Outbreaks & Recalls: U.S. Food Crisis, August 2018

Incomplete list of announced United States food supply shutdowns, outbreaks and recalls for the month of August, 2018:

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

CBS News: More Americans struggling to buy food, especially those with kids

In Korea (south) the U.S. Air Force’s 51st Fighter Wing has started a Food First! program to help with its Drug Demand Reduction operations.  It’s partly based on studies that show that so-called health food supplements don’t actually work in people who are considered healthy: “The program highlights the importance of good nutrition, hydration, rest and recovery, and physical activity in the development and maintenance of good health as opposed to relying on supplements such as multivitamins and protein shakes.”-Lisa Roof, 51st MDG Health Promotion Coordinator

NationalPublicRadio: Your Kitchen Spices Can Harbor Salmonella

What Sparked An E. Coli Outbreak In Lettuce?

Healthline: Is Pork the New Chicken When It Comes to Drug-Resistant Salmonella?

CNN: Avoid these foods due to outbreaks and recalls

AgWeb: Farm Real Estate Value Averaging $3140/Acre for 2018

ALABAMA: “If all things go well….and the NASS report holds true Alabama farmers expect to set new yield records for corn, cotton, peanuts and soybeans in 2018.”

Local farm industry surging, saving bankrupt mom-n-pop stores?

Alabama woman hospitalized sues Pepperidge Farms-Goldfish crackers over salmonella 

6 current food-borne illness outbreaks

Video of members of the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard, delivering donated food to a homeless shelter:

ALASKA: “Alaska Berries is the only certified Alaska Grown winery in the state.”

“…limits have increased for coho salmon to four per day and eight in possession. Fishing is very good in most locations.”

Kenai River closing to sockeye salmon fishing

A Dwindling Catch Has Alaskans Uneasy

Total Salmon Catch Tops 80 Million Fish

ARKANSAS: farmers facing big crop losses from heavy rains

New “gift” funded rice research center to open

C&H’s owners propose new hog operation near Arkansas River

Tiny Worms Bug Arkansas’s Soybean Farmers

ARIZONA: 500 Arizona farmers Could Upend Drought Plan for all of the southwest U.S.

Western Growers opposes Arizona energy initiative

Arizona may have to cut back on water use in 2020

Farmers need fast answers on cause of E. coli in romaine lettuce

CALIFORNIA: Kings Fish House ‘temporarily’ shutting down its restaurant in Carlsbad, 86 jobs gone by October.  Oxnard Lemon Company issued a layoff WARN for its operations in Oxnard, 155 jobs gone right after Halloween!

Farmers Protest California Water Plan Aimed to Save Salmon

New Groundwater Law Means Big Changes

Southeast U.S. cotton farmers shown how Californians do it

Toxic pesticides found at most illegal California pot farms

Marijuana farms Destroyed By Wildfires

COLORADO: Salmonella Linked to Arapahoe County Fair/4-H event

Cargill Recalls 25000 Pounds of potentially E. coli – tainted Ground Beef

USAA reports 8000 claims from hailstorm

Large hail kills several animals and injures 14 people

‘Farming in the Forest’

Sugar beets making a comeback

CONNECTICUT: Edible Arrangements issued a WARN, 125 jobs in Wallingford gone right after Xmas!

Farm Aid concert scheduled to help save dairy farmers

Award winning dairy farm uses robots

One of the Country’s Oldest Tobacco Farms is Switching to Booze

DELAWARE: Delaware Gets Disaster Designation by Agriculture Officials

West Nile Virus confirmed in two Delaware horses

FLORIDA: Publix recalls ground beef products sold in Florida for possible E. coli 

20th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference reports 80% of the world’s human population will live in urban areas by 2040, so who will grow the food?

Food fight divides growers in Florida and West Coast

Florida’s red tide takes a mounting toll. And it’s not just on the fish.

Animal sacrifices made on illegal slaughter farm 

Animal protection groups proved that 145 Florida farms were abusing animals, resulting in shutdown of those farms.

The Top 7 Challenges for Small Farms in Florida

GEORGIA: Mayfield Dairy Farms conducting final shutdown of their ops in Braselton, 108 jobs gone starting mid-September!  The dairy actually began shutting down operations in 2011, due to the not-so-recovered economy.

Georgia farms ‘rock solid’ despite weather, trade war

Former U.S. President, and peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter shuns riches and lives modestly in his hometown

HAWAII: ‘Little Buggers’ Are Taking A Big Bite Out Of Hawaii’s Macadamia Crop

Repeated natural disasters pummel Hawaii’s farms

Official FEMA video explaining how it helps prep for natural disasters:

IDAHO:  man sickened by E. coli sues Idaho distributor

“Investigations into livestock deaths in Idaho blamed on wolves don’t have to be made public, the U.S. government says.”

