Farm to cart game introduced

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2015 – “Farm to Cart,” a new game for preschool and early elementary teachers, families, farmers and ranchers hosting agricultural literacy events, was recently launched by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The game is intended to help learners make the connection that food comes from farms before it reaches the grocery store and ultimately our homes.

Through the game, young learners discover how to describe the general process for the production of an agricultural product and how farmers use land to grow crops. Players will race to be the first player to harvest items from the farm and place them in their grocery carts. To win, a player must have three items that grow on trees, three animal products from the land and three items from the soil.
This game is offered as a free, PDF download on www.agfoundation.org. You will need to provide your own scissors, tape/glue and die.

Agricultural and Agri-Food Producers Call for an Ambitious, Fair, and Comprehensive Agreement through the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Guam, MAY 19, 2015 – As Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) nations meet this week in Guam to continue negotiations, agri-food producer and processor organizations from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand remain united in their call for a modern trade agreement that includes meaningful and comprehensive market access opportunities for agriculture and agri-food.

The organizations advocating for an ambitious, fair and comprehensive TPP agreement are the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Australian National Farmers’ Federation, and the Federated Farmers of New Zealand. Together, they represent hundreds of thousands of farmers, producers, processors and exporters who, in turn, employ millions of workers across the TPP region.

“Our agricultural sectors and the jobs they provide depend on a thriving network of export markets,” said Brian Innes, president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

“By creating stable and open market access, the TPP’s potential to stimulate economic growth is incredible. A comprehensive agreement would encourage regional supply chains with production and processing occurring where competitive advantages exist. However, without a plurilateral agreement, the TPP could actually reduce market access for agri-food exporters. It would be very negative if some TPP countries provide preferential market access to select countries and not others.”

Despite the fact that agriculture is traditionally regarded as a sensitive subject in trade talks, negotiators must uphold a high level of ambition in order to realize the TPP’s broader objectives of opening up trade throughout one of the world’s key economic centers.

“Australian farmers are of the view that this agreement must deliver significant outcomes across the sector and thus across the economy. Agriculture has always been a strong supporter of trade and the benefits it brings across the broader community and the TPP must be seen in that light” National Farmers Federation President Mr. Brent Finlay said.

The TPP region represents 792 million consumers and 40 percent of world trade while also maintaining a coveted status as an integral part of global value chains. In fact, trade among TPP partners equaled over $2 trillion in 2012. While this number is considerable, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, the Australian National Farmers’ Federation, the American Farm Bureau and the Federated Farmers of New Zealand will continue to call for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers that currently exist among the member countries in order to increase the value of this trade market through additional sales of agricultural products.

“New Zealand farmers have always strongly supported the benefits of free trade, which include improved market access and reduce trade barriers for our exports,” added Dr. William Rolleston, president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand.

“Our members strongly encourage TPP negotiators to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers in this agreement and eliminate export subsidies and other policies that distort markets. These barriers to exports reduce the ability of countries, including our own, to trade.”

As negotiations proceed, all signs point to an imminent agreement with a broader range of benefits than any before it. However, the importance of a beneficial deal for agriculture and agri-food exporters should not be underestimated. This type of deal can only come through agreed-upon terms that liberalize trade throughout the TPP region and deliver competitive, transparent, plurilateral, non-discriminatory access.

“The TPP will only fulfill its promise of improved and increased trade in the Pacific region when it eliminates any barriers to trade, including tariff and non-tariff trade barriers,” said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “U.S. agriculture has high expectations for the TPP, and we are calling on all countries involved to commit to a better agreement and freer trade worldwide.”

ASTA Stands Ready to Assist White House to Achieve Announced Pollinator Health Steps

May 20: American Seed Trade Association President & CEO Andrew W. LaVigne released the following statement in response to the White House’s announced steps to promote pollinator health.  This comes after a year-long interagency task force:

“The American Seed Trade Association is heartened by the White House’s proactive approach to assisting pollinators that are challenged by many factors impacting their health.  Bees are vital in seed and agriculture production, as well as general ecosystem health, and ensuring their wellbeing is a priority.  We are gratified that the Strategy recognizes the important work ASTA and CropLife America have done to increase education and outreach to the agriculture  community on best management practices for treated seed through the Guide to Seed Treatment Stewardship. While the success of the Strategy is important to ASTA, we must ensure science continues to play a primary role in any actions taken.

