Updated 2:17 p.m. CST March 13
Professional Dairy Producers conference moves online
The Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference Board decided the annual Business Conference will go ahead as planned for March 18-19, but will be offered virtually online rather than in-person at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
Two priorities drove this decision: A focus on members’ and their families’ health and safety and a commitment to support members with information. With this in mind, the board said, "we all have a shared responsibility in this unprecedented health situation to do what we can to prevent further spread of this virus."
"We want to ensure that our members can fully access the world-class speakers and programs planned for this conference via computers and mobile devices. And, we will record sessions so they can be viewed on-demand and provide conference proceedings."
North American Farm and Power Show cancelled
The North American Farm and Power Show, set for March 19-21 in the Four Seasons Centre at the Steele County fairgrounds in Owatonna, Minnesota, has been cancelled.
Health care professionals are increasingly calling for people to stay away from gathering in large crowds. With concern for the well-being of attendees and exhibitors in mind, the owners and staff of Tradexpos feel that the most prudent course of action is to cancel the North American Farm and Power Show for 2020.
World Brangus Congress postponed
The Brangus World Congress - Argentina 2020 is postponed for one year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The executive committee is committed to helping prevent the spread of Covid-19 and collaborating with the containment of the virus. "We hope that the exhibitors, breeders and all the Brangus team that has been working for a long time will understand the complex situation," said Martin Goldstein, president of the organizing committee of the Brangus World Congress.
U.S. Grains Council postpones international travel
The U.S. Grains Council will postpone all international travel and carefully review all within country travel until the end of March. Its headquarters in Washington, D.C., remains open, and all staff globally can be contacted as normal via phone, email and chat. These operational plans will be reviewed as needed with guidance from U.S. government agencies.
Southwest Ginners School canceled
The Southwest Ginners School, originally scheduled for March 30-April 1 at the South Plains Ginning Laboratory in Lubbock, Texas, has been canceled. The Western and Stoneville ginners schools will be held as scheduled. The Western school will be at the Southwest Ginning Research Laboratory in Mesilla Park, NM, on May 5-7, and the Stoneville School will be at the USDA Ginning Laboratory in Stoneville, MS, on June 2-4. Students enrolled at the Southwest School may want to consider these two schools as options. Registration and school details are at http://www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.
Penn State Extension cancels events through April 5
Penn State Extension has announced that all public, in-person events it sponsors — workshops, conferences, meetings and so forth — are cancelled through April 5. Registered attendees for events through April 5 will receive a cancellation notice and, if a registration fee was required, a refund. All 4-H activities, events and club meetings are suspended until further notice.
ASA switches March meetings to virtual
The American Soybean Association has canceled its annual in-person March meetings in Washington, D.C., including World Initiative for Soy in Human Health and ASA Action Partnership meetings. The association has instead opted to conduct a Virtual Board of Directors Meeting General Session on March 18, at 8 a.m. Central/9 a.m. Eastern.
Registered attendees will receive information via email regarding how to access the virtual meeting of ASA’s General Session, along with a revised agenda. Attendees also should have received information on changing travel plans, including hotels booked through ASA.
The ASA Governing Committee and senior staff considered several factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the safety of attendees, decisions of similar organizations and industry partner travel restrictions, and potential outcomes should the situation worsen in D.C.
University of Arkansas Beef Week to be rescheduled
The University of Arkansas at Monticello campuses in Monticello, Crossett and McGehee will move all instruction to a virtual setting until at least March 30. No confirmed cases of coronavirus have been identified among any campus faculty, students, or staff. As a result of no students on campus, Beef Week will be rescheduled to a later date.
Remember to take common sense precautions on the farm
University of Maine Cooperative Extension has released recommendations for farmers in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Anne Lichtenwalner, UMaine Extension veterinarian, associate professor, and director of the Extension Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, authored the guide.
“While there’s no evidence that the novel coronavirus causing Covid-19 is affecting livestock, or any species besides humans, it’s important to take common sense precautions that help guard against introducing or spreading diseases on the farm,” says Lichtenwalner.
Practices including good nutrition, proper ventilation and hygiene, and adhering to standard biosecurity guidelines — keeping visitors, wildlife and new livestock out of direct contact with farm animals — are always appropriate.
Recommendations are on the Extension Diagnostic and Research Laboratory website. For more information, contact 207.581.3874, extension.diagnosticlab@maine.edu.
Centers for Disease Control: Covid-19 not a foodborne illness
The CDC says “currently there is no evidence to support transmission of Covid-19 associated with food.”
However, it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when handling or preparing foods.
For background and the most up-to-date information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 website
AFBF cancels Young Farmer and Rancher Conference
The American Farm Bureau Federation has cancelled the March 13-16 Young Farmer and Rancher Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
USDA’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers was scheduled to meet on March 16 during this conference hosted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement will share news about a rescheduled ACBFR date as information becomes available.
For further information, please contact ACBeginningFarmersandRanchers@usda.gov.
- Ag Day events in Washington, DC have been cancelled.
- The California Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Inc. meeting that was scheduled for March 23-26 has been cancelled.
- The 2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit, set for March 31-April 1 in Amarillo, Texas, will be rescheduled.
- Michigan Wheat Program has cancelled its 2020 Annual Winter Grower Meeting, which had been set for March 18.
- The Draft Lake Erie Adaptive Management Plan public information meeting that was scheduled for March 16, at Adrian College has been cancelled.
- The Pennsylvania FFA State Legislative Leadership Conference has been cancelled.
- The 4th Ag Innovations Conference: Comprehensive Crop Care has been cancelled for March 18 in Santa Maria, California.
- The Louisiana State University AgCenter has canceled the Feliciana Wildlife Expo that was planned for March 28 at the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station.
- Wisconsin Public Service is canceling its 60th WPS Farm Show, which was to take place in Oshkosh March 31-April 2.
- All Rutgers Cooperative Extension events, programs, and noncredit classes involving groups larger than 15 participants are cancelled now through at least April 3.
- The Delaware Farm Bureau’s annual Ag Safety Conference, scheduled for March 18, has been postponed.
- The Oregon FFA State Convention has been cancelled. The convention will not be rescheduled, but components of the convention will be.
- Effective March 16, all in-person University of Minnesota Extension meetings, events and classes are cancelled. This cancellation is in place through March 31, 2020, and includes all 4-H programs.
- The National Extension Risk Management Education conference in Denver on March 31-April 2 has been cancelled.
- The Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Convention 2020, set for March 27-29 in Fort Worth, Texas, has been cancelled.
- The Small Grains Field Day set for March 18 at Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, N.C., has been postponed.
- The March 21 American Chestnut Foundation meeting will be held by webinar with no in-person meeting.
- The city of Houston shut down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 11 due to coronavirus concerns after a man with no recent travel history tested positive for Covid-19, according to the Houston Chronicle. As of March 11, there were 14 cases in the Houston area.
- Bayer AG announced the closure of four U.S. locations due to Covid-19. In New Jersey, the closures are affecting Bayer's campuses in Whippany, which is the company's U.S. headquarters, and Morristown. The Creve Coeur, Missouri, campus will remain closed until further notice.