On June 30th, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of agriculture appropriations for fiscal year 2022. The agriculture appropriations bill provides discretionary funding of $26.55 billion, which is $2.851 billion above 2021. The Committee also released the accompanying report that includes detailed funding levels for individual USDA programs.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has announced a new initiative to highlight the importance of foreign-born workers across the American pork industry and the need for broad labor reform to address labor shortages.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement regarding the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule. The OLPP sets production standards for organic livestock and poultry, including raising, transport, and slaughter.

A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that changes in farming practices in grain production could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70% by 2036.

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) has released a new paper, The Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Climate 21 Project Implementation. This publication examines nutrient and pest management, animal systems, agricultural technologies, food supply chain, and carbon markets.

A new study published in Nature, Post-farmgate food value chains make up most of consumer food expenditures globally, discovered that farmers make less than 25% of what consumers spend at the grocery stores, and around 7% less than that for food that is consumed at restaurants, or outside of the home.

The Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act (PRIME Act) was re-introduced to the House. The same bill was also introduced to the Senate. The PRIME Act would expand the exemption of custom slaughtering of animals from federal inspection requirements.

The United States Supreme Court announced it will not hear the North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI) case against Proposition 12 (Prop 12) in California. The case was denied without explanation. Prop 12 will become law in 2022, but numerous organizations have called for a delay.

Two Democratic members of Congress, Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) and Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (D-NY), have recently introduced a bill that would create a voluntary grant program for school districts to help schools provide additional plant-based options. The “Healthy Future Students and Earth Pilot Program Act” is intended to help combat the climate crisis as well.

Just in time for grilling season, meat prices are increasing globally. A report in Bloomberg found in the United States, the sales of meat at grocery stores are down by 12% from the previous year. Due to the global supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of meat has been rising since October 2020.

The Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021 has passed in the United States Senate and is now moving to the House. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and co-sponsored by over 50 members of the Senate. S.1251 would authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners.

The Farm System Reform Act was recently reintroduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) to create a more resilient food system. The Farm System Reform Act was first introduced by Booker and Khanna in 2019 and 2020, respectively, with no traction.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared that the USDA plans to spend $500 million to help encourage the construction of new small meat processing facilities in the country.

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a ruling regarding ‘Made in USA’ (MUSA) product labeling claims. The ruling will take effect on August 13, 2021. A public workshop and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking comment period were accomplished by FTC, where the rule gained “nearly universal support for a rule addressing MUSA labels.

Dr. Johnson started off the Animal Health Symposium on Saturday, July 17th, by discussing where we currently sit with the use of antibiotics in animal production and why that position has been changing over time. Using an antibiotic is not a simple process, there are many factors that go into giving antibiotics such as regulatory issues, economics, and pressures from consumers. When animals get sick the traditional approaches have been to rely on effective antibiotics to eliminate the pathogen causing the disease.

Dr. Bijma began by discussing why selection against infectious diseases is more promising than currently believed. Infectious diseases are a great concern in agriculture as they lead to production losses and costs of treatment causing economic damage. Genetic selection has been used as a strategy to combat infectious diseases in agriculture. The current breeder’s perspective focuses on the binary disease status of the individual and the low heritabilities suggest the rate for genetic improvement is restricted; however, Dr. Bijma explained that a proper quantitative genetic theory that includes transmission dynamics within a population is lacking.

The Nation Animal Nutrition Program (NANP) was established in 2010 to support research requested by stakeholders. It addresses challenges in research, education, and teaching, and supports agencies in animal agriculture. Information Technology (IT) has evolved greatly over the years particularly in combination with data analytics. In the animal industry, understanding the application of information technology of data analytics can provide a competitive advantage.

Larry Redmon began the symposium with a presentation about “Where Should Forage Courses Be Housed”. According to him, in forage, there is often separation between the animal and plant science aspects of the field. In many cases in forage teaching, boundaries are not crossed to work with cooperating departments such as animal science. There is also uncertainty as to which department forages should be housed in.

The symposium focused on “Science Communication and a Skeptical Society: From Research to Social Media”. The introduction began by addressing the large scope of sharing information particularly with the advent of social media. There are many gaps in information that science has the potential to correct to alleviate biased and sensationalized messages from the media and research that can create bias.

Lowell Randel, a member of the ASAS Public Policy Committee (PPC) introduced the symposium. According to him the purpose of grand challenges (GCs) is to develop the field of animal science since the last strategic plan. Grand challenges clearly articulate priorities for providing scientific information for shaping public policy and enhancing research and educational programs in animal science.