Page 1 - 060320-Market-Bulletin

EstablishEd 1917 a CEntury of sErviCE

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE • GARY W. BLACK, COMMISSIONER • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020 • VOL. 103, NO. 12 • © COPYRIGHT 2020
From the Commissioner: Normal seems to begin to begin again

By Gary W. Black work schedule. The Georgia Grown team has launched
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner This COVID-influenced spring, techni- Georgia Grown To-Go pop-up markets in
cians, analysts and inspectors tested more Dalton, Marietta and Atlanta with more
1917 – 2017
This evening (May 14), normal seemed seed than ever before, developed and ap- likely slated
100th Anniversary for Sandy Springs, Law-
to begin to begin again. The spring has proved desperately needed hand sanitizer renceville and Forest Park. The #Buy-
been almost what I remember as normal in formulas, field-sampled and tested pesti- GeorgiaGrown and #NowMoreThanEver
Commerce – start my COVID-19 telecom- cide drift cases and calibrated commercial campaigns are engaging consumers by the
mute each morning with a vest and a per- scales for the 2020 season at a record pace. thousands. All of this and more. ...
sonal heater in my farm office, shed to an Meat inspectors have diligently worked Under difficult circumstances, the GDA
afternoon T-shirt and then search again for with establishments to keep them open. family has served Georgia well. I am grate-
the morning’s cover before my 45-second Food safety team members have counseled ful for each person. I thank God that He has
walking commute back to the house at day/ retailers on federal and state guidelines to kept us safe. Pray that His protection will
night’s end. Normal this time of year also maintain continuity in the food supply. continue because though normal is seem-
includes three hours of zero-turn grass cut- Animal inspectors have provided PPE ingly beginning to begin again, the new
ting once a week. I finished tonight with a to licensed kennels, and plant protection normal will be different and have its chal-
sack of “normal” roadside gifts. More about inspectors have certified export shipments lenges.
that in a moment. of pine logs. Structural pest team members We have returned to routine work sched-
I hope your recent normal has been safe have trained hundreds of licensees over ules and regulatory activities. But this will
and healthy. I am so very proud of the work ZOOM. And please note, 400 gazillion veg- be a guarded re-entry. Group meetings are
of your Georgia Department of Agriculture etable transplants have entered commerce probably still a long way off. As Monday,
professionals as they have adjusted, perse- this spring to ensure a supply of vegetables Wednesday, Friday schedules return at our “Gifts” left along the roadside near Commissioner
vered and served with extraordinary dis- for America thanks to our corps of profes- physical offices, yes, we will be checking Black’s house, signs that life as we knew it is
tinction during the new normal COVID-19 sionals. See BEGIN AGAIN, page 15 resuming. (Gary Black/GDA)
COVID-19: Should I be concerned about my animals?

By Janemarie Hennebelle DVM, MPVM reported worldwide, there are only a few confirmed cases
Assistant State Veterinarian where domestic animals and captive or farmed wild animals
& have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Currently in the United
Robert M. Cobb, Jr. DVM States, there are two domestic cats, one tiger and one lion (all
State Veterinarian in New York) confirmed to be positive to date.
Over time, there may be other cases that are confirmed as
Over the last several months, we’ve watched our world the pandemic evolves. The domestic cats identified were from
address the public health pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. two different households and both cats showed mild signs of
You or someone you know may have been personally affected a respiratory illness. One cat came from a household where
by COVID-19, leaving you wondering – how might this affect the owner was positive for COVID-19; another cat in the same
pets or other animals I come into contact with on a daily basis? household was negative for SARS-CoV-2. The second cat that
First, a little background on what we do know about ani- tested positive lived an indoor-outdoor lifestyle in an area
mals and the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 in where many people had COVID-19. Similarly, the tiger and
people. You’ve probably read reports of tigers, dogs, domes- lion had mild respiratory signs and a zookeeper taking care of
tic cats and even mink testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the animals was positive for COVID-19.
There are only a few confirmed cases where domestic animals have the United States and around the world. While more than 5 If you interact with pets, livestock or other animals what
tested positive for COVID-19. (Amy Carter/GDA) million (and counting) human cases of COVID-19 have been See ANIMALS, page 15

Farmers, ranchers recover from spring tornadoes

By Jay Jones swept from the Midwest to the South. The Eas-
jay.jones@agr.georgia.gov ter weekend storms produced the strongest tor-
nados, primarily in the South. Georgia expe-
Joe Young, a cattle man in Murray Coun- rienced 21 confirmed tornados that weekend.
ty, expressed what many in agriculture said The strongest struck Murray County where the
about the tornados that torn through Georgia Youngs’ farm is located and where seven peo-
in April: They will recover. ple died in a mobile home neighborhood.
“It ain’t going to be easy, and it’s going to Young and his wife, Heather, said volun-
take a lot of work, but we’re used to it,” Young teers helped them clean up in the days after
Please deliver this paid subscription to: Published by the Ga. Department of Agriculture Gary W. Black, Commissioner and South Georgia 10 days later. The storms issue was getting all the trees off the fences,” A cow occupies a crater left by a tornado that struck
said from his office in Chatsworth. “We’ll get the tornado struck his farm with 100 head of
cattle. Heather said she was thankful for the
through it.”
Tornados struck north Georgia April 12-13 community coming together to help.
“We got things back together. My biggest
struck rural areas of the state and many agri-
culture producers received significant damage. Joe Young said. “You know, my cows for two
In north Georgia, tornados destroyed barns, days could have left if they wanted to, but we
got some temporary fencing up.”
torn roofs off structures, and tossed debris ev-
In South Georgia, blueberry growers were
erywhere.
especially walloped by the tornados. Jerome
“The pastures were riddled with two-by-
Crosby, president of the Georgia Blueberry
fours with nails in them and tin,” Young said.
According to the National Weather Service, Growers Association, said the storms came
there was higher than usual tornado activity just as blueberry picking began.
See RECOVER, page 15
Murray County. (Provided photo)
across the United States in April as storms