Grocery shopping is one activity that has been greatly impacted during the past couple of years, first by the COVID-19 pandemic and now due to inflation. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, consumers have had to deal with food shortages for products including meat, fish, milk, fruits, vegetables, some cereals and baby formula. They […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized Guidance for Industry (GFI) #245: Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals to help animal food facilities develop a food safety plan that complies with FDA’s Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls requirements. The document provides guidance on: How to recognize and […]

July is the time for questions about ironweed, which is a common native perennial plant from the aster (daisy) family readily found in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. It grows from three feet up to ten feet tall, depending on the specific species (of which there are seventeen in North America). It generally bears clusters […]

When a beef animal is harvested, the value of the carcass and the resulting cuts are determined based on the grades of the carcass. Quality grading and yield grading is monitored by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS). Unlike inspection, which monitors food safety and is mandatory for meat products being sold in the […]

Max Armstrong looks at farm protests in the Netherlands focused on programs to slash emission of pollutants which could drastically cut livestock production. The move aims to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 50% nationwide by 2030. The Ministers call the proposal an ‘unavoidable’ transition, and they told farmers they’ll have to act […]