‘Donated’ Sandpoint orchard is site of new University of Idaho organic center

Robots in Idaho dairy farms

Boise using goats as organic lawnmowers?

ILLINOIS:  Aramark lost its food service contract with University of Chicago Ingalls Memorial Hospital and UoC Medical Center, 369 jobs gone right after Halloween!  Shop ‘n Save Warehouse Foods issued a WARN for its Collinsville location, 60 jobs gone by the end of September.

Did Illinois Farmers lie to the USDA on Their August Surveys?

In 2018, grain farms will barely break even

INDIANA: Herd of bison escape from Indiana farm

‘Powered by Poo’: How One of the World’s Biggest Dairies Finds Energy in the Unlikeliest of Places

IOWA: US Foods issued a shutdown WARN for its Sioux City location, 30 jobs gone by September.  

Molly Tibbetts murder case reveals secret of Iowa farms; reliance on illegal immigrants

It’s Harder to Bring Home the Bacon

New U.S.-Mexico trade deal could save Iowa farmers

KANSAS: Millions on the table: The potential of industrial hemp in Kansas

Building the Mecca of Heritage Poultry in Kansas

KENTUCKY: A ham just sold for $2.8 million in Kentucky

In Kentucky, Farmers Find Hemp May Be More Profitable Than Tobacco

MAINE: Shortage of farmhands causes farmers to lose crops

Missouri pork farmers breathe new life into an old Maine dairy farm

Maine dairy farm embraces technology

man who overdosed sues salmon farm for failing to call 9-1-1

MARYLAND: County Seeks to Block Oyster Farm Growth

Maryland, Delaware corn lags

MASSACHUSETTS: dairy farm determined to stay viable

How crops, trees are weathering the rain

Northboro seeks halt to composting at Santo Anza’s farm

A Pioneering Massachusetts Program Helps Low-Income Residents Eat Healthier and Supports Local Farmers

MICHIGAN: Kenco issued a shutdown WARN for its Country Market store in Dexter, 49 jobs gone by November.

farmer’s controlled burn smolders underground weeks later

drought strains farmers

soybean farmer worried about Chinese tariff hikes

$510 million in dairy facilities coming to mid-Michigan

MINNESOTA:  Farmers’ feelings on tariffs mixed

Big Minnesota pork producer ‘surprised’ by immigration raids

Minnesota farmers trying to save Gulf of Mexico shrimpers

MISSISSIPPI: chicken farmers demand less government regulation

soybean farmers blame racism for faulty seeds

MISSOURI: 34 Sickened in Salmonella Outbreak

Drought causes Farmers Market to close

Drought takes toll on crops, cattle

Metro farmers begging state parks for emergency drought help

NEBRASKA:  ICE raid targeting employers and more than 100 workers rocks a small Nebraska town

Late season hail wipes out some crops in central Nebraska

Who pays to maintain your irrigation system?

After farming Nebraska for 150 years one farm family fled the state due to ever increasing taxation.

NEVADA: Local food advocates work to bring more urban farms to Northern Nevada

Is the Farming Future of Las Vegas Indoors?

Hemp Industry Grows In Nevada

1st Year of Nevada Marijuana Sales Smokes Expectations

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Federal taxpayers give 15 New Hampshire farm ops $2.8-million USD

Upper Valley Berry Farmers on High Alert for Dreaded Fruit Fly

Couple Running ‘Animal Rescue’ Facing 44 Animal Cruelty Charges

NEW JERSEY:  Switzerland based Nestlé eliminating 175 jobs in Kearny by October!

210-acre farm one step closer to growing medical ganja

NEW MEXICO: After 13 years in Las Cruces, Toucan Market shutting down, the owners blame crashing sales caused by new competitors.

Groundwater Diversion Plan Rejected as ‘Water Speculation’

Chinese tariffs spur concern for pecan growers

NEW YORK:  Bankrupt, Amherst based Tops Friendly Markets announced it is shutting down at least ten grocery stores due to them not making enough money to pay the rent, 492 jobs lost right after Thanksgiving (according to official WARN)!  The grocery chain is reported to have $720-million USD of debt.  In Rochester, Johnny’s Irish Pub shutting down in September after 21 years, so the owner can ‘move on’.  Without warning British empire based Compass Group-Chartwells lost its food service contract with College of Mount Saint Vincent, 43 jobs suddenly gone.

