California Wildfire Smoke Damage and Onion Recall-Salmonella
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Farmers in Northeastern California say they expect smoke damage to crops from the Caldwell Fire, which burned nearly 81,000 acres of land in Modoc and Siskiyou counties.
Officials continue to assess damage to grazing land scorched by the fire, and farmers say smoke will likely
hurt the quality of hay, potatoes, onions and other crops.
One farmer says irrigated farmland acted as a buffer that stopped the fire from spreading to some areas.
**The USDA’s Risk Management Agency announced it will authorize Approved Insurance Providers to extend deadlines for premium and administrative fee payments, defer the resulting interest accrual AND allow other flexibilities to help farmers, ranchers, and insurance providers due to the pandemic.
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says these flexibilities support health and safety while also ensuring the Federal crop insurance program continues to serve as a vital risk
management tool.
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/08/05/usda-extends-deadlines-defers-interest-accrual-due-covid-19
**Another retailer has recalled onions from a California grower because some of them have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella.
On the same day Publix Super Markets announced it was pulling products because of salmonella concerns, the CDC reported there were 640 cases involved in the outbreak, an increase of almost 250 in several days.
According to thepacker.com, the FDA reported it’s initiated an investigation at Bakersfield-based Thomson International, the only source of onions linked to the outbreak.
https://www.thepacker.com/article/us-salmonella-cases-jump-publix-recalls-bulk-red-onions?mkt/
