State veterinarian Guy Hohenhaus said the likelihood of mutation is "as close to nil as you can get" because of the strength of Maryland's early detection program. While the state Department of Agriculture already had easy access to the industry databases of large-scale chicken growers such as Purdue Farms and Tyson Foods, the registry facilitated the monitoring of "the folks who have a bunch of show chickens and 4-H club chickens," added Hohenhaus. Despite two incidents of avian flu among...

and China hope to sign memoranda of understanding by year's end that would govern trade in food, animal feed and consumer products between the two countries. WASHINGTON China blamed a string of problems with its exports on rogue companies on Wednesday and stressed that the overwhelming majority of the food and consumer products it sends abroad are safe. Baoqing Zhao said his government was taking "resolute measures" to ensure similar problems didn't occur and was meting out fines and...

Back Upstate drought status could rise to extreme Published: Sunday, September 9, 2007 - 6:38 am Updated: Sunday, September 9, 2007 - 1:00 pm By Anna Simon STAFF WRITER asimon@greenvillenews.com CLEMSON The Upstate is in "extreme" drought, according to one of five indexes used to assess drought level, although the official status is "severe," said Hope Mizzell, the state climatologist. Back Upstate drought status could rise to extreme Published: Sunday, September 9, 2007 - 6:38 am Updated:...

Today, Dairyland is the only family-owned seed company in the industry with plant breeding programs for hybrid corn, soybeans and hybrid alfalfa. Their customers later told them that milk production of cows eating the hybrid alfalfa also increased, he said. Kilian opened in 1907 as a trading post - providing farm families an opportunity to barter eggs, chickensand other products for canned goods and clothing - in an era of horse-drawn wagons. It followed that success by becoming the first...

Bond said the price of corn, which is used as animal feed, is going up because of demand from ethanol plants that are springing up to provide alternative fuel sources to oil. Bond said meat producers, processors and retailers will have to pass the higher grain price on to consumers because they cannot absorb it in their profit margins. Results were hurt by charges of 6 cents per share related to tax and accounting changes and 4 cents per share related a previously announced cost-cutting...