Washington Ag Department Develops Animal Traceability System

Posted February 14, 2014

The Washington Department of Agriculture is developing an animal traceability system to make searching cattle records easier in the event of a disease outbreak, according to a Capital Press article available here.

Leonard Eldridge, a retired state veterinarian, emphasized the need to fill information gaps during recent meetings.  He said the “state realized it needed a better traceability system after bovine spongiform encephalitis was discovered in a cow in 2003.”  That cow was found to have been exposed in Canada, but the department could not find all the cows that ate the same feed at that facility.

Currently, there are “exemptions for female dairy cattle to be traded in the state without telling the Department of Agriculture,” said Eldridge.  “It’s still a gap today we need to fix.  We need to go to the whole industry and say, ‘Tell us how to do this.’”

A WSDA official said the department is removing the exemption and will announce a rule change in February or March. 

Additional information on the state’s new “Animal Tracks” program is available here.

For more information on animal traceability and food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here and here.

NALC Resource: State Law Clearinghouse

Posted October 22, 2013

The State Law Clearinghouse, available here, is a free resource provided by the National Agricultural Law Center.  

The Clearinghouse is an ongoing project to compile all state statutes that exist in specific topics of agricultural law.  State laws may vary widely from one state to the next, even when the area of law is the same.  This resource allows a researcher to obtain targeted, state-specific information on the issue by providing a complete statutory text along with the date of possible expiration.

Statute compilations posted to date include: Agricultural liens, agritourism, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), animal cruelty, animal identification, biofuels, climate change, farm animal confinement, fence law, recreational use, and right-to-farm.

To use, simply click on a state and a drop down menu will appear with the names of the topics of the statutes that have been assembled for that state.  From there, click on the appropriate state, and a document will open with the applicable information.  If a topic is missing from a state’s drop down menu, laws on that topic have not yet been passed in that state.

Animals and Animal Production Courses

The University of Oklahoma College of Law will hold courses on Animals and Agriculture Production Law and Policy. There is a course for law students as well as a course for attorneys, and they are offered during the Spring Intercession, May 15-22, for two credit hours.

The course aims to build understanding of animal science as involved with legal theory. Students interested in agriculture and the production system will prepare to analyze materials related to agriculture production and respond to issues involved in the use of animals. The course will evaluate legal issues facing the agriculture industry in the face of the animal rights movement.

Two instructors will teach the course. Linda Chezem, J.D., is a professor in the Department of Youth Development and Agricultural Education at Purdue University. Drew Kershen, J.D., is a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Enrollment for the course opens March 25 and closes April 25. Students must have completed at least their first year of law school, with limited enrollment of 24 total students and priority given to students at the University of Oklahoma, University of Arkansas, Penn State, Drake University, University of Nebraska, and Oklahoma City University. If seats are available, students from other accredited law schools will be accepted.

For more information about the courses, click here.

Posted: 3/23/11

NIAA Annual Conference Announces Keynote Speakers

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture will hold its annual conference April 11-14 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference will address "Consumers' Stake in Today's Food Production: Meeting Growing Production Demands with Integrity."

Speakers at the conference will include:

- Dr. Terry Barr, Senior Director of Industry Research, CoBank, Washington, DC

- Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Agriculture Economist, University of California, Davis, CA

- Charlie Arnot, Center for Food Integrity, Kansas City, MO

- Dr. Peter Groot Koerkamp, Professor Biosystems Engineering, Wageningen University, Netherlands

- Ian Reece, Rabobank, New York, NY

- Dr. Molly McAdams, H-E-B Foods, San Antonio, TX

- Mark Anstoetter, Shook Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, MO

- Clint Hickman, Hickman Family Farms, Buckeye, AZ

To register, or for more information on the conference, click here.

Posted: 1/24/11

USDA Drafting New Regulations to Trace Interstate Movement of Livestock

In an effort to reduce illness and death "by making it easier for officials to trace brucellosis, tuberculosis and other diseases to a particular group of animals, location and time, "the USDA is drafting regulations "that would require farmers to identify animals that move across state lines" according to the Associated Press.

In February of 2010, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that USDA was ending the voluntary National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which only had a 40% participation rate.  The new regulations are expected to be implemented in 2013.  For more information on Animal Identification, click here to visit the National Agricultural Law Center's Reading Room on the subject.