NORTH CAROLINA: Nuisance lawsuits now threaten all farmers

NORTH DAKOTA: North Dakota farmers struggle with toxic byproduct of the oil industry boom

The case of the mystery photographers caught trespassing in farm fields: Big Brother state Ag officials admit their employees have been spying on farmers!

Aggressive Weed Found in North Dakota for the First Time

OHIO:  The problem of people without food is so bad that the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime and the Defense Supply Center Columbus is working on its ninth year supporting the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, and that’s only to fight the food crisis affecting 183-thousand-750 children and 89-thousand-250 old people just in the Columbus area!  But wait, don’t think this is a totally taxpayer funded effort, according to official Department of Defense sources the employees who work the ‘Feds Feed Families’ (FFF) operation are doing so voluntarily.   In Hamilton, Andy’s Restaurant shutdown after 62 years.  Riesbeck’s Food Market shutdown its Wintersville location, saying the store is so old it’s not worth it to upgrade it or to continue paying rent on it, 60 jobs gone.

agri-tourism immunity law extends to many farm-based activities

OKLAHOMA: USAF Jet Crashes Into A Farm

Four counties designated as primary natural disaster areas

Local man charged with “defrauding local farmers by providing migrant workers with improper legal status and allegedly charging fake immigration and transportation fees” 

Thousands of chickens Found Dead, Beaten, Gassed

OREGON:  Court rules that dairy farm can continue its troubled wastewater ops

Pot Growers Now Must Notify state government About Harvests

PENNSYLVANIA:  farmers poised to bring back hemp, once a state staple

Oversupply threatens dairy industry

‘Monsoon’ delays projects, swells peaches 

3 men accused of sexually abusing farm animals

PUERTO RICO: how hurricane Maria actually helped small farms

yet,  Coffee, banana and orange farmers say they “lost everything”

Rescued dogs taken from Puerto Rico to Virginia 

RHODE ISLAND: Rhode Island Sued Over Truck Tolls

SOUTH CAROLINA: ‘Poor man’s meat’ may find home on South Carolina farms

As first crop of SC hemp nears harvest, scores of farmers line up

Neighbors want to stop mega-farms from guzzling water. 

Thousands of soybean farmers face big financial losses 

SOUTH DAKOTA:  South Dakota kids can legally stay home at any age, and for farmers, it’s better that way

Pheasant counts up for 2018, still below long-term average

TENNESSEE: Wheat farmers need to ‘break mold’ for weed control

Rescued farm animals finally at home

The good, bad, and ugly of farming with precision technologies

Legal Hemp Crops Pose Problems For Law Enforcement

TEXAS:  farmers see new source of green in legal hemp

Texas agriculture touted as innovative, diverse

rice farmers experiencing bumper 2018

Trade “aid” leaves behind wounded corn farmers

West Texas Vineyards Blasted By Herbicide Drift From Nearby Cotton farms

UTAH:  Thieves target small family farm, steal unusual items

Growing Population Could Threaten Cherry Production

farmers share fruits of their labor with wildfire evacuees

Farmers band together to battle fire

Algae-related toxin found in Jordan River

Drought Forces Hard Choices 

Frequent dog attacks imperil livestock

VIRGINIA: brewery, farm help each other out

farmers, vintners lament record-breaking rain

peanuts bear heavy thrips damage, other challenges

Poultry vs. tourism comment ‘a slap in the face’

WASHINGTON: production looking good for Washington wheat despite uncertain markets

‘Crops go unharvested and animals go uncared for.’ 

The  burden of making Washington king of the cherry

Dairy industry struggling

Garbage from booming marijuana industry clogs gutters

Washington DC: New Native American farm fund to distribute $266 million

E. coli strain from retail poultry may cause urinary tract infections

Trump is giving farmers a $6 billion bailout 

August USDA Reports Confirm Too Much of Everything

“A whopping 15.6 million American households experienced at least some food insecurity…”

WEST VIRGINIA:  Kroger shutting down its grocery store in Smithers, 59 jobs gone in October due to “low financial returns”.

Farming Project Doesn’t Go as Planned

Taxpayer funded Program pays Farmers to Conserve Flood-Prone Land

Schools and farmers warn about new foreign-owned stone wool factory

WISCONSIN:  With only one day’s official WARN warning, PF Chang’s shutdown its Middleton restaurant, 36 jobs suddenly gone.

More than 4% of Wisconsin Dairy Farms Call It Quits in 2018—So Far

New taxpayer funded Crop Insurance Program May Benefit Dairy Farmers

WYOMING:  Where’s The Beef? Wyoming Ranchers Bet On Blockchain

Man trampled to death by bull 

U.S. FOOD CRISIS, July 2018: “THE RISE OF BIG BOX STORES”