New ASF Vaccine and California Pruning Help
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**A new African swine fever vaccine appears to be far more effective than previously developed vaccines.
That’s what the American Society for Microbiology tells agweb.com.
Although there is no commercially available vaccine against ASF, a deadly virus devastating pigs in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, investigators are furiously working to find answers.
In the study, both low and high doses of this ASF vaccine were 100% effective against the virus.
https://www.agweb.com/article/results-show-promise-experimental-african-swine-fever-vaccine?mkt/
**General Mills has joined forces with farmers in Kansas as part of a 3-year program to advance the adoption of regenerative agriculture.
According to foodbev.com, regenerative agriculture is a holistic method of farming, deploying practices designed to protect and enhance natural resources and farming communities.
General Mills reports these benefits can translate to farmers’ pocketbooks by ensuring more nutrients stay in the field to be absorbed by plants rather than washed or blown away through soil erosion.
https://www.foodbev.com/news/general-mills-launches-multi-year-regenerative-agriculture-initiative/
**In California orchards and vineyards, winter means it's time to prune fruit trees and grapevines, but farmers in parts of the state say they're having trouble hiring enough people to do the work.
One Central Valley peach farmer who used to hire 40 people to prune his trees says he could only hire eight this year.
Mechanical pruners have become available, but peach farmers say their crops generally need to be pruned and harvested by hand.
