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Walnut industry players in several regions have faced significant challenges over the past few seasons. These challenges include drought conditions, increasing water regulation, elevated costs, logistical bottlenecks, increasing competition in international markets, subdued demand, and downward pressure on prices. As a result, acreage reduction is expected in key regions, particularly in areas planted with less competitive varieties and facing more challenging growing conditions in terms of access to water. The industry is striving to achieve a more favorable supply-demand balance by focusing on more efficient production of higher-quality walnuts and promoting demand. While prices are starting to rebound, they remain below break-even levels in some regions. Efforts to have profitable operations are likely to find success in the coming years. 

A better cost environment and resilient demand are supporting the outlook for global pork markets. Lower feed costs will support farming expansion, and pork consumption in the second half of 2024 should improve due to seasonal demand. However, disease pressures and trade vulnerabilities – including China’s antidumping probe into EU pork imports – remain risk factors. 

Global trade is facing challenges from geopolitical dynamics. China’s launch of an antidumping probe into EU pork imports is raising concerns about the vulnerability of global trade. The US-China trade war that started in 2018 has changed part of the global pork trade. The upcoming US presidential election could bring changes in US trade policy and uncertainty to global trade patterns over the coming years, adding complexity to the global market.

Pork supply-demand balance will vary in different regions in 2H. Some countries, such as China, Vietnam, and Philippines, will see tight pork supply in 2H due to disease outbreaks, while other regions, including the EU and the US, will likely see pork supply increase slightly. Sow herd recovery will likely be faster than expected, especially in the EU and China. Productivity gains will continue despite recurrent disease issues in some regions. Lower feed costs will support farming expansion. We expect ample global supplies of grains and oilseeds to pressure feed prices in 2H. This will continue to benefit producers and encourage herd expansion.Pork demand is resilient. Pork consumption in 2H will improve due to seasonal demand. In addition, easing pork prices in the EU and weak prices in the US should support pork consumption in these regions.

The antibiotic colistin is being widely used to prevent infections and promote growth in animals grown for human consumption such as poultry, a new study at the University of Oxford has found.

Colistin is one of the few antibiotics in the world that is used as a last-resort treatment for multidrug-resistant infections including pneumonia. It is deemed of critical importance for human medicine by the World Health Organisation.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Oxford, UK and University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in Pakistan, found that although colistin use in farming has been banned by many high-income countries including China and those in Europe, many of these countries still export colistin to low- and middle-income countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh.

The international research was a collaboration between the University of Oxford, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, National Institute of Health in Pakistan, Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh and Cardiff University.

Despite global agreements on limiting the use of antibiotics in farming, the lack of regulation at the trade and national level means the drug is used extensively in countries where other treatment alternatives are expensive or inaccessible. The study also identified a range of colistin products manufactured to be used in pediatrics and marketed as ‘Antibiotic – Anti diarrheal’.

Researchers have identified a growing prevalence of colistin-resistant E. coli isolated from the environment and food animals in Pakistan, in 7% of samples compared to the global average of 4.7%. The resistance was also observed in human isolates.

A new study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several US states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission – between cows and from cows to cats and a raccoon, according to a news release from Cornell University. 

“This is one of the first times that we are seeing evidence of efficient and sustained mammalian-to-mammalian transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1,” said Diego Diel, associate professor of virology in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Diel is co-corresponding author of the study, “Spillover of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus to Dairy Cattle,” published July 25 in Nature.

Whole genome sequencing of the virus did not reveal any mutations in the virus that would lead to enhanced transmissibility of H5N1 in humans, although the data clearly shows mammal-to-mammal transmission, which is concerning as the virus may adapt in mammals, Diel said.

So far, 11 human cases have been reported in the US, with the first dating back to April 2022, each with mild symptoms: four were linked to cattle farms and seven have been linked to poultry farms, including an outbreak of four cases reported in the last few weeks in Colorado. These recent patients fell ill with the same strain identified in the study as circulating in dairy cows, leading the researchers to suspect that the virus likely originated from dairy farms in the same county.

In the same year it celebrates 60 years of tractor production, the New Holland plant at Basildon, England, is now marking the manufacturing of its two millionth tractor, a feat managed by only a handful of such facilities across the world.

The two millionth unit is a 225hp T7.225, one of the most popular T7 models produced at the Basildon plant. It has received a striking celebration livery comprising ‘candy blue’ body panels, New Holland silver and black graphics featuring the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom, and a ‘2,000,000 Basildon Tractors’ logo, plus a New Holland leaf bonnet top. The tractor also features black wheels rims with candy blue rim edges.

“This is a major milestone in the life of our Basildon plant, and a mark of both the dedication of our skilled employees here and the loyalty of our customers worldwide, to whom we are extremely grateful,” said Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President.

“From the tractors of 1964 to those of today, we have come a long way in capability, capacity and technology, allowing our customers to farm more efficiently. What is unchanged, though, is our commitment at Basildon and across the whole of our business to continue developing the technology our customers need to sustainably power their farms into the future.”

The two millionth tractor will make special appearances during forthcoming events in the UK, and will then be displayed in the Customer Centre at Basildon.

The Basildon factory opening in 1964 coincided with the introduction of the new 37-65hp Ford 6X tractor series which was to be made there, meaning the first of the two million tractors were 2000 Dexta, 3000 Super Dexta, 4000 Major and 5000 Super Major models. Within two years the plant had produced 100,000 of these tractors, and these models later became known generally as the ‘Pre-Force’ series, following the 1968 launch of the ‘Ford Force’ 2/3/4/5000 tractors, which saw the long-serving names retired. Just a year later, the factory produced its 250,000th tractor.

In 1984, the 500,000th tractor was made, from the Q-cabbed Series 10 range launched three years previously, which ultimately spanned 44hp 2610 to 116hp 8210 models, introducing developments such as the SynchroShift synchromesh transmission.

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