 73

 

Cattle-breeding disease prompts rules

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 20, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 27

Cattle-breeding disease prompts rules
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Trichomoniasis, a venereal disease in cattle that causes infertility and embryonic deaths, is spreading across the country, despite testing regulations in 25 states including Arkansas.

The U.S. Animal Health Association is seeking ways to standardize testing and prevent the further spreading or introduction of the disease into cattle herds, said Executive Director Ben Richey. On April 3, the association will co-host a symposium with the National Institute for Animal Agriculture in Omaha, Neb., to discuss the standardizing process.

“At our meeting, we are looking to get a proceeding that can apply to multiple states,” Richey said. “That way if a breeder is having bull-sale buyers coming from different states, we will have a simple process and standards to abide by to satisfy import requirements by other states.”

The sexually transmitted disease causes significant cattle loss in cow-calf operations and is difficult to remove from a herd once it is introduced. Trichomoniasis only affects cattle and does not infect meat, as it is not zoonotic — it can’t be transmitted to people.

Many states have testing regulations regarding the transport and slaughter of bulls with known cases of trichomoniasis, including Arkansas, Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Tennessee.

Arkansas had its first bout with trichomoniasis in 2011 after it was diagnosed in Madison County. It spread to 20 herds before the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission instituted a set of guidelines, called the Arkansas Regulation For Trichomoniasis Testing and Movement Requirements For Cattle, in hopes of halting the spread of the disease. The regulations went into effect in June 2011.

“Now, there are two or three areas where trichomoniasis is more prevalent — Northwest Arkansas and southwest Arkansas are the problem areas,” said Pat Badley, the state veterinarian.

Southwest Arkansas has the most cases because the disease has made its way into purebred herds, Badley said.

To control it, any bull that tests positive for trichomoniasis must be sent for slaughter. The rules do not allow bulls that test positive into the state, and all bulls imported over state lines must be accompanied by proof of a negative test. The exception is bulls that have never been used for breeding, rodeo bulls or bulls raised solely for slaughter.

There is testing available only for bulls, as they are the common carrier, but both bulls and cows can transmit the disease. Cows that originate from positive herds can’t enter the state unless they are at least 120 days pregnant, according to the regulations.

“If you buy a cow that has mated with a positive bull, it takes four months for trich to clear from the sexual organs,” Badley said. Once pregnant for four months, a cow is unlikely to have the disease, he said.

Because the disease is protozoan (found in the reproductive tracts of a cow or bull), it is difficult to diagnose without testing, as there are no outward symptoms.

In Arkansas, the disease has been on a steady decline, with fewer cases each year, despite an upward trend through much of the U.S.

So far this year, only eight bulls in the state have tested positive for trichomoniasis, but officials warned that it was still too early to tell how many could be infected.

In 2013, 70 bulls tested positive compared with 83 in 2012 and 97 in 2011.

“I think we’ve got pretty good control on it right now,” said Preston Scroggin, director of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission.

Scroggin said swift action by the commission is the reason for the downward trend.

“Arkansas jumped on it before it became a national issue,” he said.

Though stiff regulations across the U.S. are being implement to control the disease, it will not be eradicated until there are better testing procedures, Badley said.

Victim turns inventor to halt wire thefts

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 16, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 71

Victim turns inventor to halt wire thefts
Farmer says device alerts sheriff if line on silos cut
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

For Matt Schafer, every night was a $1,000 gamble. He was always afraid that when he awoke, his grain bins would once again be stripped of their copper wiring, setting him back thousands of dollars for repairs.

Schafer’s 4,000-acre Lonoke County farm was a prime target for thieves because it is outside the city limits and not easily patrolled by local law enforcement officers. He and his neighbor, Scott Mitchell, who had also been a victim of copper wire thieves, narrowed down the times they were most vulnerable and began alternating night watches at the crossroads of their property.

“Like lightning, they’re going to strike, you just don’t know when or where,” Schafer said of the thieves.

