Egg Problems, Ogallalla Lower, and Amazonian Corn Masters

Chicken farm problems continue -

One of the nation's top egg producers confirmed that one of its farms tested positive for cases of bird flu over the weekend, the company said.

Rose Acres Farms, which claims to be the second-largest egg producer in the United States, released a statement on Tuesday saying that it had detected cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at Cort Acre Egg Farm in Seymour, Indiana.

With farms across the U.S. testing positive for bird flu cases, the USDA predicts that egg prices will rise up to 20% this year due to a shortage of eggs. ABCNews

State and federal agriculture officials are working to prevent the spread of highly contagious bird flu from a Lehigh County poultry farm where the virus has been found in a commercial chicken flock for the first time in nearly a year. PennCapitalStar

My Quick Take: The bird flu situation continues to impact chicken farms. It’s definitely a problem when these massive farms are getting caught up in it. That article from ABC claimed egg prices could go up 20%, but from what I’ve seen at the store they’re already over double what they were not long ago. I am bit smug at the moment though since I got a bunch of chicken a couple years ago. I hope others with backyard poultry farms can stay unaffected by the virus. Nevertheless, egg prices look like they will continue to rise.

Ogallalla Still Declining -

The Kansas Geological Survey earlier this month completed its annual campaign to measure the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies the western one-third of the state with water. The Ogallala, the largest underground store of freshwater in the nation, has been declining for decades because of overuse to irrigate crops in otherwise arid parts of the state.

According to preliminary data presented to the Kansas House Water Committee, aquifer levels in the groundwater management area covering southwest Kansas fell by 1.52 feet between January 2024 and this month, a larger drop than the 1.43-foot decline the year before. KansasReflector

Quick Take: This is always an issue on peoples’ minds down here in the Texas panhandle. Clearly it is an issue pretty well anywhere that relies on the aquifer. Nobody likes to see it declining, especially if the drops are always increasing. Somehow the pumping needs to cut back enough to help it stabilize.

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Off the Beaten Path-

Ancient Amazonians supposedly became master corn farmers at one point.

Science News

I’m not sure how I came across this article from a science website. Apparently some people studying the ground with lasers and satellites and such have deduced that from around 1250 AD to 1550 there was advanced corn (maize in the article) farming happening in ancient South America.

By advanced they seem to mean they figured out how to use an irrigation system. Or essentially they built some canals and a pond, then planted the corn right up next to it.

I’m sorry but that was a bit of a let down after the title of the article claimed they were “master maize farmers.”

I suppose it was a good plan to help them grow year round corn. I’m sure it helped them keep the water on it at the critical times of the plants life.

I doubt you can put much stock in the article anyway, considering the evidence for the claims is seriously weak. But its still an interesting thought to go back and imagine how ancient primitive civilizations were farming.

Homesteading is Mainstream Now

Out of all the trending lifestyle aesthetics, urban homesteading just might be the most valuable. Think of it as the results-driven cousin to cottagecore, but instead of emphasizing surface details (like donning a provincial-looking prairie dress to wander in a flower field), homesteaders want to get their hands dirty and really live the farm life. This often translates to homesteaders growing their own vegetables in a home garden, raising chickens in a coop, canning their own food, and tending to the land. For them, this lifestyle change has nothing to do with modern farmhouses or party barns. MSN

“Urban Homestreading” is a term I don’t recall hearing before. Its nota bad thing though, because it is encouraging self sufficiency, production, and contribution to your community.

Homesteading isn’t a farm house out in the country anymore. Tons of people are doing it on minimal acres. I consider it a good thing to see.