Georgia Agricultural Newspaper December 2012 Edition

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Inside Garden resolutions Page 3 Egg trends Page 11 Ga.-Gabon deal Page 13 Solar wells Page 15

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ee

January 2013

North Georgia’s Agricultural Newspaper

Agriculture is vital to Ga., and impacts the world

By David B. Strickland Georgia Ag News Staff

dstrickland@poultrytimes.net

GAINESVILLE — The importance of agriculture and agribusiness to Hall County and all of Georgia was emphasized recently

by Abit Massey, president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation.

Massey was the guest speaker at this year’s Hall County Farmer Appreciation Breakfast, held during the national Farm-City Week. The breakfast was sponsored by the Hall County Cooperative Extension and

the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.

Massey began by giving a brief rundown of the categories in which Hall County is a leader in the state’s agricultural industry. He noted that the county is: 10th in total farm gate value; seventh in poultry and eggs at farm level and first in poultry processing and allied industries; eighth in livestock; first in horse boarding and training; fourth in apple production; sixth in ag tourism; eighth in goats and strawberries; and 10th in grapes and blueberries.

“All of agriculture is important to

this area,” he said.

Focusing specifically on poultry, Massey noted that if you take the farm value of poultry in Hall County and the counties that border, it would be larger than the statewide income for cotton (which is the state’s number two commodity behind broiler chickens). He also added that if you then take the next ring of counties that border on those counties, which brings the number to 26 North Georgia counties, the

See Agriculture, Page 7

Photo by David B. Strickland

Farm-City breakfast: Abit Massey, president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation, was not only the guest speaker of the recent Hall County Farmer Appreciation Breakfast, held during Farm-City Week, but was also presented with a cake in honor of his birthday.

IPE to include more industries

By Barbara Olejnik Georgia Ag News Staff bolejnik@poultrytimes.net

GAINESVILLE — In January, the International Poultry Expo, sponsored by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, will be celebrating 65 years of continuous trade shows and educational programs for the poultry and egg industry.

And the 2013 show will be even bigger that before. Joining in an ex-

panded show will be the American Meat Institute and its International Meat Expo.

Together with the IPE and the American Feed Industry Association, which co-located its annual International Feed Expo in 2007, the three groups will present the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) on Jan. 29-31 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.

When the three-industry expo

was announced in January, John Starkey, USPOULTRY president, said “The consolidation of the trade shows will allow our respective organizations to build on the synergies of the poultry, feed and meat sectors, as well as provide a benefit to our exhibitors and members who produce or exhibit across multiple protein sectors.”

AFIA president Joel Newman

See IPPE, Page 6

Photo by David B. Strickland

Poultry show: The 2013 International Production & Processing Expo (which is the combined International Poultry Expo, International Feed Expo and International Meat Expo) will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 29-31. More than 1,100 exhibitors will be at this year’s event.

2

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

The time is right to get into growing food

By Steven Thomas

the amazing variety of vegetables available. Forty kinds of tomatoes, 15 different squash and 30 different GAINESVILLE — As cold beans! The fun comes in trying new weather begins to keep us indoors, varieties — but how do you choose one way to keep the gardening spirit which to try? alive is looking through I start with what is goseed catalogs and thinking to be grown by the ing about what to grow farmers who sell at the when the weather turns local market. If a farmer warm. with more land and far Of course, there will more experience than be the usual vegetables I have is going to grow — tomatoes, squash and beefsteak tomatoes, yelbeans. These are the old low crook-neck squash standbys; the vegetables and Blue Lake beans, we grow each year bethen there is no reason cause they work every for me to do the same in Thomas time. A look through the my limited space. catalogs, however, shows So I look for interesting and new varieties like early Steven Thomas is market manager English peas, Chocolate Cherry toof the Historic Downtown Gaines- matoes, and Italian Borlotti beans. ville Market on the Square. He can These vegetables aren’t readily be reached at 678-943-4442; by e- available, so growing them is an mail at steve@hallfarmers.org; or adventure and the results are in the the website www.hallfarmers.org.

Special to Georgia Ag News

harvesting and eating.

I don’t have a lot of time or a lot of room to grow food. Five years ago, I started with pots on the back porch. I grew those old stand-by vegetables. It was fun and educational, but I could get the same things from the farmers market.

The next year I built a 4-foot x 10-foot raised bed. I planted early English peas first and reaped a huge bounty — enough to eat fresh and plenty to freeze for later.

When the peas where nearing their end, I planted cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas. I picked vegetables that I love to eat, that aren’t available from local farmers and that I could trade for other vegetables.

Having some room to plant in the yard, I put in an asparagus bed and another for Jerusalem artichokes.

These will stay in place and produce for the next 20 years or so. I also have mint, rosemary, oregano,

fennel, thyme and sage; the herbs that I use the most in cooking.

My point here is that everyone should grow some food.

It doesn’t matter if you have a window box, some pots out back, room for a small raised bed or an in-ground garden. Choose two or three easy-to-grow vegetables — something interesting — and plant the seeds, watch them grow, harvest their fruits and eat them. It’s a learning experience that everyone should take part in, especially if you have kids.

The simple act of planting seeds and growing food can transform the way you live. There is a renewed interest in growing our own food.

Some folks are banding together in their neighborhoods and growing fruits and vegetables to trade with each other, or in exchange for homemade breads and jams.

Neighbor-to-neighbor commerce is quite an old idea made new again.

In these tough economic times, if you have some land and a bit of a green thumb, you can sell your extra vegetables at your local farmers market as well.

The advantage of growing in conjunction with your neighbors is that you can share or swap seeds, help each other with the digging and watering and harvesting.

If you have kids, you should get them started as early as possible in learning to grow food. It will give them a better feel for where food comes from, gets them out in the fresh air and away from the television and video games.

Younger children get a kick out of having their parents help them plant lettuce seeds in the shape of their names and watching it grow.

And they love to pick the vegetables they grew and help make something to eat — so they learn to

See Thomas, Page 5

3

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Make your New Year’s garden resolutions

By Michael Wheeler

which one to drop this year. At the very least write down what veggies you planted.

GAINESVILLE — It’s the New Also think about the number Year and the time of resolutions. of plants you put in the ground.

One resolution that will help you in Did you overdo it with the yelthe garden is to begin planning your low squash? Or did you not plant spring planting now. enough peppers and ran This time of year many short. Draw a diagram seed companies are sendof the garden and try to ing out their catalogs. It remember where you can be overwhelming to planted each vegetable. think about all the variThis will make you visueties out there. Each one alize the garden and help almost sounds better than you to remember all of the next one. There are a these details from a few few things you should do months back. before you crack open Write notes about the that catalog. garden for your records.

Wheeler One of the first resoIs the lower left corner lution gardeners should always the last place to make is to keep records for the up- dry from a good rain? If so, adding coming year. Just like most things more compost to that area may help that deal with paperwork, this can that part of the garden from being so be hard to accomplish. If you did water logged. not keep records for 2012, think Documenting details like these back to last year’s planting and can help you make a “do-to” list and write down the varieties used in the getting it done now while you have garden. This may help you figure a bit more time. So now that last out which variety to stay with and Special to Georgia Ag News

year’s garden is pretty much visualized, and you remember somewhat the good, bad and ugly of it, there is still one more thing to consider.

The other piece to the puzzle that will help develop a history is including soil test reports to your notebook of notes and diagrams.

Taking a soil test is relatively easy, especially in the garden. Just start at one corner and make your way down and back and from one side to the other, stopping from time to time to get a sample of soil.

Try to gather at least a dozen samples from the garden. Each sample should be a trowel of dirt that is taken from the top 6 inches of soil.

Mix all the samples together in a plastic bucket and pour off about a pint and a half of soil to take to your local Extension office.

