July 22, Associated Press – (National) Wis. officials warn against livestock from NM.
The State of Wisconsin advised against the importing of livestock from certain parts of New Mexico after a viral disease was found in horses there, the Associated Press reported July 22. The disease is vesicular stomatitis, or VS. It resembles Foot-and-Mouth, primarily affecting horses, cattle, swine, and occasionally sheep and goats. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection advised against importing livestock from New Mexico without first checking to see if they are coming from a VS designated area in New Mexico. Wisconsin joined several other States who added requirements to the import of livestock from the affected and surrounding counties of New Mexico.
Source: http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/viewart/20120722/MNH0101/120722021/Wis-officials-warn-against-livestock-from-NM?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|MNH-News|s
July 20, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – (Wisconsin; Midwest) Heat wave kills more than 1,000 dairy calves.
More than 1,000 dairy calves throughout the Midwest died during the past 2-3 weeks as a result of heat stress, Wisconsin State officials said July 20. Half of the more than two dozen herds of dairy cows struck by the heat stress deaths were in Wisconsin, though the exact number of deaths in the State had not been determined, said a spokeswoman with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. The Wisconsin calves were housed in outdoor calve hutches with no shade, according to a news release from the agency.
Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/heat-wave-kills-more-than-1000-dairy-calves-9h66soj-163251676.html
July 24, Bloomberg News – (International) Europe heat wave wilting corn adds to U.S. drought: Commodities.
Heat waves in southern Europe were withering the corn crop and reducing yields in a region that accounts for 16 percent of global exports at a time when U.S. drought already drove prices to a record, Bloomberg News reported July 24. Temperatures in a band running from eastern Italy across the Black Sea region into Ukraine were approximately 5 degrees above normal, U.S. government data show. Corn, now in the pollination phase that creates kernels, risks damage, said the head of market analysis at Bourges, France-based Offre et Demande Agricole. The heat wave in Europe is adding to concern about global food supplies as U.S. farmers face the worst drought since 1956, India delays sowing because of a late monsoon, and Australian crops endure below-average rainfall. “Everyone is looking to the U.S., but clearly in Europe we’ll need to import a lot of wheat and corn,” said the head of market analysis at Offre et Demande Agricole, whose company advises about 5,000 farmers.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-23/europe-heat-wave-wilting-corn-adds-to-u-s-drought-commodities.html