Keeping the Herd Strong

Keeping the Herd Strong

Keeping the Herd Strong. I'm Greg Martin with Washington Ag Today.

Cattle can sometimes be seen as bulletproof. They're large animals but can often be affected by many small issues and that's something that the cattle industry is working hard to keep at bay. Jack Field with the Washington Cattleman's Association explains.

FIELD: The new state veterinarian, Dr. Joe Baker is in the process of - they have formalized a draft package of rules to look at harmonizing our state import requirements in regards to trichomoniasis regulation. That's a disease that's found in older bulls at times. It causes pre-embryonic failure and increased abortion rates in cows. It can be extremely costly and expensive to both beef and dairy producers and as a result we want to do everything we can as an industry to make sure we've got strong animal health requirements that keep trych out and keep our resident herd healthy.

This is an issue that can create lots of problems for imports.

FIELD: The western states veterinarians are trying to address the patchwork approach that various states have taken in looking at trichomoniasis regulation to have more of a one-stop shop for producers that if they know the entry requirements into Washington that they also could effectively send cattle to Idaho or Oregon, Montana and trying to come up with a more uniform approach to import.

And that's Washington Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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