If you did a good job in getting the samples, then you will end up with more dirt than you need to bring to your County Agent for testing. A soil test is usually about $8 and will take a week to 10 days to get the results back from the lab. If you have

Free bus service available at the IPPE ATLANTA — Free bus service will be available again for the upcoming 2013 International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE).

The giant poultry, meat and feed event will be held Jan. 29-31, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. IPPE is sponsored by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, the American Feed Industry Association and the American Meat Institute.

Company employees and contract producers of companies actively involved in the production and processing of poultry and meat, or the production of animal/ poultry feed, that are members of USPOULTRY, AFIA or AMI, are eligible to participate.

Complimentary registration for

the Expo will be provided through the Members to Atlanta (M2A) Program.

Buses will pick up employees and growers at a location selected by the company, travel to the Expo for a day of visiting the exhibit floor, and return home in the afternoon.

There is no cost to the company or the individuals.

Last year, more than 200 people from seven poultry complexes in Georgia and Alabama took advantage of the bus program.

It was so well received, that it is being expanded for 2013 and is available to any location within an approximate three hour drive from Atlanta, the organizations noted.

“We invite company managers to take advantage of our bus program,” said USPOULTRY President John

Starkey. “It makes it very easy for their employees and growers to attend the Expo and at no cost. This is an excellent opportunity to see the latest technology used in poultry, meat, and feed production and processing.

“Nowhere else in the world is it possible to see such a wide array of equipment, supplies and services used in all segments of our industries. And, it is a unique and cost-effective way to recognize employees and acknowledge the role of producers.”

For companies that are interested in taking advantage of the bus program, contact Larry Brown, USPOULTRY, at 678-514-1985, or via e-mail at L.brown@uspoultry.org.

More information about the show can be obtained at www.ippe13. org.

questions about the results, just call your county agent and he can help you make sense of it all.

One piece of information you will get from your test results is soil pH. Adjusting the pH of your soil is one of the most important things you can do for the productivity of your garden.

Having your soil pH at the right levels allows your vegetable plants to tap into the available nutrients in the soil. With the cost of fertilizer as it is, you want to make sure all of the nutrients that are delivered from the fertilizer make their way to the plant roots. If the soil pH is low, you will need to add lime to the garden. Doing this now will still give you plenty of time to raise the soil pH for your summer garden vegetables. The test results will tell you how much lime to add in order to get your soil pH right.

Once you are ready to plant later

in the year, the soil test results will give you recommendations on how to fertilize your garden during the growing season. This will not only save you money from needlessly applying fertilizer, but also insures that no extra fertilizer makes its way to our creeks and Lake Lanier.

So develop a notebook of records and soil test information and make this year’s garden one of the best ones you have produced.

And if you ever run into a problem, call your local county Extension agent for advice. The information provided by UGA Cooperative Extension is researched-based and unbiased.

Michael Wheeler is the Hall County Extension Coordinator and agricultural Extension agent. He can be reached at 770-535-8293; e-mail at wheelerm@uga.edu; or www.hallcounty.org/extension.

4

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

AG News

Viewpoint

Poultry Innovations: Past and Future

By Mike Giles

Special to Georgia Ag News

GAINESVILLE — As schoolchildren we learned that Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin transformed the economy of the southern United States. In more recent times, the Internet changed forever how we communicate and conduct commerce throughout the world. History is full of examples such as these, and the poultry industry is no exception.

Years ago when he was executive director of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, Georgia Agriculture CommisGiles sioner Gary Black asked Henry Simons, the first president of the council, what he thought was the most significant development in Georgia’s agricultural history.

Without hesitation, Mr. Simons replied, “the Big John hopper car.”

During the early days of the poultry industry, a limiting factor was the availability of affordable grains for feed production. Georgia’s poultry industry was experiencing rapid growth in the early 1960s and was becoming more dependent on corn grown in the Midwest to satisfy the growing demand. Railcars in use at the time were inefficient, and shipping rates were high due to the capacity of the cars and methods used to unload the corn. Grain barges traveling the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers combined with Mike Giles is president of the Georgia Poultry Federation with offices in Gainesville, Ga.

trucking were the alternative.

Georgia native D.W. Bronsan, president of Southern Railway from 1962 through 1967, promoted a new hopper car that would eventually revolutionize the way that corn would be shipped from the Midwest to the southern states where it was needed. The aluminum constructed Big John hopper car would haul as much corn in one railcar as three of the boxcars that were in use at the time. Hauling corn from St. Louis to Gainesville, Georgia, via the new hopper cars would drop shipping costs more than 50 percent.

However, the new technology faced obstacles. The barge industry engaged in a lengthy court challenge. According to Abit Massey, the Georgia Poultry Federation’s executive director at the time, “the Federation worked with Southern Railway in support of the Big John hopper car by circulating petitions and attending hearings in an attempt to receive approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission to allow Southern Railways to reduce rail rates.” In 1963, the lower rail rates were approved paving the way for the dramatic growth of the poultry industry in Georgia and throughout the south.

For the next transformational innovation, we fast forward to 1988 when poultry was primarily raised in curtain-sided houses which depended on side ventilation for cooling. The state of Georgia, as did other states, had received funds as part of a settlement for claims against the oil industry for overcharging for petroleum products.

The funds were to be distributed on a competitive basis to support energy conversation projects.

The Georgia Poultry Federation, in cooperation with the University of Georgia’s Mike Czarick and Mike Lacy, proposed a project

entitled “Energy Efficient Broiler Production” to the Governor’s Office of Energy Resources. In 1989, the project was funded through a $135,000 grant.

Czarick and Lacy’s research led to the publication of findings in 1991 which confirmed that broiler performance could be significantly improved in tunnel ventilated housing. More research and publications followed for the team including an article published in 1992 in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research titled “Tunnel-ventilated broiler houses: Broiler performance and operating costs.”

One of the researchers’ original goals was to develop a ventilation system that would avoid the catastrophic mortality rates that occurred during extreme heat waves.

The additional, and more significant benefit, was the discovery of the potential for improved broiler performance and feed efficiency.

Evaporative cooling systems were incorporated into the ventilation systems, and the modern tunnel ventilated broiler house was born.

In 1988, Georgia produced 3.4 billion pounds live weight of broilers, and today the state produces 7.4 billion pounds, an increase of 118 percent. While all of that increase certainly can not be attributed to the development of tunnel ventilated housing, it is fair to say that its development established a condition that allowed for the dramatic and efficient growth of poultry growing in the hot climate of the southern United States over the past two decades.

According to Czarick, “the adoption of tunnel ventilation by the U.S. poultry industry has led to a dramatic reduction in mortality during hot weather and enabled us to grow the large broilers we produce today with a more consistent year-

“

‘What is exciting to think about is what will be the next idea that will transform some segment of the poultry industry.’

Mike Giles

Georgia Poultry Federation

round bird performance. Tunnel ventilation has also allowed poultry producers to totally enclose their houses which has reduced the heat required in broiler houses between 30 and 50 percent. Simply put, in today’s economic climate, a poultry company would not be able to stay in business without tunnel ventilated housing.”

Now only 20 years later, tunnel ventilated poultry housing is the

Corporate Headquarters

standard throughout the world.

Chicken is produced with less energy and lower feed inputs because of this one transformational innovation.

These are just two examples in the poultry industry of ideas that became widely adopted innovations.

There are many others in processing, breeding and animal health.

See Giles, Page 5

Account Executive Stacy Louis 770-718-3445 slouis@poultrytimes.net

Poultry Times P.O. Box 1338 Gainesville, Georgia 30503 Telephone: 770-536-2476; 770-718-3444 (after 5:30 p.m.)

