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Texas Agriculture Archive

April 7, 2006

Avian influenza due in U.S. this year?

United States health officials and researchers are now saying that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza is likely to arrive in the U.S. sometime this year via migratory birds.

"We cannot contain this thing anymore. Nature is in control," said Robert Webster, a virologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., quoted by Los Angeles Times writer Jia-Rui Chong. Webster has been studying the bird flu virus since 1997.

The deadly H5N1 virus first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. To try and eliminate it, 1.6 million chickens, ducks, quail, partridges and geese were destroyed, but four years later the virus resurfaced mainly in Thailand and Vietnam. Culling the countryside of nearly all poultry in this case has just slowed the spread of the virus. During the last seven weeks, the H5N1 virus, in slightly different variants, has spread to 29 new countries, according to Chong. The outbreak of the virus in Europe and Africa has been traced to the discovery of thousands of dead migratory birds at Qinghai Lake in remote western China.

"The virus mutated as it circulated among the birds at Qinghai Lake, allowing it to infect wild birds more easily," Chong wrote.

The virus also has been able to infect various animals separate from humans—186 people have been infected since 2003 without any confirmed transmission of the flu from one person to another.

Update...

Remember Brian Adamek? We told the story of his land battle with the City of Victoria in the March 3 edition of Texas Agriculture. Although his hope of protecting his farmland from the expandling landfill was grim, his getting a reasonable offer for his loss was attainable. And that's exactly what happened.

Adamek said he obtained a new appraisal on his land showing the land worth significantly more than the city offered, and given the support he garnered by means of this story and those within his local newspaper, the city readily paid the price he named.

"I still wind up losing my land, and we sort of expected that," Adamek said. "But at least now we have enough to afford the relocation elsewhere. I'm glad the story ran because it really helped get this issue out in front of people. Hopefully, it will help bring about some changes in the law that serve farmers' interests everywhere."

Creekstone sues over BSE testing

Arkansas City, Kan.-based Creekstone Farms has sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over BSE testing.

Creekstone proposed testing export cattle for BSE two years ago, only to be denied by USDA.

According to a story on Meating place.com, the company filed suit in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, changing that USDA overstepped its legal authority and acted as a "roadblock" to Creekstone's efforts to satisfy customer needs.

CRP general sign-up due

Agricultural producers and landowners can sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through April 14.

Limited acreage is available for enrollment. Landowners should work with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to maximize the environmental benefits their CRP offers.

Offers accepted under this sign-up become effective Oct. 1.

More information on other CRP initiatives and general sign-up is available at local FSA offices or at FSA's website at: www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm.

Notable Quotables

"This past year was one when several major natural disasters including droughts, floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes ravaged thousands of acres of agricultural land, plus destroyed farmstead buildings and homes. The Emergency Disaster Assistance Act of 2006 will provide help to producers for losses incurred during the 2005 crop year. Without such help, many producers will be forced out of business.

"Congress must not turn its back on those who produce America's food supply. Although assistance has been granted for certain agricultural commodities in hurricane areas, other impacted commodities and other regions of the country have been left to battle their own disasters. Sen. Conrad's bill is a sensible approach to a national problem."

—American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman's response to the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Act of 2006, introduced recently by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)