Horses Exposed to Equine Herpes Located at Aqueduct Racetrack

From the state Department of Agriculture and Markets:

Two horses that were potentially exposed to an Equine Herpes Type 1 (EHV-1) positive horse at Parx Racing in Bensalem, PA, have been located at Aqueduct Racetrac.k

At this time, these horses have been examined by a veterinarian and are not showing signs of illness. These horses will be in isolation off-track with daily monitoring by Commission and New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) officials. The horses that were in the same barn at Aqueduct as these potentially exposed horses are also being closely monitored daily for signs of illness by track officials.

EHV-1 is a common viral infection which can cause respiratory disease, abortion in broodmares, death in newborn foals and in rare instances, a neurological form of herpes. It may be spread by close contact with an infected horse or by objects contaminated by an infected horse.  The virus does not affect people.

If you are the owner, trainer or caretaker of a horse that has been at Parx Racing in the past two weeks, or believe your horse has been potentially exposed to EHV-1, the following guidelines are recommended:

** Check your horse’s temperature twice a day for ten days. If the temperature is 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, contact your veterinarian immediately.

**  If you wish to test your horse, consult your veterinarian. At this time, the preferred test is PCR analysis performed on nasal swab specimens. Blood samples may also be tested.

** The decision to test a horse not showing signs of disease should not be taken lightly. Due to the ubiquitous nature of EHV-1, many horses will test positive for presence of the virus and not develop the disease. Also, a single negative test has limited value in demonstrating whether or not a horse will become ill or may be shedding the virus.

** Look for neurologic signs, respiratory signs, loss of bladder tone (urine dribbling) or poor tail tone.

 If any of these signs are seen, call your veterinarian immediately and then call the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets at (518) 457-3502.

NOFA-NY Winter Conference Coming in January.

Go to http://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference to learn more about NOFA-NY's winter conference.

It's set for Jan. 24-26 in Saratoga Spring.

Will Food Safety Rules Bankrupt Small Farmers?

Interesting story.

Check it out http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-slama/food-safety-rules_b_4235080.html at this link.

All the Latest on the Farm Bill

Here's a handy little website from the New York Times if you need to keep on top of Farm Bill news.

Go to http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/farm_bill_us/ to check it out.

Cuomo Congratulates State's Vineyard Owners on Great Year

From the governor's office:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has congratulated New York's wine and grape industry on a bountiful harvest this year, which will help this fast growing industry maintain its standing as a national leader in producing high quality wines.

Grape growers from all across the state report an abundant harvest, and Cuomo encourages New Yorkers to help these growers by purchasing and tasting New York wines this upcoming holiday season.
"The successful harvest for New York?s grape growers is giving our state?s wine industry a boost in production at exactly the right time," Cuomo said. "Over the last several months, New Yorkers and wine enthusiasts around the world have been learning and enjoying the incredible wines our state has to offer.

"As we continue efforts to improve the business climate for the wine industry, I congratulate our grape growers and wine producers on a prosperous year in 2013," he said. "As the holiday season approaches, I encourage those looking to find a great gift to support New York's growers and purchase a locally-produced wine."

While figures from this year's harvest are not yet available, reports from all sections of the state have been extremely positive with many grape growers reporting an abundant harvest of superb fruit. Long Island had the best harvest in terms of warm, dry weather throughout the fall. 

While the rest of the state had more variable weather, it still ended up with a great quality harvest. New York grapes, particularly varieties from Western New York, are also used in a number of other products including various juices and jellies.

New York ranks third nationally in wine and grape production, (after California and Washington) with the crop value estimated at $52.3 million in 2012.

New Report Highlights Need for Farm Bill

Here is Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack's column:

There are a wide range of important reasons why rural America needs passage of a comprehensive, multiyear Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible.

One of the most pressing is to grow the rural economy in a way that creates new jobs and reverses the troubling decline in population that we’ve seen recently in America’s small towns.

This week, USDA’s Economic Research Service released its annual report on the economic condition of rural America – the 2013 Rural America at a Glance report.   The data in this report underscores the challenges of stagnant job growth and persistent poverty faced by many communities across rural America.

• Rural America shared in the economic recovery following the Great Recession. Unfortunately, job growth has leveled off in rural areas over the past 18 months and rural areas are creating jobs at a slower rate than our cities.
• Persistent poverty still plagues many rural areas. More than 570 of America’s 703 high-poverty counties are in rural America, with many of these counties experiencing persistently high poverty that lasts several decades.
• And, rural America has continued to lose population in real terms. Between 2010 and 2012, rural communities saw a drop of more than 44,000 people, which is unprecedented in recent decades.

To reverse these trends, we need a renewed national commitment to economic growth in rural America. Since 2009, USDA has carried out a wide range of efforts to assist rural communities, grow the rural economy and save jobs. In addition to these investments we have worked across the Obama Administration to explore new pathways to growth.

These include the StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiative that targets USDA technical assistance in areas of high poverty, and the White House Rural Council that has brought many different Federal agencies to bear in providing coordinated help for small towns and rural communities.

But to continue providing assistance in rural America and creating a foundation for future economic growth, we need Congress to provide a new, long-term Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible. A new Farm Bill would grow the economy, keep people in our small towns and attract new residents.

It would invest to further increase agricultural exports, and strengthen new markets for agriculture – while reforming the farm safety net in a way that reduces the deficit and ensures needed assistance for our farmers and ranchers.

It would pave the way for innovative new conservation opportunities that could create new wealth in rural areas while protecting our land and water for future generations.

It would spur new opportunities to manufacture biobased products and energy from homegrown materials, which hold a very promising future for job creation in rural America.

The Farm Bill would maintain critical nutrition assistance that helps millions of vulnerable Americans, including children, seniors, people with disabilities and returning veterans.

And the Farm Bill would further invest in the future of Main Street businesses and communities, complementing the Administration’s innovative efforts through the Rural Council and StrikeForce initiative.

This week’s economic report highlights the need to create new opportunity in rural America, grow the economy in our small towns and create new jobs. We can achieve these goals in partnership with communities across the nation – but it is critically important that Congress provide a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that strengthens this important work.

Fire Damages Ag Business

Fire damages major http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/major-fire-causes-severe-damage-one-genesee-countys-largest-ag-businesses/40218 ag business in Genesee County.