Fax: 770-532-4894

Account Executive Dinah Winfree 770-718-3438 dwinfree@poultrytimes.net

General Manager

Companion Publications: Poultry Times; A Guide to Poultry Associations; Poultry Resource Guide.

Cindy Wellborn 770-718-3443 cwellborn@poultrytimes.net

Editorial/Advertising Staff Editor David B. Strickland 770-718-3442 dstrickland@poultrytimes.net Associate Editor Barbara L. Olejnik 770-718-3440 bolejnik@poultrytimes.net

The opinions expressed in this publication by authors other than Georgia Ag News staff are those of the respective author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Georgia Ag News.

Georgia Ag News assumes responsibliity for error in first run of an in-house designed ad only. Advertisers have ten (10) days from publication date to dispute such an advertisement. After ten (10) days, ad will be deemed correct and advertiser will be charged accordingly. Proofs approved by advertiser will always be regarded as correct.

5

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Working together for a dynamic agriculture

By Barry Bushue

Special to Georgia Ag News

WASHINGTON — Open the food section of your Sunday newspaper or visit the food and agriculture blogosphere and you occasionally get the impression that segments of agriculture are in a competitive feud with one another.

It seems consumers are constantly pressured to pick a favorite. Organic versus conventional?

Global market chains versus locally sourced? Traditional versus modern?

But visit with farmers who earn their livelihood working the land, as I do, and you get a much different impression. Most farmers and agribusinessmen and women have an unbridled respect for their counterparts, regardless of the region where they live, the crops they

choose to grow or the production methods they embrace.

Today’s farmers are sophisticated and they understand that one size doesn’t fit all. And that it will take a diverse agriculture and food system to meet the 21st century demands of a rapidly escalating global population, more sensitive and discerning wealthy consumers and increasingly strained natural resources.

When I was appointed a member of AC21, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture, I didn’t plan on dispelling this misconception of a dueling agriculture industry.

But along with my fellow committee members, I think we’ve made progress.

Our committee just completed a year-long discussion on ways to en-

hance coexistence among different production methods, specifically biotech and non-biotech crops. We tackled some challenging topics but in the end developed a set of consensus recommendations that aim to serve the interests of all segments of agriculture.

I leave it to you to read every detail of the final AC21 report. In brief, our recommendations centered on the history of successful coexistence in identity-preserved agriculture where there is a market-based price premium for maintaining the integrity and purity of a crop; the potential to implement education and outreach initiatives to improve stewardship and neighbor-to-neighbor coexistence; and whether or not there is a need to help some farmers manage risk through a new insurance-type product.

IPE and UGA partner on poultry education program ATLANTA — The International Poultry Expo, a component of the International Production & Processing Expo, is partnering with the University of Georgia to promote the International Poultry Short Course 2013 to be held Feb. 1-5, in Athens. Registrants who sign up for the course will also receive registration to the 2013 International Poultry Expo, which will take place Jan. 29-31, in Atlanta.

The International Poultry Course is a 3.5-day conference created by

the UGA Department of Poultry Science. It will cover a broad range of topics for individuals new to the poultry industry, as well as for experienced professionals. In addition to formal instruction, demonstrations in various areas of poultry science will be conducted at the university research facility in Athens. During this program, participants will have the opportunity to interact with experts in many areas.

Topics span from genetics and breeding to processing and food

safety and will cover essentially all the important areas in between.

This year’s program will focus on the many challenges in producing and processing the modern broiler chicken.

Registration for the course is $795 and includes all luncheons, dinners and basic materials for the course. Space is limited, and registration closes on Jan. 18. Information on course topics, accommodations and registration can be found at www.poultry.uga.edu.

Another example of this forward looking approach is a multi-university effort underway to consider what transformational innovations might be incorporated into the “Poultry Plant of the Future.”

Doug Britton, program manager with the Ag Technology Research Program at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and colleagues at poultry programs throughout the United States are in the early stages of discussion on this topic.

Research priorities developed out

of this effort could lead to dramatic advancements that will improve the poultry industry’s competitiveness in the future.

All it takes is an idea and then development of that idea by an innovative company or one of our nation’s excellent land-grant or research universities.

As the poultry industry strives for continual improvement, these advancements are sure to come . . . stay tuned.

•Giles (Continued from page 4)

What is exciting to think about is what will be the next idea that will transform some segment of the poultry industry.

Will it be robotics in the processing plant or an advancement that will build on the remarkable progress already made by poultry processors in the field of food safety?

Perhaps it will be a new vaccine or breeder improvement.

I’m optimistic the AC21 recommendations can improve the way farmers work together because they reflect a diversity and mutual respect embodied in our committee’s membership.

For my part, there are two core principles I believe are worth keeping in mind as we work together to strive for a dynamic agriculture industry that continues to respond to consumer preferences while maintaining our role and reputation as the most productive source of affordable, high-quality agriculture products in the world.

The first principle is choice.

Farmers should have the freedom and ability to pursue their own best interest when determining what safe and environmentally sound cropping methods to adopt.

The second principle is innova-

tion — in markets and technology.

The growth of our industry depends on maintaining and improving access to new input technologies, including biotechnology, while preserving and enhancing the marketability of farmers’ products in domestic and foreign markets.

This requires a science-based regulatory framework that is appropriately rigorous as well as efficient and predictable.

Then, farmers and agribusiness can be free to identify and pursue consumer-driven, value-added market opportunities for which our industry is so well-known.

Barry Bushue is the owner of a family nursery, berry and flowering basket farm in Oregon and serves as vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

•Thomas (Continued from page 2)

cook, too. What a bonus, since teaching both growing and cooking has become something of a lost practice in the past 30 or 40 years.

With the recent passage of Georgia’s Cottage Industry Food Regulations, it is easier to take the fruits of your labor (pun intended) and turn them into jams and jellies, pies and fruit breads and sell direct to consumers, whether at a farmers market, roadside stand or neighbor-

to-neighbor.

You never know, your recipe may be the one that could lead to a great business opportunity.

So spend some time this winter in the company of seed catalogs.

Pick a few interesting varieties of vegetables and order the seeds. Plan out where you will plant these seeds and calmly wait for the weather to start to warm up. Then, get outside and do some farming.

You never know what will happen once you plant the first seed.

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6

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Grant funding research on salmonella in ready-to-eat food

By Sharon Dowdy

Special to Georgia Ag News

ATHENS — University of Georgia food scientist Joseph Frank has been awarded a $499,998 grant from the USDA to determine the risks associated with salmonella in dry and ready-to-eat foods.

Frank’s grant is one of 17 research projects funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Each project aims to improve food safety by helping control microbial and chemical contamination in various foods.

Salmonella is a bacterium that causes an estimated 1 million cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. each year, said Frank, a researcher with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Close to 20,000 people are hospitalized

and some 400 die due to salmonellosis each year, he said.

Usually, symptoms last four to seven days and most people get better without treatment. However, salmonella can cause more serious illness in older adults, infants and those with chronic diseases.

Poultry, eggs, raw sprouts and unpasteurized juices are common sources of salmonellosis. Cooking and pasteurization kill the bacterium in these foods, but not in dry and ready-to-eat foods.

Laying in wait “When salmonella gets in these foods, it isn’t able to grow up but it doesn’t die every quickly. It tends to survive for very lengthy periods of time,” Frank said. “Salmonella can be in the marketing process and

on the shelves for months before people consume it and get sick.”

Unfortunately for consumers, these foods don’t show signs of contamination like spoilage or off taste.

“These are ready-to-eat foods, and they are shelf stable foods,” Frank said. “So they don’t spoil, but the salmonella can be in there and can survive for many months. Then whoever eats that food is at risk.”

In 2009, almost 400 people in 42 states were sickened after eating contaminated peanut butter.

