Dec 24: USDA announced that three more California egg ranches have been infected with bird flu and had to destroy their flocks. The latest count includes two very large egg ranches in the state including a 1.1 million bird ranch in Riverside and one in San Joaquin County with 627,000 hens. USDA says a third ranch has not yet reported numbers.
California is the state that has had the most flock and bird losses due to HPAI infections in 2024 sweeping the nation.
The impact on the state egg laying flock has been a near wipe out since September. The count since September adds up to over 8 million egg layers lost in California.Egg prices both nationwide and in California have skyrocketed this fall- from around $1.60 dozen to $7.40 in late December in California.
California once boasted 25 million hens as of 1998.
The monthly USDA poultry report says as of December 2022 California had 13 million egg layers. By December 2023, it was down to 11.3 million and as of December 2024 the number has dropped to 7.5 million hens.
The latest report does not include December losses in California that could mean there may be just a few million egg laying chickens left standing.
California Poultry Federation President Bill Mattos says the dairy industry and poultry industry need to work together. He says that tracing studies of the virus at poultry operations suggest that 70% of the infections are coming from the diaries. “I’m not blaming them, but the two industries must work together to step up biosecurity”
Mattos adds that the California egg industry would welcome a USDA sponsored vaccination plan for their birds, but that the US broiler industry, harvesting both chickens and turkeys, export about 30% of their product and world export rules do not allow those animals to be vaccinated.
December 14 – Raw milk produced and packaged by Valley Milk Simply Bottled of Stanislaus County is the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The recall order came following the detection of Influenza-A H5N1 (bird flu) virus in samples taken from a raw milk bulk tank at the Valley Milk Simply Bottled dairy farm.
The order applies to all “Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Cow Milk” and “DESI Milk Raw Cow Milk” distributed in quart (32 oz), half-gallon (64 oz), and one-gallon (128 oz) plastic jugs with a code date marked on the container of DEC 23 2024 through Dec 30, 2024.
As of December 24 there have been 233 new bird flu infections on California dairies since December 1.
Too many apples: This year’s large Washington apple crop is depressing prices. Washington had what is believed to be its third largest apple crop ever in 2024-25, but that’s a mixed blessing as oversupply remains a problem.
If there are too many Pacific Northwest apples – turns out there are too few pears. Reports say fresh pears could be harder to find in grocery store aisles nationwide in the coming year. Bad winter weather and a record-setting freeze in January hit hard in Washington and Oregon, damaging much of this year’s expected pear crop. It will be the smallest U.S. pear crop in 40 years, projected Wednesday by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In late December the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an update to the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for 2025. The allocation has increased to 15 percent of requested supplies, up from the initial allocation forecast of 5 percent announced earlier this month. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians.
Shasta to see more than 7 inches by New Years
Potent storms continue to pound Northern California bringing in 60 ft waves along the coast and partially collapsing the Santa Cruz pier.The parade of storms are adding to the early snowpack totals that feed reservoir storage for the coming year.Forecasts call for 7 inches of precip from Dec 27 to Jan 1 at Shasta Dam.
UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in Tahoe reported Dec 27, the station set a new December record breaking a 1970 record of 179 inches and expecting more than 200 inches by December 31.
Northern California snowpack is now 171% of normal for the date.
In our region Giant Forest reports about 9 inches of precip so far this water year compared to 3.6 inches at this time in 2023.
Cottage cheese consumption is at its highest in a decade
US PER CAPITA DAIRY CONSUMPTION RISES AGAIN
Propelled by record cheese use and gains in butter, cottage cheese and yogurt, U.S. per capita dairy consumption returned to 1950s levels last year, according to USDA data released just before Thanksgiving.
At 661 pounds per person, the amount of milk Americans consume is back to where it was in 2021, which in turn was on par with the year Buddy Holly died — at least in terms of dairy U.S. dairy consumption.
What’s driving the trend? Think cheese, which has doubled in per capita consumption over the past 50 years even as per capita fluid milk use has declined. Or look at butter, at its highest since the 1960s. And fermented dairy products are having a moment — cottage cheese consumption is at its highest in a decade, and yogurt is also rising.
Cottage Cheese
An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the addition of a “dressing” to the curd grains, usually cream, which is mainly responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.
Cottage cheese can be low in calories compared to other types of cheese — similar to yogurt; this makes it popular among dieters and some health devotees.
The only disappointment? Rounding. If you drill more deeply into the numbers, 2023 didn’t quite match 2021, with consumption at 660.7 pounds, compared to 661.2 two years ago. But with positive signs in sales and the holidays ahead, there’s still a chance for Americans to push 2024 to new heights.