OSU Insect Cameras and Cattle Groups React to Southern Border Reopening
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a low-cost, semi-automated, AI-driven method that uses remote cameras to survey bumblebees and other insects.
The new tool could have important implications for efforts to conserve declining insect populations, including bumblebees.
Researchers also say the technology could benefit agriculture, given that many crops depend on insects as pollinators.
The findings were recently published in the journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.
**Cattle groups are supporting USDA's phased reopening of the southern border to live cattle from Mexico following progress in controlling New World Screwworm.
The Douglas, Arizona, port of entry is scheduled to reopen, with two New Mexico ports expected to follow.
National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall says
USDA's aggressive response puts us in a strong position to begin safely and gradually reopening our southern border to cattle shipments.
**U.S. cattle on feed totaled 11.4 million head on July 1, up 2% from a year ago, according to USDA's latest report.
Feedlots placed 1.4 million head in June, down 3% from last year, while marketings also fell by 3% to 1.66 million head, the lowest June total since records began in 1996.
Analysts say the report was less bearish than the headline suggests because cattle are remaining in feedyards longer.