Over the past 10 years, numerous salmonella cases have been associated with the consumption of foods like peanut butter, chocolate candies, dairy powders and nuts, Frank said.

“There have been a couple of pea-

nut butter and peanut product cases and there have been outbreaks with chocolate and dairy powders, like whey protein and infant formula,” he said.

Uncovering In his Athens laboratory, Frank will use the grant funds to determine the chemistry makeup of these foods and how that affects the survival of salmonella.

“We don’t understand why it dies faster in some foods than others,” he said. “We plan to look at the characteristics of these dry foods and try to predict the survival of salmonella in these foods.”

Frank’s overall goal is to develop predictive models, or a risk assessment, for salmonella survival in dry and/or ready-to-eat foods.

“This is advanced research. We will come up with a means for regulatory agencies in the food industry to better access the risks of people getting ill from foods that might be contaminated,” he said. “In the end, we will have a tool that will allow the industry to assign a risk number on food products. Like, one person in every million will fall ill from eating the product.”

To protect themselves and their families from salmonellosis in dry and read-to-eat foods, Frank recommends consumers keep a close watch on recall notices and take action when necessary.

Sharon Dowdy is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

To advertise in Georgia Ag News call 770-536-2476

•IPPE (Continued from page 1)

added, “The consolidation will provide a more diverse event for our members and allow for more educational opportunities for attendees.”

J. Patrick Boyle, AMI president, noted that “Now we have one show that provides more education, networking and hands on demonstration of equipment and supplies from farm through distribution.”

The IPPE expects more than 20,000 people will visit the trade show during the three-day event.

More than 1,000 exhibitors have already signed on to showcase their products. The exhibits will cover more than 420,000 square feet in the Congress Center’s A and B Halls.

While the trade show will be a major draw for attendees, the IPPE

also offers an extensive educational program on a variety of topics. The emphasis on education has been a focal point of the IPE since its beginning in 1951.

Among the 2013 programs are ones dealing with pet food, animal agricultural sustainability, recalls and public health investigations, food safety, sanitation and maintenance, animal care and handling, consumer trends, antibiotics, research and transportation.

There will also be the annual College Student Career Program during which more than 300 students from across the country have the opportunity to interview for positions with industry and allied companies .

The annual show provides members of the poultry, egg, meat and feed industries an opportunity to

view innovations in products, services and technology and to get updates on issues affecting the industries.

The show also provides the primary source of revenue. Proceeds from the show are reinvested back into the industry through such programs as research grants, education and training programs, communication and technical assistance.

For 2012, approximately $2 million was directed into such programs.

Since 1969, more than $24 million has been invested into research projects.

Hours for the 2013 IPPE are Tuesday, Jan. 29, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Thursday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

More information is available at www.ippe13.org.

7

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

•Agriculture (Continued from page 1)

poultry farm value of this area would be larger than the total statewide value of the next six commodities (cotton, peanuts, pecans, corn, hay and soybeans).

Not just to the local area, “poultry and agriculture are also important to the export market,” Massey said.

“The Port of Savannah is a net export port, but if it were not for agriculture, that would not be the case.

“About 40 percent of all poultry exports of the U.S. goes through the Port of Savannah. About twothirds of this is from Georgia, with the other one-third coming in from other parts of the country.”

Food production “The growth in farming has been through innovative people within the industry, with the help of land

grant institutions and departments of agriculture,” he said.

Looking at what people in the U.S. pay for food, he noted that it is approximately 6.7 percent of income, adding that only three other countries in the world are below 10 percent of income spent on food (Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada). People in Mexico and China spend more than 20 percent; in Saudi Arabia and India they spend more than 25 percent; people in Russia and Indonesia spend more than one-third; and many of the nations in the world spend more than 50 percent of their annual income on food.

“There are sad situations in many parts of the world, with 70 to 80 percent below poverty level, but it is a reminder to us of how fortunate we are to live in the U.S., and to have the advantages that we have,” Massey said.

Ethanol “In my opinion, ethanol is the largest problem facing poultry, livestock and other agriculture at this point,” he added. “In 2005, Congress passed energy legislation (the Renewable Fuel Standard) and it has brought about many expected consequences but also many unknown and unintended consequences.”

“It provided a triple whammy to the poultry industry,” Massey said.

“It specified that 12.5 billion gallons of ethanol be used for gasoline every year. It also provided a 52 cents per gallon subsidy tax credit for producers of ethanol, later reduced slightly to 45 cents. And third, it imposed a 54 cents per gallon import fee on ethanol which otherwise could have been imported into the country from Brazil and other places.”

The increase in ethanol production and the effect on corn and feed

prices has had a tremendous effect on the nation’s poultry industry, he added.

“The National Chicken Council has said that from the fall of 2006 until August of this year, that the relentless rise in corn prices has cost the broiler industry $22.5 billion just in this period of time,” Massey said. “The University of Georgia has calculated that just the increases in corn prices, added by the drought in the Midwest; it is costing the Georgia poultry industry an extra $1.4 million every day.

“It’s hard to sustain that over a long period of time; eight poultry companies have gone into bankruptcy or closed their doors over the last eight years.”

“We’re happy that in 2011 the subsidies and tax credits (for ethanol production) were eliminated,” he added. “But the mandatory use of ethanol is still in the law. We hope that . . . in the future Congress will

eliminate this provision and let free enterprise operate as it should.”

Good things for ag Massey noted that per capita consumption of chicken in the U.S. is more than 80 pounds; it’s less than 30 pounds per capita around the world and this brings opportunities for additional exports.

“Georgia, if it were a country, it would be the seventh largest poultry producer in the world,” he said.

“Those in poultry and agribusiness are innovative,” Massey added.

“We are grateful for the support from the area. It’s good to be in an area where people in the county and in the city recognize the importance of agriculture and agribusiness.

“Thanks to those of you who are on the farms, who are in agriculture and those of you who are in agribusiness who make Georgia and Hall County and America a much better place in which to live.”

8

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Drought threatens to close Mississippi to barges The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — After months of drought, companies that ship grain and other goods down the Mississippi River are being haunted by a potential nightmare: If water levels fall too low, the nation’s main inland waterway could become impassable to barges just as the harvest heads to market.

Any closure of the river would upend the transport system that has carried American grain since before steamboats and Mark Twain.

So shipping companies are scrambling to find alternative ways to move tons of corn, wheat and other crops to the Gulf Coast for shipment overseas. “You can’t just wait until it shuts down and suddenly say, ‘There’s a problem,’� said Rick Calhoun, head of marine operations for Chicagobased Cargill Inc. “We’re always looking at Plan B.�

The mighty Mississippi is approaching the point where it may become too shallow for barges that carry food, fuel and other commodities. If the river is closed for a lengthy period, experts say, economic losses could climb into the billions of dollars.

It isn’t just the shipping and grain industries that will feel the pinch. Grocery prices and utility bills could rise. And deliveries of everything from road-clearing rock salt for winter and fertilizer for the spring planting season could be late and in short supply. “The longer it lasts, the worse it gets,� said Don Sweeney, associate director of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “It’s inevitable that it will mean higher prices down the road.�

The focus of greatest concern is a 180-mile stretch of the river between the confluences of the

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Missouri River near St. Louis and the Ohio River at Cairo, Ill. That’s where lack of rain has squeezed the channel from its normal width of 1,000 feet or more to just a few hundred feet.

The river depth is 15 to 20 feet less than normal, now about 13 feet deep in many places. If it dips to around 9 feet, rock pinnacles at two locations make it difficult, if not impossible, for barges to pass. Hydrologists for the National Weather Service predicted the Mississippi would reach the 9-foot mark by Dec. 9.

