Food Animal

Medgene has announced the availability of what it says is the first prescription platform vaccine targeting Theileria orientalis Ikeda in cattle. The company said the vaccine is designed to provide veterinarians with a new tool to address the tick-borne parasite, which is associated with bovine infectious anemia and other health and production impacts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook projects higher milk production, lower dairy prices and mixed forecasts across the beef, pork and poultry sectors. The July report highlights expanding dairy herds, shifting trade projections and updated production estimates through 2027.

The USDA will begin a phased reopening of southern livestock ports next month, starting with Douglas, Arizona, after determining conditions in northern Mexico support the controlled resumption of cattle imports under enhanced New World screwworm safeguards.

Merck Animal Health has expanded the availability of EXZOLT® (fluralaner oral solution) to backyard chicken owners, providing a prescription treatment for northern fowl mites that previously was used primarily in commercial poultry production. The move reflects growing demand for veterinary solutions tailored to the rapidly expanding backyard flock market while offering producers a convenient, water-administered parasite control option.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to immediately authorize the use of ivermectin in medicated livestock feed, warning that current control measures may not be enough to contain the expanding New World screwworm outbreak. State officials say feed-based treatment would allow producers to protect entire herds more efficiently while extending protection to free-ranging wildlife susceptible to the parasite.

The European Commission has authorized Zoetis’ Poulvac® Procerta® HVT-ND vaccine, strengthening the company’s poultry biologics portfolio while providing European producers with another option to protect flocks against two economically significant diseases with a single administration.

The LoRa Alliance is positioning LoRaWAN as a foundational connectivity platform for precision agriculture, highlighting new opportunities for animal health companies developing livestock monitoring, remote diagnostics and ranch management technologies in areas beyond traditional network coverage.

Cal-Maine Foods has reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from 17 states, resolving claims stemming from a 15-month investigation into information sharing among egg producers serving cage-free markets. While denying any wrongdoing, the company agreed to strengthen compliance measures, donate 30 million eggs to food banks and nonprofit organizations, and pay $1.5 million to the participating states. The agreement remains subject to court approval.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Flyttr have announced a two-year collaboration to develop next-generation biological technologies aimed at strengthening efforts to eliminate the New World screwworm as the parasite re-emerges in Texas.