The vandals strip the copper by whatever means necessary, then sell it to scrap yards, law enforcement officials said. Usually at night, the thieves strike, stealing wire out of grain bins, irrigation wells, contractor trailers and businesses, leaving only a trace behind. Security cameras do little to deter thieves because their faces are usually covered.

But a new electronic-monitoring device developed by Schafer, Mitchell and others — called the BinSnitch — may put a stop to thieves. It can sense when copper wire is cut and alert law enforcement officers.

One night last summer, Schafer fell asleep while on night-watch. He awoke still holding his cellphone in one hand, which had the sheriff’s number on speed dial, and the butt of a .40-caliber pistol in the other. That was when he realized that his solution to the theft problem wasn’t working.

“I felt like an idiot — my kids were home in bed, my wife was asleep without me and I was just sitting here with a pistol in one hand,” Schafer said.

After that realization, but while still sitting in the darkness, Schafer began scouring the Internet for theft deterrents. He stumbled across an electronic copper-theftdetection system used for center-pivot irrigation systems. The next morning, he contacted Net Irrigate LLC.

He was told that the technology could not be used on his grain-bin storage system, but he refused to take no for an answer and continued to call until the CEO agreed to visit his farm and see if the technology could be modified for use on grain silos.

“He sent a very emotional email and explained the severity of the problem in the area,” said Julie Stark, channel manager for Net Irrigate. “After much discussion, we planned a trip down from Indiana — that was in July 2013.”

Within two hours of their arrival, the BinSnitch was created.

The BinSnitch works similar to a cellphone. It can hold up to 10 phone numbers, which will be dialed if a line is cut. Schafer logged Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley as one of the numbers.

“The BinSnitch rings my phone, rings dispatch and a couple of my investigators within seconds of a cut line,” Staley said.

The cellular technology will call, text and email the programmed contact number.

“It helps us out and tells us when something is going wrong,” Staley said. “We could drive past the farm 100 times and never know any- thing was wrong, but when this alert goes off we know right where to go.”

It also works if a vandal cuts the wires to the device or tries to destroy it. If it loses its connection, is stolen or damaged, it sends an alert.

“This system is awesome, there’s no way around it,” Staley said. “Once it sends an alert, we’re on it. We know the roads and we know all the ways in and out.”

Schafer’s idea has turned into a distrubutor business called AgSecure LLC., which carries the products he helped create. His partners are Mitchell, Jerry Kelly and grain bin expert Mitch Golleher.

Other than the BinSnitch, he created the PumpSnitch and the Snitch. The Pump-Snitch is a monitoring system for wells and water pumps. It works almost identically to the BinSnitch but can be controlled remotely. It will send notification when the pumping starts and stops, and when copper wire is stripped. The Snitch, is a multiuse device that can be used on mobile job sites. For instance, if the door to a contractor’s trailer is opened, it triggers the alert.

Schafer has several more uses for the Snitch devices that are still in the researchand-development phase.

“I am really surprised by all of this. I didn’t call to be a dealer, I called to find a solution,” Schafer said, adding that he has sold more than 60 devices since opening the business in October 2013.

In addition, the Arkansas Farm Bureau will waive a deductible of up to $1,000 for any customer who installs the system, said Steve Eddington, vice president of public relations for the insurance company.

“It’s rewarding. We’re helping people and fighting against crime,” Schafer said. “We work hard, we don’t want people to steal from us, and we will take whatever means necessary to stop it.”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN Fed up with copper thieves, Jerry Kelly (from left), Scott Mitchell and Matt Schafer developed the BinSnitch that senses when copper wiring on grain silos is cut.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN Copper wire connectors powering one of Lonoke County farmer Scott Mitchell’s irrigation wells have been cut by thieves.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN Mitch Golleher (from left), Jerry Kelly, Scott Mitchell and Matt Schafer solved their copper-wire theft problem by developing a device that alerts officials when the wire is cut.

Red-meat exports on a roll so far

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 14, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 30

Red-meat exports on a roll so far
U.S. beef, pork cargo up, but analysts see slack in rest of year
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Exports of red meat in the U.S. have started off strong this year, but maintaining those numbers will be a challenge, analysts said Thursday.