The situation worsened recently when the Army Corps of Engineers began reducing the outflow from an upper Missouri River dam in South Dakota, where a group of experts on Nov. 29, said that the worst U.S. drought in decades had intensified during the week.

The flow is gradually being cut by more than two-thirds as part of an effort to ease the effects of the drought in the northern Missouri River basin.

Lawmakers from Mississippi River states are frustrated with the corps’ action and even requested a presidential emergency declaration to overturn it. So far, the White House has not responded.

On Nov. 29, Army Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy told Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and some of his colleagues from Iowa and Minnesota that the corps would consider cutting the amount of water held back from the Mississippi.

Darcy also pledged to expedite removal of rock formations south of St. Louis, though that work would take at least two months after a con-

tractor is hired.

To Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, the stakes couldn’t be higher. “There is going to be a dramatic ripple effect to our economy if the barge traffic grinds to halt, which clearly it will if something is not done to avert this crisis,� she said.

Her Missouri colleague in the Senate, Republican Roy Blunt, acknowledged “friction� between upper Missouri River interests that control the flow and those downstream on the lower Missouri and Mississippi rivers. He said the corps “needs to manage that balance.�

Through the years, parts of the river have occasionally been closed because of low water, barge accidents, dredging, ice and flooding.

But this shutdown, if it happens, would affect a pivotal stretch that is used for heavy two-way traffic — shipments going south to the Gulf as well as transports from the Illinois and Ohio rivers headed north to Chicago and Minneapolis.

A two-month shutdown — the length of time that some observers fear given current conditions — would have an estimated impact of $7 billion, according to the river industry trade group American Waterways Operators.

Consider agricultural products. It costs 30 to 35 cents more per bushel to send grain to the Gulf by rail instead of barge — a massive figure when calculating the millions of bushels shipped down river. “When you think of all we buy at the grocery store that has grain and corn, consumers could really see it hit them in the pocketbooks,� said

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The Coast Guard controls navigation on the river and decides when to require restrictions or shut it down. “It’s really played by ear,� Coast Guard Lt. Colin Fogarty said. “The Mississippi River is a dynamic environment.�

Bracing for worst River shippers are bracing for the worst, weighing train and truck alternatives to move a staggering volume of cargo, if necessary.

Seven million tons of farm products are shipped via barge in a typical December-January period, along with 3.8 million tons of coal, 1.7 million tons of chemical products, 1.3 million tons of petroleum products and 700,000 tons of crude oil, McCulloch said.

Trains already haul a vast volume of material, but switching from river to rail isn’t that easy, especially on short notice. Cargill, for example, uses 1,300 of its own barges on inland waterways. Finding that much capacity elsewhere is no simple task. “We’ll look for other sources of transportation to the extent we can.

But if you take away this important artery, you can’t just snap your fingers and replace it with trains,� Calhoun said. “There aren’t just trains sitting around. They’re already pretty busy with their business on their books.�

Tractor-trailers can pick up some of the slack. But some cargo, such as coal, just isn’t cost-effective to haul by truck over long distances, said Bob Costello, an economist with the American Trucking Associations.

Businesses operating directly on the river are bound to suffer, too.

George Foster founded JB Marine Service Inc. in St. Louis 36 years ago to make a living fixing and cleaning barges. An extended river closure may force layoffs, he said. He figures many other companies will be forced to cut jobs, too. “It’s extremely dire,� Foster said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it.�

9

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Food production is important now and for the future

By David B. Strickland Georgia Ag News Staff dstrickland@poultrytimes.net

ATHENS — “There is a revolution coming in agriculture, but that revolution is going to be what will allow us to keep up with enhanced food production; that is an absolute requirement,� said Dr. Scott Angle, dean and director of the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Angle described what he sees as the “future of agriculture,� during the 2012 Georgia Poultry Conference.

He began by noting the continuing increase in the world’s population and the necessity for more food. “ We ’ v e got to double Angle food production by the year 2050,� he said. “The population is growing and will continue to grow relatively strongly.�

He added that of just as much importance is that most of the world’s population is poor, living on $2 a day or less. And living on $2 a day or less, means that the people are eating a lot of rice and beans, very little meat or milk, and are generally sick from disease and malnourished, with the percentage of children living to the age of 5 at around 50 percent.

Economy & population “The world economy is growing . . . and if you are one of the people who are living on $1 or $2 a day, and now are living on $3 or $4 or $5 a day, the first thing you are going to want to do is have more food,�

Angle said.

But more than just more food, you are going to want better quality food, he added. At this amount of money people may begin to consume a little bit more meat, as well

as food with a minimal amount of processing and with better food safety. “When you look at a population up to around 9 billion people in the year 2050, and more consumption per person; it tells you why we will have to double food production,�

Angle said. “That is just a given. If we don’t, there will be many people going to bed hungry on this planet.

So the assumption is we are going to produce more and better food.�

This large growth curve in human population has been occurring for almost a century, he noted, adding that many people were saying in the past that the capacity of agriculture couldn’t keep up with the rises in human population, and that if the population reached around 5 to 7 billion people there would be no additional food and people above this number would just die off from hunger. “That turned out not to be true, as agriculture and agriculture alone has met the challenge,� Angle said. “We have done this over the last 50 years. We have grown more and more food when some said it was not possible.�

Angle noted that these increases became possible through the collaborative efforts of the food industries, education, technology and the ability to utilize resources. “We have been able to do it, and most people think we will continue to be able to do so until the year 2050,� he said. “Now it will be a paradigm shift from what we have had in the last 50 years. We have already done the easy things . . . such as increased production. The next things we do will be the hard and difficult things.�

Importance “Why is this important? Why do we care?� he asked. “Because we are part of the system and most areas of the world are not going to be producing more food — they just can’t.�

He noted the basics of food production, which relies on plant pro-

duction. “We grow plants, we then feed them to chickens . . . you’ve got to be able to produce plants first, and a lot of places in the world simply are not going to be able to do that,�

Angle added.

Around the globe Angle provided his thoughts on nations and continents around the globe, along with their strengths and weaknesses in producing additional food for the growing population.

China First, China already has a large population and will probably not be exporting a lot of food, he said.

And secondly, its countryside is a large desert with very poor water and soils, and poor resources in terms of such things are fertilizers and other things needed to produce more food. “So they are not going to be producing more food in ways to help feed the future,� he said.

India “The same things apply to India . . . also (India) is too hot, too dry and very poor soils,� Angle said.

South America “South America has been that part of the world that has stepped up in the last 50 years to product a lot more food,� he said. “But they have done this, primarily, by taking grasslands out of production, the savannah of Brazil and the rain forests — not generally seen as a good thing by many of the environmental groups in particular.� “Because cutting down the rain forests actually does contribute to global warming,� Angle noted. “That may be one of the most significant sources of global warming on the planet.�

He added that what will likely be a scenario in South America is taking the soybean and corn lands out of production and transitioning them back into the rain forests, to take more of the atmospheric carbon and place it back into plants and the soil. “So we are not going to see a whole lot more production coming out of South America, but they

will be incorporating a lot of new technology into their agriculture, so they will be a player, just not as large of a player,� Angle said.

Europe Europe is an “interesting case,� he said. Europe could potentially produce a lot more food because it has good soils and good water in many parts of the continent. “They have a strong agricultural ethic, but they have chosen not to produce more food,� Angle noted. “They have decided they want to go into the sustainable and organic areas. They have signed off on the global revolution, at least for the time being. “Organic food production is a nice market; you can make money in this market, but yields are often lower and we simply can’t produce more food, globally, organically to feed a growing population. So you can take Europe off the market.�

Africa

“Africa has some good soils and water, but unfortunately the civil governance of many countries in Africa are not yet ready for wide scale agriculture,� he said.

