Agribusiness Update for Tuesday 06/10/14

The Centers For Disease Control have confirmed a Texas man has died after contracting the human variant of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE. The man's brain tested positive for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease which comes from eating specified risk materials, such as brains and spinal cords, from infected cattle. This is the fourth-ever confirmed case in a human in the United States and the first in Texas.

A Senate hearing will be held this week on reauthorization of the child nutrition programs, including the school lunch program.  Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow announced the hearing will be set for Thursday Morning.  Stabenow has defended the school meal rules under the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.  The House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill includes a provision for schools that claim they lost money on their meals programs for six months. It would require the Agriculture Department to grant a one-year waiver from the healthier meals The Senate Appropriations Committee contains a softer provision, allowing more flexibility.

That's today's Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network.