California Voters Save Big Farms and CDC Testing More for H5N1

**A major victory for the meat industry as California voters in Sonoma County overwhelmingly voted down a controversial ballot proposal to phase out large farms.

www.agriculturaldive.com reports Measure J, which about 85% of the voters opposed, would have banned large livestock farms, or concentrated animal feeding operations.

The ballot measure spurred broad pushback from farmers, who expressed concern the loss of large farms could have ripple effects throughout the ag economy.

**A recent study shows some dairy workers had signs of H5N1 infection even when they didn’t report feeling sick.

As a result, the Centers for Disease Control called for more testing on farms affected by bird flu.

The study concluded farmworkers in close contact with infected animals should be tested and offered treatment, even if they show no H5N1 symptoms.

Of the 115 farmworkers tested, eight had antibodies that indicated previous bird flu infection.

**Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA is funding new projects in nearly every state to lower costs, expand access to clean energy and strengthen American farms and small businesses.

Vilsack says this new round invests more than $256 million in loans and grants that will support more than 1,100 clean energy projects in 40 states.

Most of the new projects are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.