Angle also noted that the UGA Poultry Science Department has worked with Mali in helping to assist people to grow more chicken, but the rise in revolutionaries coming into the nation led to the team having to leave. “What was a good opportunity to grow more food has been wiped out by a lack of good governance,� he said.

But there are bright spots for Africa, noting its good soils, water and resources, but many nations “lack the good governance that would make it easy for agriculture. You need civil society, lack of corruption and you need infrastructure, obviously, for agriculture to be successful,� he added.

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GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

•Future (Continued from page 9)

North America Angle noted that a large increase in food production will come down to North America (U.S., Mexico and Canada).

In regard to Canada, it has good soils and good water, but it will not be able to produce much more food, because of its colder temperatures and its shorter lengths of daylight and sunlight, he said.

Mexico faces the same problems being faced by the western U.S.; there is not enough water, he noted, adding that, “While California has been, and still is, the breadbasket of the U.S., their production is decreasing. Lack of water is true for most of the western states, so they are not going to be ramping up production.”

For the states East of the Mississippi River, the northern states

would face the same problems as Canada with lower amounts of sunlight, he said. The New England and northern and central plains states, “are good agriculture states and they produce plenty of food but you can’t push the system much harder,” he added.

For the southeastern states, Florida is excluded from the equation, to some extent. “They’ve got a lot of environmental problems and land values are so high,” Angle said. “It’s really hard to justify agriculture when you are looking at many tens of thousands of dollars per acre for land. Florida is still very important, but has some future problems.”

The southeastern states, “these are the states that are really going to have to step up and become the new breadbasket not just for the U.S., but for the world,” he said. “It’s an opportunity and I feel good about the future of agriculture. Agriculture is

a growing industry and expected to continue to grow.”

In making strides to produce more food, Angle added that, “In some ways it is a moral obligation.

When you can produce food and you can stop people from being hungry around the world; you need to do that. You are the ones that are going to have to make this happen.

The rest of the world depends on what happens in this region.”

Feed prices In regard to problems, especially for the poultry industry, “the main one you face every day is feed prices,” he said. “It looks like prices are going to remain high for a long time. The future is dependent on what happens with these prices . . . and this is something that is going to have to be built into the system.

Ultimately these corn prices are

something that is going to have to be passed on to the consumer.

“The problem is that it is difficult to make that happen when you live in a competitive market and a competitive world. Eventually, and we are starting to see this already, that the prices of poultry will increase enough to offset the cost of the inputs that you are seeing on a daily basis. Things will normalize at some point in time. You are in the middle of this normalization process.”

Future “I feel very confident and optimistic about the future,” Angle said. “Poultry is still the best way to product protein for our society and a hungry world.

“We are very fortunate today in a lot of ways, even though the future is uncertain. People often talk

of making the future what you want it to be; this is absolutely true right now.”

He noted that if agriculture is going to have a bright future it will take a joint effort on the parts of the poultry industry, poultry association groups, government and educational institutions all working together to create a successful business environment.

“You have your day job, which is to produce more chicken at a low cost and high quality,” Angle added. “You have your weekend and nighttime job, which is to encourage your elected officials and anyone in the state who will listen to support agriculture.

“I hope you will work every day to make sure that happens. Things are good right now in many ways, and if we will work together we can have a bright future.”

11

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Experts reveal top egg trends for 2013 PARK RIDGE, Ill. — The breakfast experts at the American Egg Board teamed up with trend authorities at NPD Group to compile the following list of top egg trends for 2013.

In addition, leading health expert and well-known registered dietitian Kathleen Zelman predicts the role protein will play in healthy eating next year.

Protein powerhouse Zelman said protein at all meals, especially breakfast will be the power play of 2013.

High-quality protein, found in foods like eggs, is the secret to staying fuller longer, helping people trim calories and their waist lines.

In fact, several studies have shown that 25-30 grams of highquality protein eaten at each meal may be best when it comes to maintaining healthy muscles and bones

for adults. With breakfast still being the most important meal of the day, here’s what a power-packed one could look like: one whole egg and egg white, a slice of Canadian bacon and low-fat cheese on an English muffin, fruit, tomato and nonfat milk — all for approximately 350 calories.

Eggs on the go In 2013, expect to see increased growth in the restaurant breakfast category, with quick service restaurants (QSR) continuing to lead the way. QSR’s have increased their share of breakfast overall over the past five years by 8 percent, and QSR egg breakfast menu items have increased by 20 percent.

Today almost 85 percent of all breakfasts eaten away from home are consumed at QSRs, and that means that much of the breakfast innovation that is driving consumer

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eating habits is bubbling up from QSRs. Families are also starting to use QSRs as family sit down restaurants, so expect to see more platters, bowls and skillet dishes rising to the top of their menus.

Fry it up As the QSR breakfast boom continues, expect more chains to add fried egg creations to keep customers satisfied with new and innovative breakfast menu items.

Fried egg menu items increased 20 percent during the past year at chains like Dunkin’ Donuts and ‘wichcraft. Whether at QSR’s or casual dining restaurants, plan to see upgraded quality and ingredients paired with eggs like avocados, mushrooms, flavored sausages, upscale cheeses (look at Panera Bread’s sausage and gouda baked egg soufflés), as well as upgraded

prep techniques like toasted breads and frying eggs.

Keep on trucking Food truck menu offerings with eggs will be on the rise as more and more food trucks focus on breakfast as a way to break into the category without competing in the saturated lunch day part. To differentiate themselves, these trucks are not only changing the breakfast terrain, but driving innovation. From egg sandwiches on brioche and flatbreads to meat proteins like pork belly and pulled pork being paired with eggs, to crepes, indulgent pancakes (red velvet, maple bacon) and donuts, consumers love the culinary exploration, and so do restaurant chains, who often get their inspiration from these trucks.

Going global Chefs and home cooks will con-

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tinue to create innovative egg dishes using fresh vegetables, ethnic flavors and spices. In fact, Mexicaninfluenced preparation styles are on the rise at home, in restaurants and at QSRs. Case in point: the Chorizo and Egg Tortas from Celebrity Chef Rick Bayless’s newest restaurant XOCO and Taco Bell’s breakfast debut with the Grande Skillet Burrito and their AM Crunchwrap.

Bruegger’s Bagels has added a Santa Fe Sandwich with eggs, sausage and jalapeño cream cheese on a bagel.

Oldies, but goodies While innovative egg preparations are taking over restaurants, we predict Americans are going to keep it old school at home when it comes to preparing eggs in 2013. According to Google Trends, hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs and scrambled eggs are still among the top searched egg recipes on Google.

12

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Make it at Home Recipe Tex-Mex Scrambled Eggs & Tortillas American Egg Board Servings: 6 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes

handle with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Add salsa and tomatoes; cook and stir two minutes. Add tortilla strips; stir to coat.

Cook one minute.

Pour eggs over mixture in skillet. As eggs begin to set, gently pull the eggs across the pan with an inverted turner, forming large soft curds.

Continue cooking — pulling, lifting and folding eggs — until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains. Do not stir constantly.

Sprinkle cheese over eggs. Broil six inches from heat until cheese softens, two to three minutes.

Ingredients:  Tips: 1 cup green (tomatillo) salsa 2 plum tomatoes, diced To make handle ovenproof, wrap it completely 6 corn tortillas (6-inch), halved, cut into thin in aluminum foil. strips Queso fresco is a fresh crumbly Mexican 12 eggs, beaten cheese.

A fresh goat cheese or mild feta can be 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled substituted.

More egg recipes may be obtained from the Directions: American Egg Board at www.incredibleegg.

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SOCIAL CIRCLE — Hunters and other interested citizens are invited to attend any of eight upcoming public meetings regarding the development of hunting regulations for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 hunting seasons.

These meetings, sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, are specifically designed to give the public a chance to provide input in the development process.

