Latest news with #NevadaDepartmentofAgriculture
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
USDA cancels funding for popular locally grown food program in Nevada
Caliente area farmer Rodney Mehring. (Photo courtesy Abraham Mehring) The U.S. Department of Agriculture has axed two programs that gave Nevada schools and food banks more than $6 million in funds to buy food from local farms and ranchers in the state last year. Funds for the two programs in Nevada were frozen in January as part of a broad and indiscriminate pause in federal funding by the Trump administration. Now both agriculture programs and the funding they provided the state have been cut for good. State officials were notified earlier this month of the USDA's decision to cancel state agreements for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The decision reverses a December announcement from the USDA pledging a $1.13 billion investment to continue the programs into 2025. In Nevada, the abrupt funding cuts have put a crater in the state's budget for Home Feeds Nevada — a program that allowed food banks and schools to buy millions of dollars in fresh produce from Nevada farms and ranches. Both programs have fueled Nevada's agricultural sector while feeding low-income families and children across the state, purchasing more than $6 million in agricultural goods since 2023 from at least 265 small-scale Nevada farms and ranches, according to USDA records. More than half of Nevada's school districts benefited from the program. The Nevada Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, has about $139,000 in award funding remaining, which will be depleted by June 30, 2025. 'After the LFPA funds have been expended, there is no additional funding for the Home Feeds Nevada program. Without funding, the program will not operate,' said Nevada Department of Agriculture Division of Food and Nutrition Administrator Patricia Hoppe. Despite Nevada's status as the driest state in the union, it is home to about 3,400 farms that produce everything from meat and dairy to tomatoes and coffee. Federal funding for Home Feeds Nevada pumped at least $1.7 million into Nevada's meat and poultry industry, and nearly $1.5 million into fresh produce farmers. For the Blue Lizard Farm in Lincoln County, that funding was a lifeline when tomato crops at the small family-owned farm underperformed last year. 'Last year, our tomato crop pretty much failed in the greenhouses. We got less than half the yields we were expecting,' said Rodney Mehring, the owner of Blue Lizard Farm. 'Farming is very risky,' Mehring said. 'Programs like Home Feeds Nevada really provide farmers with opportunities and helps take away the risk because it's a steady market.' During healthy crop years, like in 2023, the Blue Lizard Farm was able to grow and deliver 23,000 pounds of fresh produce to food banks and employ seven workers as a result of the program. The vast majority of Nevada farms are family-owned, according to the Department of Agriculture, making up about 93% of producers in the state. But that can put Nevada's agricultural sector at a disadvantage, as small farms often lack access to the federal subsidies and resources that support larger farms. Low profit margins for small farms also means the sudden loss of expected buyers can financially crush producers like the Blue Lizard Farm. 'We've been making decisions since January about what seeds to buy, what quantities,' Mehring said. 'If the program doesn't get funded, I don't know how I'm going to move half that crop.' 'Uncertainty is the worst thing for farmers,' he said. Growth in the agriculture sector has been found to be twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors, especially for those living in rural areas, according to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Federal funding for Home Feeds Nevada has assisted at least 59 historically underserved producers, defined as beginning farmers, veterans, socially disadvantaged farmers and farmers with incomes at or below the poverty line or 50% of their area's median income. Home Feeds Nevada has also given small family-owned producers like The Radish Hotel in Reno the security to scale-up and expand, even as inflation and supply chain issues have increased overhead costs for the producer. Crystal León, the co-owner of The Radish Hotel, said steady business provided by the Home Feeds Nevada program helped her get her honey sweetened granola into six grocery stores and Nevada specialty shops, while also serving low-income families. 'In the past two years I've received countless emails and messages from numerous individuals, who have reached out to us to express how grateful they are to be able to receive our granola through the foodbank, ' León said. Funding cuts to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program will also deeply impact Tribal governments in Nevada that have used the dollars to strengthen their food systems. More than $1 million in funds were awarded among three tribes in Nevada: the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and Walker River Paiute Tribe. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe was awarded nearly $300,000 in federal funds, which the Tribe used to purchase food from 20 small-scale farmers and ranchers in Nevada, according to USDA data. More than half of the producers the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe purchased from were also from historically underserved producers. Under Home Feeds Nevada, the Tribe was able to buy beef, poultry, fresh produce, eggs, dairy, jams, and herbs for their food pantry. The food pantry is open to everyone, tribal and nontribal customers alike. Steven Wadsworth, chairman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, said now that federal funds have been cut, current funding will only last until October. 'This deeply troubles the Tribe, as after that period local producers and vendors will suffer a loss of income,' Wadsworth said. 