USDA APHIS Takes on HPAI in Dairy Cattle

We are going fast and oh-so-furious in your ag news today, covering the new USDA APHIS raw milk avian influenza testing requirement.

Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, says it’s part of a larger strategy to get rid of H5N1 once and for all…

“This new order is essentially designed to complement the existing order by setting up a five stage testing protocol and response system. Now this is supposed to be completely up and running in about two months. They're going to be starting with states that have demonstrated proficiency in some of their testing programs.”

The testing plan progresses from the local level to eventually reach regionalization…

“In stage one, we’re standing up mandatory testing of national plants and silos. Stage two is determining a state's overall HPAI status in dairy cattle. Now, stage three involves detecting and responding to the virus in an affected state. Stage four will be demonstrating the ongoing absence of avian influenza in dairy cattle. If negative samples continue to show up, APHIS will continually decrease the number of samples as time goes on, eventually leading to stage five, which is demonstrating a state's freedom from the disease.”

Eradication is the goal…

“There are vaccines that are under development, and that will likely be a part of these protocols as we move forward.”

Again, Bernt Nelson with the American Farm Bureau.