Currently, the strongest red-meat export is beef, but because of drought conditions during 2013, the amount of product that is normally available to be exported has decreased.

“Right now, estimates show a decline in beef exports,” said Lindsay Kuberka, economist in animal products for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Compared with this same time last year, beef exports have increased by 5 percent and pork by 4 percent. However, forecasts for the rest of the year are negative because of limited production.

In 2013, Japan led the beef import market in regard to the amount of U.S. beef purchased and the cost per head of cattle. From January to December, Japan imported more than 234,000 metric tons and paid more than $1.3 billion for highquality cuts of the meat.

“Japan tends to buy higher valued cuts than other markets,” said Jim Herilhy, vice president of communications of the U.S. Export Federation. “They don’t have enough in their domestic market to meet their needs.”

In 2013, Mexico led the import market of U.S. pork with more than 625,000 metric tons imported, but in regard to the demand of high-quality cuts of meat, they were surpassed by Japan.

Pork exports are up 4 percent compared with the same time last year but are expected to decrease as the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus continues to affect U.S. herds.

“We are worried that we don’t have the product to fill the demand for beef,” Herilhy said. “As prices go up, it will continue to be a challenge.”

The export value in 2013 of an entire cow was $244 more than if it was sold in the U.S. Pork sold for $53 more internationally.

“Less exports mean less money to bring back in,” Herilhy said. “It gives us more incentive to sell it [overseas] and bring more profit to the producers in the U.S.”

Deadly pig virus closes in on state

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 13, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 27

Deadly pig virus closes in on state
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A deadly coronavirus that has killed an estimated 5 million pigs has spread to 26 states including four states that border Arkansas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, or PED virus, a fast-moving virus that causes diarrhea, nausea and death in piglets, is gaining momentum. In January, 1.3 million piglets were lost, according to a report by Pork Checkoff, which tracks the hog production numbers. Cases have been reported in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee.

“This has become one of the most serious and devastating diseases our pig farmers have faced in decades,” Karen Richter, president of the National Pork Board, said in the report.

To combat the spread of the virus, the National Pork Board and Canadian-based research facility, Genome Alberta, have contributed more than $1 million in research funding.

Though the cause of the virus is unknown, researchers do know that the virus spreads through transport of the animals and ingesting contaminated manure, said Tom Burkgren, veterinarian and executive director of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

Since May, when the virus was first discovered in the U.S., researchers have been scrambling to find the cause and create a vaccine.

“It is possible that we do not know all the routes of transmission,” Burkgren said. “We have seen some issues with contaminated protein plasma.”

Plasma protein, a supplement given to piglets to help wean them from their mothers, has been a point of debate by those in the industry re- garding the spread of the virus.

The National Renderers Association said that the rendering process, which heats the plasma protein to 175 degrees Fahrenheit, would facilitate the “deactivation” of the virus. However, in Canada, the disease was recreated from the heated protein in a lab setting.

On Wednesday, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, National Pork Producers Council, National Pork Board and feed industry associations will meet to discuss new measures to stop the spread of the disease.

“The feed companies are taking this very seriously —they don’t want to be responsible for selling contaminated feed,” Burkgren said.

While no swine in Arkansas has tested positive for the virus, Jerry Masters, executive vice president of the Arkansas Pork Producers Association, said now that the virus has entered surrounding states, Arkansas eventually will see cases.

“It’s not a matter of if it will happen, it’s a matter of when,” he said. “We are concerned. We are worried about keeping it out of the state and we are doing everything we can to educate growers in the state on biosecurity.”

“No one, at this point, knows where it comes from or how to combat it,” said Jeremy Powell, professor and veterinarian in the department of animal science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. “We’re pretty concerned because there could be up to a 100 percent death loss if we get an outbreak.”

Show season will begin in the next two months, and with the influx of pigs that will enter the state, the Arkansas Pork Producers Association is on high alert.

To bring a pig into the state for a show, the grower must provide health papers that state that no pigs on the farm have tested positive for the virus in the past 60 days, Masters said.

Arkansas ranks 22nd in the U.S. for pork production, with 1.2 million pigs raised in the state each year.