“Public input is important and valuable,” said John Bowers, assistant chief of the Game Management Section. “We’re seeking input that simplifies regulations, encourages hunting participation, maximizes opportunity and is biologically appropriate.”

All meetings will begin at 7 p.m.  Jan. 7 Wrens City Hall, Public Meeting Room (401 E. Broad St., Wrens, Ga.)

J. F. Gregory Park, John W. Stephens Wetlands Education Center (600 Cedar St., Richmond Hill, Ga.)  Jan. 8 Walker County Civic Center (10052 N. Highway 27, Rock Spring, Ga.) Lanier Technical College, Forsyth Conference Center (7745 Majors Road, Cumming, Ga.)  Jan. 9 Columbus State University, Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center for Continuing Education (4225 University Ave., Columbus, Ga.) Mitchell County Agricenter (4590 Highway 73 East, Camilla, Ga.)  Jan. 10 Rabun County Courthouse (25 Courthouse Square, Clayton, Ga.) Charlton County Annex (68 Kingsland Drive, Folkston, Ga.) The WRD notes that any participant at a meeting may present data,

make a statement or comment, or offer a viewpoint or argument, either orally or in writing. Statements should be concise to permit everyone an opportunity to speak. Participants must register upon arrival and notify the registering official of their intent to give a statement.

Those unable to attend a meeting may submit input either electronically or in written statement form.

Input must be received by Jan. 18, 2013.

Written statements should be mailed to: GA DNR/Wildlife Resources Division/Game Management Section; Attn: John W. Bowers; 2070 U.S. Highway 278, S.E.; Social Circle, Ga. 30025.

Statements may be electronically submitted at: www.georgiawildlife. com/Hunting/SubmitComments.

Hunting regulation proposals will be available in April and will be considered by the Board of Natural Resources in May 2013.

13

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Gabon and Georgia strike a deal to foster ag development

By Merritt Melancon

Special to Georgia Ag News

ATHENS — The government of Gabon has tapped Georgia’s agricultural experts to help the central African nation develop a more selfsufficient agricultural system.

Julien Nkoghe-Bekale, Gabon’s minister of agriculture, livestock fisheries and rural development, met recently with J. Scott Angle, dean and director of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Gary W. Black, Georgia Department of Agriculture commissioner, in Athens to formalize a working partnership between the Gabonese nation and the state of Georgia.

“We have been so impressed by the Gabonese government’s desire to increase agricultural production and agribusiness,” Angle said. “The opportunities are tremendous, and we are humbled to be asked to be a part of this very important process. Our friendship and respect for each other grows every day, and we look forward to a relationship that will benefit both of our great countries.”

Gabon has a population of 1.6 million, sits on Africa’s Atlantic coast and imports most of its food supply. The country currently derives most of its income from oil exports and mining, but the govern-

ment is eager to develop it agribusiness sector, according to the U.S. Department of State.

“Georgia is a success story in the agricultural sector, and Gabon has such great potential to develop its agricultural sector,” NkogheBekale said.

Agricultural products comprise 5 percent of Gabon’s gross domestic product, or GDP. The government wants to develop their agricultural sector so that it makes up 20 percent of its GDP, according to a news release posted on the official website for Gabon.

“The leadership of Gabon surveyed the world’s agricultural assets and liked what they saw here in Georgia,” Black said. “They want to build an agricultural industry in their country, which means developing the regulatory systems, research capacity and the business infrastructure similar to what we have here. This is a natural partnership that will benefit both parties tremendously.”

Under the three-year agreement signed in November, Gabon will host Georgia agricultural scientists and outreach experts who will lend advice to help develop crops and aquaculture systems appropriate for the arid country. They will also advise the Gabonese on building a small poultry industry and develop-

ing agricultural outreach systems.

The college currently has a robust international research and outreach program with alumni, faculty and students working in China, Brazil, Haiti, west Africa and other regions of the world. The college has formal working relationships with more than 60 universities worldwide and alumni in more than 90 countries, and almost half of research and teaching faculty participate in international work.

The agreement between the Gabonese government and the college and Georgia Department of Agriculture includes provisions for a UGA-based training program for Gabonese agricultural technicians, the development of a Center for Research and Application of Agricultural Technology on land donated by the Gabonese government and the free exchange of agricultural and rural development technology and knowledge between the state and the nation.

Extension and academic faculty from the college and state officials visited Gabon in early October and hope to start working there regularly in 2013.

Merritt Melancon is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Georgia fishing, hunting & wildlife app is available SOCIAL CIRCLE — Georgia hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts now have an app of their own.

The Official Georgia Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife Guide, powered by Pocket Ranger® technology, is the official app of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.

This free, mobile app gives both novice and seasoned sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts essential information in the palm of their hand, the department noted.

Features include:  Species profiles

 Weather information  Georgia rules and regulations  Licensing information  Boat ramp locations  Maps of public wildlife areas Advanced GPS technology enhances any trek through the woods by allowing users to track friends’ locations, mark trails with photo waypoints and keep track of wildlife sightings. Sportsmen can even cache map tiles for offline use, WRD notes.

The Wildlife Resources Division manages nearly 1 million acres of public lands for wildlife and habitat in Georgia. These wildlife manage-

ment areas and public fishing areas are featured on the app.

App updates are already in development and will include enhanced birding trails, expanded saltwater species list, a “Trophy Case” for posting photos and comments and universal formatting for horizontal and vertical viewing.

The free app is available for download to mobile devices through the Apple App Store or the Android Market using the search “GA Fish & Wildlife Guide.”

More information can also be obtained at www.pocketranger. com/apps/ga-fw/apps.php.

Merritt Melancon/UGA

Gabon ag development: Gabonese ambassador to the U.S. Michael Moussa-Adamo; University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Dean J. Scott Angle; Gabon’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Fisheries and Rural Development Julien Nkoghe-Bekale and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black met recently in Athens to discuss cooperation on future agricultural development projects.

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GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Study finds oil blend reduces salmonella contamination

By Sharon Dowdy

Special to Georgia Ag News

John Amis/UGA

Reducing salmonella: Roosters in a laboratory on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Ga. UGA researchers are studying the role of essential oils in reducing salmonella in chickens.

ATHENS — Oil and water may not mix, but a University of Georgia study has found feeding chickens a blend of plant-based oils in their drinking water can help prevent salmonella contamination before the meat reaches the dinner table, or even the grocery store.

Salmonella is a bacterium that causes an estimated 1 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, said Walid Alali, a food safety scientist with the UGA Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Ga. “Each year some 20,000 people will go to the hospital and close to 400 will die due to salmonellosis,” Alali said.  Linked to poultry, peanut butter and produce Usually, symptoms last four to seven days and most people get better without treatment. But salmonella can cause more serious illness to older adults, infants and those with chronic diseases.

Poultry is a common source of salmonellosis, as are eggs, raw sprouts and unpasteurized juices, but proper cooking and pasteurization kill salmonella. A major outbreak in 2011 was linked to ground turkey that infected close to 136 people in 34 states. In 2009 almost 400 people in 42 states were sickened after eating contaminated peanut butter.

Alali’s work focuses on controlling harmful bacteria in an effort to reduce human illness.

In this study, published in the October issue of Food Control, he tested the effectiveness of adding a blend of oils to the poultry’s water source. The product, Mix-Oil, is a highly concentrated blend of essential oils from thyme, eucalyp-

tol and oregano developed by the Italian company Animal Wellness Products. Mix-Oil has been on the market since 2004 and is used for all animal species, including commercially raised fish.  Better meat and better profit “Our field results show that MixOil helps get better performance and better meat quality and always gives profitability,” said AWP President Paolo Cristofori.

