Biosecurity measures on Virginia poultry farms have been important over the past year due to an avian influenza outbreak that started in 2014 in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and California.
Virginia’s largest agricultural organization, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, recently lifted heightened biosecurity measures that had been in place for 15 months for staff visiting poultry farms.
“Our employees were asked to not visit any poultry farms out of an abundance of precaution unless there was an urgent or emergency situation that required staff to be on the farm,” said Tony Banks, a VFBF commodity marketing specialist. “Our employees are not only conscious of farmers’ needs, but they also understand the serious threat that animal diseases like AI pose to our members’ livestock and poultry.
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“You ask, ‘What keeps you going during the tough times?’ I reckon what keeps me going is working towards something that the next generation will hopefully have in order to be able to provide for their families. Because it’s a great life. It’s like any other business that has its struggles, its ups and downs. You just keep on and look for better days ahead.”
On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved bipartisan national legislation on the disclosure of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in food. The bill, which the House approved on a 306-117 vote, now goes to President Barack Obama for signing. It was approved 63-30 by the Senate the prior week.
The Southern Piedmont AREC 2016 Annual Forage Field Day is scheduled for Thursday, July 28, 2016. The topics for field day are listed below.
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Are you seeing fewer and fewer Virginia Farm Bureau posts in your news feed? That’s because a recent Facebook change is further limiting the reach of brand pages like ours. (It’s an effort to make sure people don’t miss posts from friends and family.) But there’s a way to ensure you don’t miss a single thing from FB… including breaking news, farm photos, member benefits, and MORE content that’s not always featured on Plows and Politics! Here’s how… On your computer, visit 
The U.S. Senate last night voted 63-30 to pass Chairman Senator Pat Roberts and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow’s bipartisan agriculture biotechnology disclosure solution. “Tonight’s vote is the most important vote for agriculture in the last 20 years. We worked hard to ensure the marketplace works for everyone. I mean everyone. Our legislation allows farmers to continue using sound science to produce more food with less resources, gives flexibility to food manufacturers in disclosing information, and gives access to more food information that consumers demand,” said Roberts. Read more here: 
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