'Further adding to the unfortunate news of the funding being rescinded is the fact that this impacts not only our Tribal Members, but the surrounding communities as well.' The boost in funding allowed the Tribe to expand its food pantry offerings for low-income families in nearby rural communities, including the City of Fernley, said Wadsworth. 'Unless we receive more economic help via reinstitution of this grant or a large amount of donations, it looks to be a very dreary winter for a large number of Nevada residents,' Wadsworth said. What hurts farmers, also hurts low-income families that rely on fresh food from the state's food banks. Food Bank of Northern Nevada said without funding for Home Feeds Nevada the food bank will have to cut a million pounds of fresh food distribution for low-income families. Funding cuts would also slash the food banks access to fresh food, forcing the food bank to rely on shelf-stable food like canned goods. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada is currently serving about 160,000 people every single month, a 28% increase since 2022, said Shane Piccinini, the director of government relations for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. 'I had no idea how successful this program was going to be, it has been truly transformational for us as a food bank and also for the farmers, growers and the entire agricultural community,' Piccinini said. Since the program launched, Three Square Food Bank in Southern Nevada has purchased nearly two million pounds of fresh food from Nevada farmers and producers, said Chelsey Wininger, interim director of advocacy for the food bank. 'These products included fresh produce, protein, dairy… products that are not always readily available through the food donation network,' Wininger said. Before the cuts were announced, Nevada state Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-LV) was focused on strengthening the long-term goals of Home Feeds Nevada. Now his top concern is securing any amount of funding to keep the program running the next fiscal year. Home Feeds Nevada was first established in 2022 using $2 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, before the Nevada Department of Agriculture secured nearly $6 million in funding from the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program in 2023. Doñate is sponsoring SB233, a bill that would double state funding for the Home Feeds Nevada to $800,000, while a study on how to save and sustain the program is completed. Home Feeds Nevada is also set up to take donations, which will be needed to get the program at even a fraction of its current reach. 'We are now in a different position, where if this appropriation does not go through, the funds will be depleted on the account, and we won't be able to provide these resources anymore,' Doñate said during a Senate Natural Resource hearing Tuesday. Trump's cuts to the program will undermine Nevada's 'efforts to strengthen local food systems, support farmers and increase access to healthy, locally sourced food for school and local communities,' Doñate said. 'Many of these farms need a level of structure and stability and that's what the Home Feeds Nevada program was able to establish,' Doñate said. 'We need to be able to pass funding to be able to continue this program.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada's cage-free egg law temporarily suspended as bird flu impacts supply across state
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Department of Agriculture temporarily suspended Nevada's cage-free egg law to address the strain on egg supplies and high egg prices across the state. The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) State Quarantine Officer Director J.J. Goicoechea, DVM suspended the law starting Feb. 20. As a result, eggs for retail sale can be sourced from any egg producer meeting food-safety guidelines, regardless of whether the eggs originated from hens in a cage-free housing system. 'Eggs are typically the most cost-effective protein source for food-insecure populations,' Goicoechea said. 'When families can't find eggs on the shelf, and when they do the prices are not attainable, this can leave them without an essential food they depend on.' Nevada passed cage-free egg regulations in 2021 which require all eggs sold in Nevada to be sourced from cage-free hens. 'Cage-Free' is defined as eggs from hens in an enclosure in which they are unrestricted and free to roam, with a total space of at least one square foot per hen in the enclosure, according to NDA. Nevada Sen. Rosen pushes Trump on egg prices: 'Hasn't done a damn thing' The order was issued to help address the strain on eggs as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continues to impact the poultry industry, particularly cage-free egg producers, causing the supply of cage-free eggs to be significantly reduced, NDA said. Assembly Bill 171 was passed during the current Legislative session and allows for the temporary suspension of cage-free regulations for up to 120 days in emergencies. Goicoechea's order will begin Thursday. 'This egg shortage didn't happen overnight, and we cannot resolve it overnight,' Goicoechea said. 'We anticipate roughly 30 days before we can secure new contracts and start to see increased egg supplies on the shelf, and hopefully lower prices as availability increases.' The order also allows for the sale of 'Grade B' quality standard eggs. These eggs must meet all of the food safety requirements of 'Grade A' eggs but may have different colors, shapes and sizes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nevada dairy worker infected with new bird flu strain becomes state's first human case
