Poultry producers brace for bird flu fallout

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Commercial poultry producers say they’re concerned the outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu virus found in Washington and Oregon will hurt exports by prompting some nations to impose trade barriers.

“It’s probably going to be a problem anyway because some countries aren’t going to properly distinguish between backyard and commercial” flocks, U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council President James Sumner told Capital Press. “This likely will have repercussions that will likely impact the entire U.S. industry.”

Sumner said China already bans poultry imports from five states because of cases of low pathogenic bird flu. He hoped the USDA would be able to convince other countries to continue buying U.S. poultry by showing the virus has not spread to commercial producers.

Officials suspect wild ducks that breed in Alaska and northeastern Asia have spread the virus to the United States. The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced two weeks ago a strain of highly pathogenic bird flu virus, H5N8, had been found in a flock of 100 guinea fowl and chickens in the town of Winston. The USDA has quarantined the yard and will dispose of any surviving birds.

Both the H5N2 and H5N8 strains of the virus were found in Washington state. The state Department of Agriculture reported H5N2 in a wild northern pintail duck found in Whatcom County. A captive gyrfalcon that was fed a wild duck from the same area died of H5N8.

In British Columbia, 11 poultry farms have been quarantined after discovery of the virus, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Many countries, including the United States, have imposed restrictions on Canadian poultry and eggs.

The USDA said it has reported the Oregon case to the World Organization of Animal Health, and is working with other countries to minimize trade impacts. The last outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in the United States was in 2004, when 7,000 chickens in Texas were infected.

Man dies inside SW Indiana grain bin

LYNNVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A coroner says a southwestern Indiana man had a safety rope on him when he was killed while working in a grain bin.

The Gibson County coroner said R.V. “Rocky” Schmidt was working in the bin on his farm near Lynnville when he was suffocated on Dec. 19 by the grain. Coroner Barrett Doyle told the Princeton Daily Clarion Schmidt was likely shoveling grain when apparently it gave way.

Princeton Fire Chief Mike Pflug said firefighters cut holes on the sides of the bin and used a tractor with a vacuum system to suck the grain out at the farm about 20 miles northeast of Evansville. Crews were on the scene for 3.5 hours.

App aimed at reducing deaths in grain bins

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) — A new smart phone app available in iTunes and the Google Play Store could help reduce the number of fatal grain bin entrapments that occur in Illinois.

The Illinois Corn Marketing Board and the Grain and Feed Assoc. of Illinois (GFAI) teamed up to create an app that will locate the nearest grain rescue tube. The tubes can be placed around a person who has fallen into a grain bin to help prevent them from drowning or being crushed by grain.

John Lee is director of the Safety, Health Environmental Services Program for the GFAI. He says the app is “another tool in the toolbox if an unfortunate situation occurs.” Downloading the app and having it available before someone is trapped will save time if the tubes are needed. 

Firefighters battle bin fire for nine hours

RINGWOOD, Ill. (AP) — It took firefighters in northern Illinois more than nine hours to put out a grain bin fire that destroyed $2,500 worth of corn.

McHenry Township Fire Protection District officials said the fire was early Dec. 19 in the village of Ringwood. The Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake reported smoke was coming from the top and sides of the 30-foot-wide bin when firefighters arrived. It was half full of about 25,000 bushels of corn.

There were no injuries and the bin wasn’t damaged. Officials said they think a drying machine may have been the source of the blaze.

Change to daily limits in CME cattle futures

CHICAGO, Ill. — CME Group announced this month it was changing daily price limits in its CME Feeder Cattle futures effective Dec. 18, pursuant to its emergency action authority.

The former daily price limit for CME Feeder Cattle futures was $3 per cwt. and changed to $4.50 effective on trade date Dec. 18. Additionally, effective Dec. 19, these limits have the ability to expand by 150 percent to $6.75 per cwt. on any business day in the event that one of the first two contract months settles at limit on the previous trading day.

CME Feeder Cattle futures have been locked limit for five consecutive days as a result of various factors. This change to daily price limits is necessary to ensure continued price discovery and risk transfer for CME customers.

Daily price limits for CME Live Cattle futures will remain unchanged at $3 per cwt. Effective Dec. 19, these limits have the ability to expand by 150 percent to $4.50 in the event one of the first two contract months settles at limit on the previous trading day.

NW Iowa hog manure spill contained

SCRANTON, Iowa (AP) — State environmental officials credit quick action by a farmer for preventing environmental damage from a manure spill.

An officer from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigated a manure spill three miles southwest of Scranton. DNR Specialist Dan Olson said liquid manure spilled from a tanker truck when it overturned the morning of Dec. 20.

About 2,000 gallons of manure flowed into a ditch. The driver, Joanne Hunter, and others from the Hunter hog farm quickly dammed the ditch on either side of the spill and called a contractor to pump it onto a nearby farm field.

Olson said quick action helped contain the spill and avoided letting it reach any river or stream.

Indianapolis solar farm expansion done

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) — Contractors have finished bringing online dozens of acres of solar panels at Indianapolis International Airport. Workers recently finished adding 86 acres of solar panels at the airport, more than doubling the size of its solar farm to 151 acres. The airport southwest of Indianapolis now has a total of 76,000 solar photovoltaic panels that turn sunlight into electricity and feed that power into the local electrical grid.

Airport spokeswoman Kendall Bybee said the airport’s sprawling arrays of solar panels are capable of generating 31.7 million kilowatt hours of power, or enough to power 3,200 average U.S. homes.