| News from Around the Farm World - April 14, 2010 |
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S. Korea kills 6,000 more cows, pigs after outbreaks
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is slaughtering about 6,000 more cows and pigs to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
Agriculture Ministry official Lee Ju-won said cows and pigs at three farms in Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, tested positive for the disease Saturday. On Friday, workers killed more than 2,500 cows and pigs because of an outbreak at a nearby farm.
South Korea already has slaughtered more than 5,900 animals since January, when the country’s first outbreak of the disease in eight years was reported. The disease is often fatal for cloven-hoofed animals including cows, sheep, pigs and goats, causing blisters on the mouth and feet. It does not affect humans.
Two forestry arson arrests made in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee investigators said they have made arson arrests in Sequatchie and Hardin counties.
A state Department of Agriculture e-mail stated officers arrested 68-year-old Walter David Stockwell of Dunlap on two counts of setting fire to personal property or land. There are also charges pending in several other arson fires in Grundy, Van Buren, Marion and Hamilton counties.
A jailer said Stockwell was arrested April 8 and was being held Friday without bond. The e-mail said more than 800 acres burned due to arson in Sequatchie County last week.
In Hardin County, 56-year-old William David Scott of Savannah has been charged with four counts of setting fires that burned more than 120 acres. Scott was arrested April 4 and was being held on a $35,000 bond.
Meeting to detail Illinois gypsy moth treatments
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Agriculture will hold another public information meeting to explain its plans this year to treat parts of northern Illinois for the destructive gypsy moth.
The meeting – which begins at 7 p.m. April 22 in Park Forest, in Manilow Theatre at Freedom Hall, 410 Lakewood Blvd. – will explain plans to treat 3,716 acres of Cook and Will counties. Impacted communities include Park Forest, Chicago Heights, Ford Heights, Steger and University Park. Treatments also are planned in the Cook and Will counties’ forest preserves, as well as a tract of U.S. Forest Service prairie in Wilmington.
The gypsy moth is a non-native pest that feasts on trees and shrubs. Large populations are capable of stripping plants bare, leaving them vulnerable to secondary insect and disease attacks. Infested sites will be treated with applications of either BTK, a naturally-occurring bacteria used by gardeners as an environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides, or pheromone, a sexual attractant that confuses male gypsy moths and prevents them from breeding.
The BTK will be applied by helicopter in late May. A fixed-wing airplane will apply the pheromone flakes in late June. Maps of the treatment sites will be posted at www.agr.state.il.us/Environment/Pest/gypsymothinIL.html
Tenn. burn permits required through May 15
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry wants to remind people if they are considering conducting an open burn, a permit is required in advance of such activity. The free burn permits are required in all areas of the state by law until May 15, unless otherwise covered by local ordinances, so residents should check with their local government for other restrictions. The permits can be obtained by calling a local Division of Forestry office.
Phone numbers can be found by visiting www.BurnSafeTN.org and clicking on the “Burn Permits” button for a list of numbers by county. Permits are generally good for 24 hours and can be issued for weekend burns.
Burning without a permit is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine not to exceed $50. Wildfires caused by arson are a Class C felony punishable by 3-15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. Anyone with information about suspected arson activity should call the state Fire Marshal’s Arson Hotline toll free at 800-762-3017.
Governors wager on participation for census
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland accepted a friendly wager from Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in an effort to encourage 100 percent participation from Ohio citizens in the 2010 U.S. Census.
They have agreed the governor whose state has the higher percentage of Census forms returned by mail by Earth Day, April 22, will donate a specimen of its state tree to the state with the lower rate of return.
The tree exchange will take place on Arbor Day, April 30, and the governor receiving the tree will have it planted in a spot of his or her choosing. Michigan’s state tree is the White Pine and Ohio’s is the Ohio Buckeye. |
| 4/14/2010 |
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