A new variant of the bird flu has infected a dairy worker in Nevada, marking the state's first human case of the H5N1 avian influenza. The worker was exposed to the D1.1 strain after working with infected dairy cattle in Churchill County, the Central Nevada Health District confirmed Monday. The new genotype was first confirmed on Jan. 31 in dairy cattle and is not the same strain that has been triggered a nationwide egg shortage and price hikes in recent months. There are no additional confirmed human cases in Nevada and no evidence that humans can transmit the virus to other humans, the state's health district said. Officials are monitoring the symptoms of the infected worker and the other farm staff who have been offered testing, antiviral medication and personal protective equipment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed last week that the new variant had infected dairy herds in the state after previously only appearing in wild birds since late 2023 or early 2024. Up until last month, the B3.13 strain made up all bird flu cases in dairy herds. The D1.1 variant is a strain of the H5N1 avian influenza that has previously only been reported in wild birds. The variant has recently infected dairy cattle and humans, including the Nevada adult and a 13-year-old girl in Canada. The D1.1 strain poses a low health risk to the general public though people regularly exposed to birds, poultry or cows are at a higher risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The strain is common among the starlings that migrate through Nevada in the winter and might have carried the virus into the state, the Nevada Department of Agriculture shared on Facebook last March. A Louisiana patient who was older and chronically ill died after contracting the D1.1 strain, marking the only reported U.S. human death from the bird flu, the Louisiana Department of Public Health confirmed on Jan. 6. The adult, who health officials did not identify, was exposed to the virus from a backyard flock, according to the department. They were over 65 and had underlying health issues, officials said. The version of the virus also hospitalized a 13-year-old girl with a history of mild asthma, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Since 2003, there have been 950 human cases of bird flu outside the U.S. with 464 of them resulting in death, according to data from the World Health Organization. Most human cases of bird flu involve mild symptoms like eye infections. The H5N1 avian influenza has been reported globally since 1997 though it previously solely presented in wild birds until recent years. The most effective way to avoid contracting bird flu is to prevent sources of exposure, health experts say. This includes avoiding direct contact with wild birds and all animals that are either infected or presumably infected with the virus. Eggs and chicken meat are considered safe to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which routinely monitors farms for bird flu and euthanizes chickens if the virus is detected on a farm. Beef is also safe to consume as long as it's cooked to proper temperatures. Though the commercial milk supply is tested regularly to confirm it is safe, the USDA recommends avoiding raw milk, which has been shown in some cases to contain the virus. There have been no confirmed cases contracted by drinking unpasteurized milk. Contributing: Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New bird flu strain infects Nevada worker; state's first human case
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NV lawmakers unanimously advance bill designed to help lower the price of eggs
The bill would allow temporary suspension of Nevada's cage-free egg law during national shortages caused by disease outbreaks or natural disasters. (Photo:) In a bid to lower the price of eggs for consumers, Nevada legislators voted unanimously Monday to advance a bill that would temporarily suspend certain regulations related to the sale and transport of eggs. Supply chain issues created by the H5N1 bird flu virus have significantly increased egg prices and reduced availability across Nevada, causing lawmakers to rethink a law banning the sale of caged eggs in the state. Nevada lawmakers are now quickly pushing through Assembly Bill 171, a measure that would grant the State Quarantine Officer the authority to temporarily suspend Nevada's cage-free egg law during national shortages caused by disease outbreaks or natural disasters. Lawmakers said the bill would help lower egg prices in Nevada by opening additional markets that can't be accessed due to the state's ban on caged eggs. Nevada banned the sale of caged eggs in 2021 with the unanimous support of state Democrats and a handful of Republicans. 'One thing that we didn't perceive was this massive bird flu pandemic and the impact that it's had on the supply chain. As a result, there is not flexibility to adjust some of those standards when we're facing an emergency situation,' said Assemblymember Howard Watts, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill with Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas. The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources voted Monday to advance the bill to the full Nevada Assembly, where it is expected to pass without issue before moving to the Nevada Senate. Under the bill, the temporary suspension of regulations would last no more than 120 consecutive days, with up to two suspensions per calendar year. The bill also includes a provision requiring a report on the discrepancy of egg prices from store to store within 60 days. The bill is not limited to Nevada's cage-free egg law. It would also give the Nevada Department of Agriculture the flexibility to secure eggs from atypical sources during shortages, including smaller producers and Grade B egg vendors. Grade B eggs meet all health and safety standards, but are considered lower quality due to superficial cosmetic issues. 'We have no commercial scale egg producers here in the state of Nevada, but we have small operators. So if there are ways that we can help get those eggs onto the shelves, we want to look at that as well,' Watts said. Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea said the agency is already working on certifying and inspecting smaller producers to get more eggs on the shelf. 'There is a population that we can source additional eggs from in a time of emergency, and that is all we are asking for,' Goicoechea said. Goicoechea emphasized the agency's commitment to protecting the health and safety of the food supply, while also trying to increase egg availability and reduce prices. 'At no time can we, nor would we, import any product, whether it was a meat product, a live animal or, in this case, eggs, into the state that was not inspected and had gone through that inspection process,' Goicoechea said. 'There is no way we're going to do anything that would risk or jeopardize the health of Nevada citizens. Absolutely not,' he continued. The virus has also affected other parts of the food supply in Nevada. About 36,000 dairy cows in Nye and Churchill counties have been placed under quarantine since December after the Nevada Department of Agriculture detected Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Until now, the strain detected in Fallon dairy farms in Churchill County has mainly been found in wild birds across all North American flyways. 'This has never been seen before in dairy cattle anywhere. Why it chose Fallon, we do not know. We do have a lot of interface with wildlife and wild fowl there,' Goicoechea said. However, Goicoechea assured Nevadans it was safe to consume milk purchased in grocery stores, adding that the milk pasteurization process in Nevada 'renders the virus inactive.' 'I will not sit here and lie to you. We will be in this for months. We have a long ways to go,' Goicoechea said. 'We are very concerned about… where else it may already be that they haven't found.'
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New bird flu variant found in Nevada dairy cows has experts sounding alarms: ‘We have never been closer to a pandemic from this virus'
The disclosure that dairy herds in Nevada have been infected by a version of the H5N1 bird flu not previously seen in cows, has put virologists and researchers on high alert. Among other things, the news from the Nevada Department of Agriculture, suggests that driving the virus out of the U.S. cattle population won't be nearly as simple as federal officials once suggested—or perhaps hoped. On Friday came a second and potentially more serious blow: A technical brief by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the genotype, known as D1.1, contains a genetic mutation that may help the virus more easily copy itself in mammals—including humans. This D1.1 version of the virus is the same variant that killed a man in Louisiana and left a Canadian teen hospitalized in critical condition. It is not the B3.13 genotype widely found in sick cattle dating to early last year. 'This can be of significant concern if this virus continues to spread among cows and infects more people,' immunologist and former federal health official Rick Bright tells Fortune. 'This mutation has not been associated with improved human transmission, so there are no telling signs of enhanced spread yet. But when this virus gets into people, it is ready to cause a much more serious disease than the (B3.13) virus that has been circulating in cows before now. 'We have never been closer to a pandemic from this virus,' Bright adds. 'And we still are not doing everything possible to prevent it or reduce the impact if it hits.' The D1.1 genotype has been detected in wild birds in all North American flyways, as well as mammals and poultry, so it isn't surprising that it's made the leap to cows. But its newfound presence in the Nevada dairy herds is considered by many virologists to mark a sort of inflection point in the spread of H5N1, and it could spell more trouble for humans going forward. 'Given the fact that D1.1 seems to be more virulent in humans, this could indicate a major change in terms of public health risks from the earlier scenario with the B3.13 strain,' veterinary science pioneer Juergen Richt, a former director at the National Institutes of Health, tells Fortune. In response to an emailed series of questions, a spokesperson for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency still deems the risk to human health for the general public to be low. 'However, people with close, prolonged, or unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection,' the spokesperson said. The USDA on Friday noted that although the Nevada cattle did not display clinical signs of infection prior to its detection via testing, such signs have since been reported, along with die-offs of a large number of wild birds near the affected dairies. Should humans be taking more precautions? What is the scope of the risk? And are there mitigating actions that should already be in place on America's farms and dairies? The urgency of those questions suggests that in the coming weeks, an absolute premium should be placed upon the timely dissemination of information and testing updates from the federal sources upon which researchers and health officials often rely. But that information flow is no longer to be taken for granted. On Jan. 21, under orders from the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) placed a freeze on almost all external communications, including documents and health guidance, until a Trump-appointed official could be installed and approve them. Such a move is not unprecedented, but when the information freeze blew past its Feb. 1 deadline without being fully lifted, Democratic leaders began crying foul. One important casualty of that action was the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The MMWR, as it's known, is a critical source of information on public health issues. The MMWR failed to publish for the first time in more than sixty years on January 23rd and again on January 30th. Publication did resume on February 