News

HPAI Federal Order now in effect

Lactating dairy cows are now required to test negative for highly pathogenic avian influenza before crossing state lines.

Alan Bjerga with the National Milk Producers Federation tells Brownfield the USDA Federal Order is meant to protect animal health.

“We need to look very carefully at issues like testing and interstate movement of cattle, and accumulation of data to understand this situation and understand the best way to move ahead,” he says.

He says the commercial milk supply remains safe as the recent Food and Drug Administration’s national commercial milk sampling study confirms pasteurization is effective.

USDA is also requiring laboratories and state veterinarians to report positive test results in livestock to the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Last week, USDA confirmed HPAI was detected in dairy cows in northeast Colorado, the ninth state now reporting the virus in dairy cattle.

AUDIO: Alan Bjerga, National Milk Producers Federation