The number of turkeys raised in Virginia this year is expected to total 17 million, according to the Virginia office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The finding is from a Sept. 1 survey conducted in major turkey-producing states.

Turkey is a favorite holiday staple once a year, but Virginia farmers care for their turkey flocks year-round.

September is National Chicken Month, and that’s something to cluck about. A skinless, boneless chicken breast has just 165 calories and contains less than 2 grams of fat. It also packs 31 grams of protein and 4 percent of the daily recommended value of iron and has zero carbohydrates. 

Turkeys gobble up the limelight in the weeks before Thanksgiving dinner, but more than 300 Virginia farmers raise turkeys year-round.

Biosecurity measures on Virginia poultry farms have been important over the past year due to an avian influenza outbreak that started in 2014 in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and California.

Seven separate Salmonella outbreaks across 35 states have sickened more than 300 people—19 in Virginia—in the first four months of 2016 and are ongoing. All of the outbreaks are a result of live poultry in backyard flocks.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance unveiled on Feb. 1 a campaign focused on promoting the role of meat and poultry in a healthy, balanced diet. The Meat Matters initiative counters claims made by activist groups about the nutritional value of animal protein, as well as the sustainability of meat and poultry production.

The National Chicken Council has launched Chicken Check In, a website at chickencheck.in, to provide answers to questions about U.S. chicken production.

Farmers and ranchers are urging the U.S. Senate to follow the House of Representatives’ lead and repeal country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, mandates for beef, pork and chicken.

Virginia’s agriculture community had reason for a pre-holiday celebration when Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced a $2.43 billion bond package on Dec. 9 that will be part of his Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget.