Rancher sentenced for running $244m ‘ghost cattle’ scam.

 

Rancher sentenced for running $244m ‘ghost cattle’ scam. A cattle rancher in Washington has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding Tyson Foods and another company out of more than $244 million by charging the victim companies for the purported costs of purchasing and feeding hundreds of thousands of cattle that did not exist. 

 According to court documents, Cody Allen Easterday used his company, Easterday Ranches Inc., to enter into a series of agreements with the companies under which Easterday Ranches agreed to purchase and feed cattle for them. Per the agreements, Tyson and the other company would advance Easterday Ranches the costs of buying and raising the cattle. Once the cattle were slaughtered and sold at market price, Easterday Ranches would repay the costs advanced – plus interest and certain other costs – retaining the difference as profit.( READ BEEF MAGAZINE ON SIDE BAR.)

The leather business summit and expo.

Leather
 #leather institute

The federal government plans to ban Ponmo to promote the leather industry.

THE Federal Government has said it was proposing a legislation to ban the consumption of animal skin, locally known as ponmo, in the country to revive tanneries. 

 Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology, NILEST, Zaria, Muhammad Yakubu said this in Abuja on Sunday. NILEST was set up to promote leather production as provided in the Agricultural Research Institute Act of 1975. 

        The leather business summit and expo.

The institute conducts research the production and products of leather and the utilisation of local tanning materials in the country. Yakubu, who said the litigation was necessary to revive the comatose leather industry in the country, said the habit of eating animal skin, which has no nutritional value, should be stopped to save the industry and boost the nation’s economy. 

 The Director-General added that the institute, in collaboration with stakeholders in the industry, would approach the national assembly and state governments to bring out legislation banning “ponmo” consumption. 

        The leather hub :Leather value chain 

 The tannery project was conceived by the Sanwo-Olu administration in 2020 for the production of leather products, such as shoes, belts, bags and upholsteries. The facility would also offer training opportunities for youths to learn skills in leather manufacturing and earn a living in the value chain. 

The Economic value of the hub is that the entire production process can start and end here in Lagos. Jobs will be generated and businesses will be developed He said that raw leather exported to China and Europe were brought back to Nigeria in finished goods and they were more expensive.

Researchers Are Now Tracking Monkey pox in Wastewater.

 

Researchers Are Now Tracking Monkey pox in Wastewater.The past two years have taught us anything, it’s that testing for viral diseases is complicated. Sometimes, the tests are difficult to get, like in the early days of COVID-19. And even if people have access to testing, they might not feel they need it. 

 People with COVID-19 often don’t have symptoms and may not always know to get tested. And now, with the availability of at-home self-tests, most people test themselves and don’t report the results. With other diseases—such as monkey pox—stigma surrounding the disease and the group most affected can deter access to testing. These limitations hinder health authorities’ ability to learn more about infectious diseases and control their spread. If you can’t detect a problem, you can’t direct resources to help fix it. Wastewater analysis can help skirt some of these issues. 

Scientists have tracked COVID-19 through wastewater since early in the pandemic, and now they’re doing the same for monkey pox. A new program led by researchers at Stanford University, Emory University, and Verily, an Alphabet Inc. company, is monitoring monkey pox cases by analyzing sewage from 41 communities in 10 states.

 So far, they have detected the monkey pox virus in 22 of those sites. As monkey pox case numbers around the country continue to climb, such information is proving valuable as doctors and patients wrestle with testing challenges. “We have now detected monkey pox DNA in sewersheds before any cases were reported in those counties,” says Bradley White, senior staff scientist at Verily. The group is planning to publish their first findings from their monkey pox work in a preprint soon.

HOW NIGERIA CAN PREVENT ITS ANNUAL N3.5 TRILLION POST-HARVEST LOSSES.

 

HOW NIGERIA CAN PREVENT ITS ANNUAL N3.5 TRILLION POST-HARVEST LOSSES.Nigeria has good agricultural potential but is not living up to expectations. The country houses an enormous human capital, most of whom are young, and arable land, with only 41 per cent cultivated yet. From one end, the country’s agricultural prowess and feats are laudable. 

Nigeria is a top global exporter of agricultural production, such as palm oil, sorghum, sesame, cocoa beans, oil, fruits, nuts, and seeds. The Federal Government recently disclosed that the total cost of post-harvest losses in Nigeria’s agriculture industry is N3.5 trillion. 

Yes, a whooping N3.5 trillion. Speaking on behalf of the FG, Mustapha Shehuri, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, “Post-harvest losses is a worrisome situation that threatens Nigeria’s Food Security … In fruits and vegetables, it could be as high as 50 – 60 per cent if poorly managed, unfortunately not much attention is paid to address this problem as it is done for production,” 

 This is too much loss for a country where agriculture is a core contributor to its GDP and has a projected population of 400 million. In that light, there is an urgent need to prevent people from going hungry, support farmers from losing monetary gains, and reduce our dependence on foreign products. 

 These can only be achieved through a couple of actions, the first being to make provisions for good storage facilities. While agricultural products are perishable, their production is usually seasonal, mainly because farmers in this part of the world rely on rain-fed agriculture. But, regardless of the perishable or seasonal nature of produce, the demand for food is not seasonal. In Nigeria, about 47 per cent of farmers have zero access to any storage facilities to shield them from post-harvest loss. The number could rise up to as high as 60 per cent for tubers, fruits and vegetables. 

The provision and revitalization of efficient storage facilities, whether on an industrial or small-scale, is essential in mitigating post-harvest loss.

Monkeypox can persist in household environments, according to CDC study.

 

Monkey pox can persist in household environments, according to CDC study. The zoonotic monkey pox virus (MPXV), which is endemic to Africa, is typically transmitted through direct contact with an infected person or animal or through the inhalation of infected respiratory secretions. 

 Infection with MPXV often leads to the development of lesions with exudates that contain viable virions that can be shed during infection. As compared to other enveloped viruses, MPXV virions are more tightly bound with the fibrin matrices of the scab/crust, thereby allowing for them to persist within the environment for longer periods. 

 A recent study conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases assessed the viability and viral load of MPXV on household objects and surfaces. Samples were collected from frequently used objects in the household of an individual who had been infected with MPXV. 

This sampling was conducted 15 days after the infected individual had left their home to be admitted to the hospital. These samples were then incubated to allow for virus isolation and the detection of viable viruses. Importantly, any potential contamination with bacteria or fungi was prevented by treating all incubated samples with penicillin/streptomycin, amphotericin B, and gentamicin.

Monkey Pox:CDC recommends masking despite evidence that its sexually transmitted.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study Friday suggesting that people wear masks to protect themselves from monkey pox despite growing evidence the virus is transmitted sexually. The CDC’s Friday Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), its internal journal, included research on the spread of monkey pox via contaminated surfaces. 

Researchers in Utah sampled 30 different samples from the home of two monkey pox patients, and found that 21 of the surfaces yielded positive real-time PCR results, but none tested positive for viral cultures. Still, despite the lack of live virus found in the samples, the paper still warns that monkey pox can spread through surface contact. The agency also recommends wearing masks at the bottom of the paper, even though little evidence has emerged that monkey pox is an airborne virus 

 “Monkey pox virus primarily spreads through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact with the rash, scabs, lesions, body fluids, or respiratory secretions of a person with monkey pox; transmission via contaminated objects or surfaces (i.e., fomites) is also possible,” the paper reads. 

 “Persons living in or visiting the home of someone with monkey pox should follow appropriate precautions against indirect exposure and transmission by wearing a well-fitting mask, avoiding touching possibly contaminated surfaces, maintaining appropriate hand hygiene, avoiding sharing eating utensils, clothing, bedding, or towels, and following home disinfection recommendations.”

Halal meat: how to start producing Halal meat

 Halal meat

To start producing Halal meat, you need to embrace these four steps: 1) The premises must be for halal slaughtering alone and all necessary permits regarding abattoir, slaughter lines and waste management must be collected.

LEARN MORE : HALAL FACTS.

Halal management: the ethics / tenets of  the halal slaughtering and halal management principles must be followed strictly.

Standard operating protocols: the slaughtering techniques, animal specification clearly spelled out by the Halal protocol must be clearly written out, pasted on walls and practiced.

Halal certification and standardization: the facility and production lines  must be inspected, processes audited to ensure compliance and then certification is provided.

   To tap into this trillion dollar industry, start a niche business: start an halal meat shop.

1)Start an abattoir that is for Halal slaughtering alone. Get the facility registered and certified and create continuous income by providing your facility for Halal slaughtering at a fee and also providing a base for meat export.

2) Decide the type of animal you want to slaughter: cattle, sheep or goat.

3) Slaughter only healthy animals.

4) Process and package beef with the Halal certification seal and start making money.

The Muslim community is growing and many more countries are adopting the Halal method with certification to tap into the trillion dollar industry.

The Muslim population reached 1.8 billion in 2015 and it is expected to be the world’s fastest growing religious group, increasing by 70% to almost 3 billion people by 2060, according to the forecast made by Pew Research Center. 

Very good news for the halal meat industry, seeing that the main driver for this market is set by the Muslim expenditure on halal meat and related products. 

 In the recent years, lots of European countries have decided to support the cause, considering the high profits coming from Muslim markets, as well as the choice in the internal market of many non-Muslims to eat halal meat for ethical reasons. 

                                   DID YOU KNOW? 

The biggest importer of halal-certified food from the OIC countries is Saudi Arabia, followed on the second spot by Malaysia, while UAE, Indonesia and Egypt occupy the third, the fourth and the fifth position respectively in the top 5 leading halal food importers. Meanwhile, the top 10 biggest exporters of halal meat to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries account for a total trade value of $14.04 billion. 

 Brazil is the largest exporter of halal meat to these countries with a trade value worth $5.19 billion, followed by Australia with $2.36 billion and India with $2.28 billion on the second and third spots respectively. 

Other big exporters are as follows: France ($0.8 billion), China ($0.7 billion), Sudan and South Sudan ($0.63 billion), the Netherlands ($0.59 billion), Spain ($0.56 billion), Somalia ($0.47 billion) and Turkey ($0.46 billion).