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Texas
Agriculture Archive
November 7, 2003
Japan reports eighth BSE case
A 23-month old Japanese cow slaughtered on Sept. 29 tested
positive for mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). This
is the eighth case reported in Japan since September 2001 and the first
confirmed case in Japan in a cow less than two years of age.
Japanese officials said that the cow has apparently contracted a new form of the disease. According to published news reports, Japan's farm minister said, ". . . we need to talk to experts and study this case thoroughly in order to get to the bottom of how it happened."
Government officials will be conducting tests to determine
if the new type of BSE can be easily transmitted to other animals, and
how the cow contracted it. Consumption of contaminated feed is considered
the most likely source of infection, but that scenario appears implausible
in the case, as the cow was born after Japan banned meat-and-bone meal
in animal feed in October 2001.
Source: AFBF Executive Newswatch, Oct. 7, 2003
Urbanization not an overall threat
to food production
According to data compiled by USDA Economic Research Service,
grassland pasture and range, followed by forest, each account for over
25 percent of U.S. land use. Cropland comes in third with 20 percent of
total U.S. land use.
While urbanized land has quadrupled since 1945, it still makes up less than 3.5 percent of the U.S. land base and is not an overall threat to food production.
Besides food, rural land provides many other amenities (such as open space, scenic views, wildlife habitat, and recreation) that are driving farmland preservation efforts.
While land quality can be degraded by soil erosion, conservation efforts have substantially reduced the problem on agricultural lands.
Crop theft is on the rise in Japan, shocking citizens in what is normally a low crime society.
High-value, exotic fruit and vegetables are the most popular targets, although rice was filched in one case. Nearly 100 crop thefts in the Kanto region (which includes Japan) have been reported this year, about triple the rate reported in 2002.
Some speculate that increased crop prices caused by a
cold and rainy summer contributed to the crime wave.
Source: AFBF Executive Newswatch, Oct. 14, 2003
Dr. Eddy LaDue of Cornell University and two colleagues have just published a study of the future structure of the dairy industry.
Their projections show that the number of dairy farms will decline a shocking 85 percent from 2000 to 2020, from 105,000 to only 16,000. Large farms milking 500 cows or more are projected to rise from 2,700 to 3,400 while small farms milking under 100 cows are expected to drop from 84,000 to about 7,000 by 2020.
The study also indicates that farms over 500 head will
account for more than 80 percent of production.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report, Sept. 19,
2003