6th, but there was no mention of bird flu nor any information about the three H5N1 studies which were scheduled to be published in January according to the Washington Post. Further, per the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to eliminate the jobs of thousands of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees. Senior public-health officials are reportedly being told to rank employees based on how critical their roles are. Depending upon where those cuts land across the various agencies of the department, practices like tracing bird-flu outbreaks and approving new drugs could be affected. And Trump's nominee to run HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in 2023 said he'd tell federal health scientists, 'Thank you for your public service. We're going to give [studying] infectious diseases a break for about eight years.' These developments have ramped up the concern of scientists and researchers tracking the spread of H5N1, which, according to the CDC, has now infected 959 dairy herds in the U.S. and been responsible for the death of 156 million poultry, sending the price of eggs to record highs because of scarce supply. Researchers are also loudly asking whether dairy workers should be vaccinated using existing supplies from the federal stock of bird flu vaccine, and whether personal protective equipment should become mandatory on dairy farms and egg-laying facilities for frontline workers. This all comes back to the timely flow of information and communication—and, experts say, it is being throttled at a critical moment. 'This is chilling but not at all surprising, given the gag put on scientists and the manipulation of scientific communication in 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic,' says Bright, a vaccine researcher who filed a whistleblower complaint against the Trump administration in 2020 and has been urging health officials for months to ramp up testing and precautions around bird flu. 'When it happened in 2020,' Bright says, 'it slowed the response, sowed distrust in science and public health, and as a consequence many more people died during that time. It is horrifying that lessons were not learned, and we find ourselves in the same or worse situation–not only on H5N1, but on numerous ongoing outbreaks in the U.S.' A Nevada official tells Fortune that the new cases of D1.1 in cows were traced to dairy farms in Churchill County, with six herds placed under quarantine. Previously, the state's agriculture director, J.J. Goicoechea, told Reuters, 'We obviously aren't doing everything we can and everything we should, or the virus wouldn't be getting in.' Goicoechea said Nevada farmers needed to follow 'good animal health safety practices and bolster biosecurity measures' for their animals. Where does this all leave humans? According to University of Saskatchewan virologist Angela Rasmussen, the development in Nevada doesn't directly increase the likelihood of human-to-human transmission, but rather 'increases risk of zoonotic human cases—that is, from cows to farmworkers. Beyond that, it is D1.1's ability to mutate (perhaps in ways B3.13 has not mutated) that concerns researchers. That adaptability may allow the virus to more easily spread from person to person. 'This new genotype of H5N1 virus, D1.1 was associated with more severe illness and death in the few known human infections,' Bright says. 'It (the Nevada case) is a significant event, because we now know how easily H5N1 viruses can spread among dairy cows, from farm to farm, jump from milk to other mammals, including mice and cats, and even infect people.' Federal health agencies have taken 'some positive steps' in recent months to increase testing via a National Milk Testing Strategy, and of testing and subtyping influenza in people, says James Lawler, director of the University of Nebraska's Global Center for Health Security. 'To better control risk, however, we should aggressively ramp up testing and isolation of affected dairy herds and animals, facilitate more widespread surveillance and testing in people, and accelerate vaccine development and production,' Lawler says. Clinicians also need to know that the virus is circulating, Bright says, and to 'test for influenza, not guess.' Scott Hensley, a viral immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, agrees. 'We need to closely monitor D1.1 viruses because they have already shown the ability to adapt and cause severe disease in humans,' Hensley says. 'Our H5N1 vaccine stocks are well matched to the D1.1 viruses and would likely provide high levels of protection—we need to ramp up H5N1 vaccine production in case these viruses evolve to spread from human to human.' In the meantime, Richt says, people need to avoid drinking raw milk, which might contain live virus from infected dairy cows, wash their hands often and report influenza-like illnesses, presumably so that tests can be run. States may follow the lead of California, where the governor declared a bird flu emergency and health officials have facilitated the distribution of millions of pieces of personal protective equipment to farmworkers. Every effort to contain the virus, though, ultimately will depend to a tremendous extent on the distribution of accurate and timely information—and a government and health community that commits to fighting bird flu and its concerning strains. 'There is a lot that we do not know about D1.1. viruses, and we will all be working overtime to learn more in the coming days and weeks,' Hensley says. It is the mass sharing of what experts learn that will be most critical in the fight. More on bird flu: Bird flu could merge with seasonal flu to make mutated virus that could spread among humans, CDC warns Can you get bird flu from eating eggs? Milk? Poultry? What to know about staying safe New York City is shutting down all its live bird markets after discovering 7 cases of avian flu This story was originally featured on
