Agritourism Reopening in California and ASF Efforts in Dominican Republic

Agritourism Reopening in California and ASF Efforts in Dominican Republic

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.

**Winery tasting rooms have reopened and pumpkin patches, corn mazes and U-Pick flower fields are gearing up for a resurgence of tourism.

The rebound follows widespread closures last year of many California farm festivals, tours and workshops. Many were conducted as virtual events or greatly scaled back.

Now, some farm open houses are selling out as people are taking drives back into farm country.

**It’s not the full year extension requested, but Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has granted the organizers of the National Beef Checkoff Petition Drive an additional three months, until October 3rd, to collect the necessary signatures on the petition calling for a producer vote of the National Beef Checkoff Program.

According to R-CALF USA, slowed by the pandemic, the USDA originally established a 12-month period for the collection of the required 88,000-plus signatures, but so far only about 19,000 signatures have been gathered.

Go to www.checkoffvote.com for more.

**Efforts are underway to prevent the first cases of African Swine Fever in the North American hemisphere from spreading to U.S. shores.

www.agrimarketing.com reports, less than a week after the Dominican Republic confirmed cases of ASF, the country announced it’s limiting shipments of pigs and calling on its military to try to contain the spread of the virus.

DR officials say they’ll slaughter tens of thousands of pigs after detecting outbreaks in 11 of its 32 provinces.

www.agrimarketing.com/s/137294

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