The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that dairy cows in nine states have been infected with bird flu in 2024.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
A veterinarian and epidemiologist who studies infectious diseases in dairy cows discusses the outbreak, how cows recover and what the government is doing to keep the milk supply safe.
Cows typically get over avian flu in a couple of weeks, but it’s an economic blow for farms.
AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield
While mRNA vaccines are designed to last longer in the body than mRNA molecules typically would, they are also tested to ensure they are eliminated from livestock long before milking or slaughter.
Raising kids on a farm, as Kerissa Payne is doing, isn’t simple.
Photo courtesy of Kerissa and Charlie Payne
Access to affordable child care affects farm productivity, safety and ultimately the nation’s food supply. Farm families across the U.S. are struggling without it.
Healthy turkeys on a farm in West Newfield, Maine.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Hunters are warned to take precautions handling wild birds, and the virus can spill over to non-avian species, so no one should approach wild animals that appear ill.
Forest thinning and prescribed burns leave less fuel to burn.
Escaflowne via Getty Images
Ryan E. Tompkins, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Susan Kocher, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
After another devastating wildfire year in the West, the Biden administration has a plan to ramp up forest thinning and prescribed burns. Two foresters explain why these projects are so important.
Buying enough groceries with government benefits is getting easier.
Katrina Wittkamp/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Long-term increases like this are unusual. So is the fact that this increased governmental generosity began with a measure approved by Congress when Republicans held majorities in both chambers.
Soybeans sprout on an Illinois farm through corn stubble left on an unplowed field from the previous season – an example of no-till farming.
Paige Buck, USDA/Flickr
Policymakers want to pay farmers for storing carbon in soil, but there are no uniform rules yet for measuring, reporting or verifying the results. Four scholars offer some ground rules.
Many plant-based foods are high in vitamin K.
ratmaner via Getty Images
US federal regulations say little about how animals on organic farms should be treated. So if you’re planning to serve an ethical holiday dinner, you’ll have to do some research.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter spoke at a Northern Virginia high school about civil service changes underway.
AP Photo/Jeff Taylor
With Gottlieb’s departure from the FDA imminent, what should we expect from the FDA? How is it likely to regulate the still controversial genetically engineered foods?
Cows at the University of California, Davis beef research facility. Photo credit:
Alison Van Eenennaam/ University of California, Davis
According to current regulations, animals that have been genetically edited, like pigs or cows, are considered drugs. What are the consequences of such rules on American livestock and agriculture?
Fewer people getting SNAP benefits can lead to more skipped meals.
maradon 333/Shutterstock.com
Accounting for grocery prices and the effort eating home-prepared meals requires, the benefits commonly called food stamps fall far short of paying enough for the poor to eat right.
Texas farmer Taylor Wilcox received USDA funding to flood his fallow rice fields, creating habitat for black-necked stilts and other birds.
USDA
The Agriculture Department provides nearly $6 billion annually for land, water and wildlife conservation on farms. President Trump’s 2019 budget drastically reduces funds for these programs.
A photographer’s rendition of the neo-Nazi milk fetish. Milk has been a symbol for Nazis for decades.
(Livonia Stronk/Imgur)