Ag Headlines, Monday October 19th, 2015

Survey Says Americans trust Farmers, Documentaries for Food Information

More than 70 percent of American believes documentaries are trustworthy on food information, according to a recent survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The survey data should be welcome news for filmmakers such as Robert Kenner, who made “Food Inc.,” but disturbing for the many groups on all sides of food issues, according to the Hagstrom Report. Documentaries did fall in the middle of the pack, though, as the survey found Health professionals rank the highest at85 percent, followed by friends and family at 83 percent, farmers at 82 percent. The survey found only 50 percent of Americans find print, broadcast and online media trustworthy and only 38 percent find blogs and social media credible. The survey however, did not highlight that data, noting consumers care most about affordability and food safety when deciding what food to buy.

USDA Awards Contracts for Avian Influenza Vaccines

Two contracts awarded by USDA aim to fight avian influenza through vaccines. Harrisvaccines of Ames, Iowa, and Ceva Corp. of France each received contracts worth $6 million dollars from USDA to supply vaccines to combat an anticipated resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to Meatingplace. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service began looking for suppliers in August to stockpile up to 500 million doses of one or more vaccines. Harrisvaccines said it will provide 48 million doses as part of a two-year contract, with 25 million doses scheduled to be delivered by the end of next month. The Ceva Animal Health division in Lenexa, Kan., is expected to ultimately produce and store 100 million doses of its vaccine, which the company said should be available anywhere in the United States within 10 days once the APHIS program launches this fall.

USDA Spending for Fiscal Year 2015 Lower Than Expected

The White House says overall spending for USDA in the last fiscal year was $5.5 billion lower than expected. The lower spending is attributed to lower-than-expected spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, disaster programs, and a few other items, according to the Hagstrom Report. The White House  Office of Budget and Management reported SNAP program spending $2.6 billion lower than expected earlier in the year and disaster spending was $1.2 billion lower than estimated. USDA expenditures for fiscal year 2015, which ended September 30, totaled $139.1 billion. The deficit in fiscal year 2015 fell to $439 billion, $44 billion less than the fiscal year 2014 deficit and $144 billion less than forecast in President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget.

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