On a farm in Athens, Ga., Alali compared Mix-Oil to two organic acids traditionally used in the poultry industry to reduce the amount of salmonella the chickens carry. Currently farmers control salmonella in their flocks by administering vaccinations, “probiotics — a cocktail of good bacteria that compete with bad bacteria — and by adding acids to their drinking water,” Alali said.  Finding the right combination “These extracts come from plant material, and they have antibacterial qualities. They have the ability to kill pathogens — we just have to come up with the right blend,” Cristofori said.

The UGA study found the chickens that were fed Mix-Oil in their water had higher weight gains, a lower feed conversion rate and lower mortality rate. They also drank as much water as they did before the Mix-Oil regimen and more water than chickens that were given lactic acid to prevent salmonella.

“Chickens consume less water when one of the organic acids, lactic acid, is used because they don’t like the taste of it,” Alali said. “It can also inflame the chicken’s intestines and, over time, it can damage the farm’s water pipes.”

Mix-oil reduced salmonella contamination in the chickens just “as

well as lactic acid, and it improved the performance of the chickens,” he said.

Salmonella typically collects in two chicken organs; the crop and the ceca. The crop is located at the base of the esophagus and the ceca is part of the large intestine.

The UGA study also looked at the salmonella frequency in these organs. There was less salmonella in the crop of the chicken flock that consumed Mix-Oil, but the levels remained unchanged in the ceca.  Helping from the farm to the fork In a second study, Alali searched for the best concentration level of Mix-Oil. “The concentration means money, and how much you add results in a cost to the farmer,” he said. “Poultry producers are always concerned over how a treatment is going to affect their birds and how much it’s going to cost them.”

The UGA research project shows Mix-Oil costs around $500 per 20,000-bird chicken flock to control salmonella in chickens and improve performance.

Next the researchers will test Mix-Oil on a commercial poultry farm.

“We have proven the concept, now we have to take this to the commercial level and see how it performs on an actual farm,” Alali said. “We are trying to control salmonella in the poultry industry both at the preharvest level, on the farm and at the processing plants. This is what we call farm to fork control.

The industry does its job and grocers and consumers control what happens after that.

Sharon Dowdy is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

For poultry industry news visit www.poultrytimes.net

15

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

Solar-powered well pumps helping farmers protect cattle

By Merritt Melancon

Special to Georgia Ag News

ATHENS — University of Georgia researchers are hoping solarpowered wells will help preserve water quality and cattle health on isolated Georgia cattle farms.

The system uses solar panels to power an electric well pump that provides water for cattle on isolated pastures. It has been used for the past year in Madison County where a farmer found that less than five hours of sunlight a day was enough to keep water tanks full.

“Isolated livestock need water, and either the farmer has to take water to the livestock or we can use solar power to pump water (from a well),” said Gary Hawkins, the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researcher who designed and installed the system.

The Madison County site is a demonstration system installed as part of a USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant. The grant provided funds to test how these systems work and how much they cost to operate.

Hawkins and Madison County Extension agent Adam Speir hosted a field day on Dec. 6 that attracted about 40 farmers from middle and northeast Georgia.

The solar-powered pumps allow farmers to install watering troughs

on their most isolated pastures, helping keep livestock out of streams and ponds. Allowing cows to wade into and drink from farm ponds and streams can have a severely negative impact on water quality across the state.

Well-fed troughs also offer farmers a way to guard against drought, which often dries up surface water drinking sources rendering some pastures unsuitable.

“It’s been shown that livestock can have higher weight gains on fresh water rather than from surface water,” Speir said. “It’s definitely a good risk management strategy for livestock producers.”

One of the largest challenges to providing well water to pastures has been running the electrical lines needed to power the well pumps from the nearest electrical feeder line to far flung pastures. This system circumvents that problem.

Where it could feasibly cost a farmer $20,000 to run an electrical line to a pasture, setting up the solar power stations costs about $8,000.

The solar panel power stations can also be mounted on a trailer and moved from well to well depending on the location of the cattle, Hawkins said.

“The power that’s used to pump the water from the well isn’t the largest benefit,” Speir said. “It’s the cost savings of not having to run electricity to that well if it’s a

long way from the main electrical lines.”

And the alternative energy system offers farmers a way to hedge against rising electricity or diesel prices.

David Allen, the farmer who hosted the field day, installed a 1,500-gallon storage tank so that water would be ready for his cattle at night or on cloudy days. The storage tank replaces the need for expensive batteries that require maintenance.

The hyper-efficient pump used in Allen’s system pumps about 6.9 gallons per minute and will fill his storage tank on just four hours of sunlight. “(Hawkins) sized the system so even if we just had four or five hours of sunlight you still would have the power you need to pump what you need for your situation,” Speir said.

Farmers can contact their local USDA-NRCS office for potential cost-share assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), which could reimburse them for a percentage of the solar powered system if this is included in the local working groups plans.

Merritt Melancon is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

USDA census noted to assist in shaping the future

WASHINGTON — It’s not every day that a walk to your mailbox leads to an opportunity to help shape farm programs, boost rural services and grow farm futures.

But for producers across the country, that opportunity will soon become a reality. The 2012 Census of Agriculture, the only source of consistent and comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the nation, is currently being mailed to millions of farmers and ranchers across the U.S.

Conducted every five years by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the census provides detailed data covering nearly every facet of U.S. agriculture. It looks at land use and ownership, production practices, expenditures and other factors that affect the way farmers do business and succeed in the 21st century, USDA said.

“The 2012 Census of Agriculture provides farmers with a powerful voice. The information gathered through the census influences

policy decisions that can have a tremendous impact on farmers and their communities for years to come,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “I strongly encourage all farmers, no matter how large or small their operation, to promptly complete and return their census, so they can voice to the nation the value and importance of agriculture.”

More information may be obtained at www.agcensus.usda.gov, or by phone at 888-424-7828.

Chris Groskreutz/NRCS

Solar-powered wells: Madison County Extension agent Adam Speir talks to cattle farmers at a recent field day demonstrating solar-powered wells for cattle.

CMYK

16

GEORGIA AG NEWS, January 2013

IPE offers special discount for poultry grower attendees ATLANTA — Poultry growers and producers are invited to attend the 2013 International Poultry Expo, part of the International Production & Processing Expo, with a special registration fee of only $5 (on-site only), a savings of $55. The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from Jan. 29-31, 2013.

“We encourage growers and producers to take advantage of this terrific opportunity, especially at such a great price. The Expo allows you to see the latest technology, experience time and money saving innovations and attend a wide selection of education sessions. It is also an excellent way to experience the entire poultry industry by seeing all of its components, including hatchery, layers, feed milling, live production, processing, further processing, packaging and a variety of supporting compa-

ial c r e m Com tural ul Agric tial en Resid ial tr Indus

nies. There is a lot to see and do at the Expo, and we invite our poultry growers and producers to join us in Atlanta to experience it all,” said Mark Waller, Ingram Farms, Cullman, Ala., and chairman of the

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

Poultry growers and producers can attend the IPPE on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Registration will begin each morning at 7:30 a.m. at the Georgia World

Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd, downtown Atlanta. A completed registration form and a 2013 Grower Days coupon are required. Registration forms will be located at

the Expo and should be completed on-site.

More information about the show can be obtained at www. ippe13.org, or www.uspoultry. org.

INTERNATIONAL POULTRY EXPO GROWER DAYS Admission Only $5 (USD)| January 29-31, 2013 | Georgia World Congress Center | Atlanta, Georgia USA

This is a great opportunity to network with others who share similar interests and concerns.

Compliments of U.S. Poultry & Egg Association

To take advantage of the reduced admission fee, you must be a contract grower and bring this coupon along with a completed registration form to a cashier in B Building registration lobby of the Georgia World Congress Center. Preregistration is not available.

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