When I was searching for Z words in agriculture, I felt sure I'd go with the straightforward zucchini or maybe zero tolerance. Then I stumbled into zoonoses and BAM! I needed to write about that. Well, if I could figure out what to write. Hope I do the subject justice.
White House briefing room visit with Seth — now that's a job!
See, Seth took that job as avian flu was a big concern. It was a time when folks like me who love to travel around the world were being more cautious. Extra shots for various things didn't seem as big of a deal and we wished there were shots for avian flu. We also weren't sure whether we could get medicines while traveling in other world areas so before we went to the airport, we'd get prescriptions and held onto them. Well Seth was one of the front line forces in monitoring diseases that may move with wildlife migration, how those animals could cause problems for farms and ranches and potentially on us as people.
As I looked around for resources online, I actually found some research Seth compiled on feral hogs. So the wild pigs that run around…. if you aren't familiar with them, count yourself lucky. Those are some mean sons of guns. In the Delta, I heard of people being chased up a tree by the darn things! Well Seth and some colleagues wrote a paper about a program they had to monitor feral pigs, diseases carried and their proximity to livestock, etc. It is the kind of thing I never had thought of until Seth took that job. What's cool as I looked though the info, it seems Seth and the experts agree that the US has a vigilant program that has done well staying on top of these potential threats.
My friend Seth tells me there is nothing for farmers or consumers to be afraid of and awareness plans and programs are scucessful like the one with feral pigs. Since Seth is certain wildlife and agriculture are able to coexist and even thrive side-by-side, I am too!
And the A to Z Challenge is a wrap!
It is done! 26 posts, each on a word within agriculture that starts with specific letter of the alphabet! I know, it was to have wrapped up in April and I got a couple of days behind, but I stuck it out and have ended up being proud of all my posts — I don't feel like any of them were slapped together just to get it done (though I must admit I considered that a couple of times! LOL. Have you seen the other letters? You can see the other posts in this series by clicking on the logo at right and reviewing the letters, or by browsing the A to Z ag tag archives.
Should Your Dog Be Sleeping In Your Bed?
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