PLANET IN PERIL

African Swine Fever in China Prompts Call for Review of Biosecurity on Canadian Farms   Farmscape for September 4, 2018 African Swine Fever has now been reported over a vast area in China.   A PinP photo. In light of this, Manitoba Pork is encouraging pork producers to reevaluate biosecurity.   The virus affects pigs of all ages causing high mortality and, while it doesn't affect humans and isn't considered a food safety risk, it is highly transmissible, it is trade limiting and it is federally reportable.   Jenelle Hamblin, the Manager of Swine Health Programs with Manitoba Pork, says the world is a smaller place than it once was with people and products moving in short amounts of time for many reasons. Clip-Jenelle Hamblin-Manitoba Pork:   As a sector we need to be normally aware of the people that are coming onto our premises and where they've been prior to coming but, in the case such as this, it's important to conside

The Guardian Swine fever has made its way into China, home to half the world’s pigs. Farmers in Estonia are already counting the cost. Story here. The images below show piglets with "PED," another deadly disease of hogs which has been  rampant in North America (& Manitoba) in recent years. Photos by Manitoba Pork. Related: Officials Worry Yet Another Lethal Pig Disease May be Headed to Canada. In Hogs We Trust  Part 111 - The magnitude of livestock diseases, worldwide.

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration This NASA image shows the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone is now approaching an area the size of Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg!  More here.

The Guardian                                    Lest we North Americans feel smug, this image shows                                                           one of countless "eutrophied" sloughs in Manitoba,                                                                                              on the Canadian prairies .                                                                                                                            A PinP   photo.      Animal husbandry is contaminating China's water and has been linked to bright-green lakes, a phenomenon know as eutrophication.  More here.   Related: In Hogs We Trust -  Part 1V - The health and environmental price we Manitobans will pay for an expanded hog industry.

PHYS ORG A corn rootworm.  Public Domain . Crop losses for critical food grains will increase substantially as the climate warms, as rising temperatures increase the metabolic rate and population growth of insect pests, according to new research. More here. Most harm will befall crops in the temperate zone (shown in green). 

PHYS  ORG Bumblebees forage on organic chives. Another PinP photo. Bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food as they become more exposed to it, a behaviour showing possible symptoms of addiction. More here.

The American Ornithological Society A tree swallow. A PinP photo. Aerial insectivores--birds that hunt for insect prey on the wing--are declining across North America as agricultural intensification leads to diminishing insect abundance and diversity in many areas. A new study from  The Condor: Ornithological Applications  looks at how Tree Swallows' diets are affected by agriculture and finds that while birds living in cropland can still find their preferred prey, they may be working harder to get it.  More here. Related:   New Studies Show Farm Chemicals Are Affecting More Than Bees. Bird Populations are Declining, Too. Is modern agriculture's hold on nature becoming a death grip?