“The White House stated that increasing the quantity and quality of habitat for pollinators is a major part of this effort.  Practical solutions are needed to increase pollinator forage resources and we are pleased to see the Strategy recognizes the important role of USDA conservation programs to support this effort.  Members of ASTA are eager to collaborate with the USDA’s NRCS and FSA and their state affiliates to provide appropriate seed mixes that cost effectively address multiple conservation goals.

“However, ASTA is concerned that the strategy laid out by the Department of Interior does not fully take into account the expertise and capacity of the native seed industry to provide pollinator friendly native seeds.  Collaboration between the Department of Interior, its agencies and seed suppliers should be initiated as soon as possible to find solutions to build and sustain populations of pollinators on federal lands.

 “The White House has put forth an exciting plan to promote and protect pollinators, which are crucial to our industry. To achieve maximum outcomes, public-private partnerships are essential and ASTA stands ready to play an active role.”

Vaccines developed for H5N1, H7N9 avian influenza strains

MANHATTAN — A recent study with Kansas State University researchers details vaccine development for two new strains of avian influenza that can be transmitted from poultry to humans. The strains have led to the culling of millions of commercial chickens and turkeys as well as the death of hundreds of people.

The new vaccine development method is expected to help researchers make vaccines for emerging strains of avian influenza more quickly. This could reduce the number and intensity of large-scale outbreaks at poultry farms as well as curb human transmission.

It also may lead to new influenza vaccines for pigs, and novel vaccines for sheep and other livestock, said Jürgen Richt, Regents distinguished professor of veterinary medicine and director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases.



Richt and his colleagues focused on the avian influenza virus subtype H5N1, a new strain most active in Indonesia, Egypt and other Southeast Asian and North African countries. H5N1 also has been documented in wild birds in the U.S., though in fewer numbers.



"H5N1 is a zoonotic pathogen, which means that it is transmitted from chickens to humans," Richt said. "So far it has infected more than 700 people worldwide and has killed about 60 percent of them. Unfortunately, it has a pretty high mortality rate."


Researchers developed a vaccine for H5N1 by combining two viruses. A vaccine strain of the Newcastle disease virus, a virus that naturally affects poultry, was cloned and a small section of the H5N1 virus was transplanted into the Newcastle disease virus vaccine, creating a recombinant virus.

Tests showed that the new recombinant virus vaccinated chickens against both Newcastle disease virus and H5N1.

Researchers also looked at the avian flu subtype H7N9, an emerging zoonotic strain that has been circulating in China since 2013. China has reported about 650 cases in humans and Canada has reported two cases in people returning from China. About 230 people have died from H7N9.

"In Southeast Asia there are a lot of markets that sell live birds that people can buy and prepare at home," Richt said. "In contrast to the H5N1 virus that kills the majority of chickens in three to five days, chickens infected with the H7N9 virus do not show clinical signs of sickness. That means you could buy a bird that looks perfectly healthy but could be infected. If an infected bird is prepared for consumption, there is a high chance you could get sick, and about 1 in 3 infected people die."

Using the same method for developing the H5N1 vaccine, researchers inserted a small section of the H7N9 virus into the Newcastle disease virus vaccine. Chickens given this recombinant vaccine were protected against the Newcastle disease virus and H7N9.

"We believe this Newcastle disease virus concept works very well for poultry because you kill two birds with one stone, metaphorically speaking," Richt said. "You use only one vector to vaccinate and protect against a selected virus strain of avian influenza."

Using the Newcastle disease virus for vaccine development may extend beyond poultry to pigs, cattle and sheep, Richt said.

Researchers found they were able to protect pigs against an H3 influenza strain by using the Newcastle disease virus to develop a recombinant virus vaccine. Wenjun Ma, Kansas State University assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, is building on this finding and using the Newcastle disease virus to make a vaccine for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, a disease that has killed an estimated 6 million pigs.

Richt conducted the avian influenza study with Ma, Adolfo Garcia-Sastre at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and several other colleagues. They published their findings in the Journal of Virology study, "Newcastle disease virus-vectored H7 and H5 live vaccines protect chickens from challenge with H7N9 or H5N1 avian influenza viruses." It is the first study to look at an H7N9 vaccine in chickens, the animals the disease originates in.