In 2009, "more than 19 million of the nation's beef cows and 9 million dairy cows crossed state lines."  Under the new regulations, states "will have authority to decide how to track livestock moving within their own borders, but they will be accountable to the federal government for the system they choose" and accountability "standards would be created to make sure state systems are working."  The new regulations would also require animals to have a certificate of health from a veterinarian.

Animal identification tags "could come from three places: the National Uniform Ear Tagging System utilized by programs such as brucellosis prevention; the 15-digit international standard numbering system; or a numbering system compatible with the USDA's National Scrapie Eradication Program for sheep and goats."

USDA is "holding a series of public meetings on the proposed regulations and plans to have a draft ready by April 2011."

To read the Associated Press story, click here.

Posted: 08/10/2010

House Subcommittee Drops Animal ID Funding

The House Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee cut all funding for the voluntary National Animal Identification System (NAIS) for fiscal year 2011, according to a statement by Chairwoman, Rosa L. DeLauro.

DeLauro states, "We have spent over $147 million on this program since 2004.  And six years later, we still have not seen a clear plan from USDA on successful implementation, even after they shifted to a more fragmented system in 2010.  While the administration asked for $14.2 million for this program, we do not feel it is a good use of resources to fund NAIS until the agency develops a clear plan for a mandatory system with measurable goals, long-term funding levels, and a plan for successful implementation."  For DeLauro's full statement on the subcommittee's appropriations for fiscal year 2011, click here.

The NAIS is a voluntary program intended to trace animals movements in the event of a disease outbreak.  In light of the discovery of "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" in 2003 and other diseases, some are strong proponents of the program.  Others oppose a traceability program citing financial costs, civil rights, and religious concerns.

While NAIS is currently unfunded, many are optimistic that given a clear long term plan, budget, and outcomes, a traceability program is possible, according to Dairy Herd Management.  

The United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) and the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) will co-host a forum to discuss animal disease traceability on August 30-31 in Denver, CO.  The purpose of the forum is to gain input on preliminary standards being developed by USDA's Traceability Regulatory Working Group and facilitate discussion between state and tribal animal health officials, animal owners, livestock marketers and meat processors.  To read the USAHA news release, click here.

For more information on Animal Identification, click here to visit the National Agricultural Law Center's reading room on this topic.

To read the Dairy Herd Management story, click here.
To read the Meat Trade News Daily story, click here.
For more information on the House Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, click here.

Posted: 07/16/2010

Tester Intoduces Meat Safety Bill

On Wednesday, 03/24/10, US Senator Jon Tester (MT) introduced the Meat Safety and Accountability Act. According to the senator's news release, the bill will "significantly improve the ability to trace the original source of contaminated meat."

Tester's news release reports that current law only requires trace backs to processing plants or butcher shops. Yet much contamination can occur earlier in the supply chain--like at a slaughterhouse.

Tester's bill requires the US Food Safety and Inspection Service to use its current, existing budget to design and put in place a new "initiative" that will trace back tainted meat to the original source of contamination. "The bill also improves testing at meat suppliers and individual meat processors in the case of an outbreak."

In the news release Tester states that the goal of the legislation is to hold the right people accountable when there are food-borne illness outbreaks. Tester states in the news release,
"This bill puts more common sense and fairness into the equation as our food travels through the supply chain to the kitchen table. . . This bill will make our food safer to eat by ramping up accountability. And it will help small meat processors in rural America that too often get blamed for contamination that didn't begin with them."

Tester's bill is now heading to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

To read the news release from Tester's office, click here.
To view the legislation click here.

Posted: 03/26/10

Administration Abandons National Animal Identification System

It’s never been the most popular proposal among farmers and ranchers, and so perhaps it should come as no surprise that the administration is dropping the program.

That’s right. William Neuman is reporting in the New York Times online that the Obama administration has decided to scrap to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a program that has faced “stiff resistance from ranchers and farmers[.]” However, the administration is not giving up on the idea of animal identification. Instead, “officials said they would start over in trying to devise a livestock tracing program that could win widespread support from the industry [,]” reports Neuman.

According to the Times article, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack is set to announce the changes today. According to officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity, states will have a larger say in devising the new system, “including requirements for identifying livestock.” Additionally there will be new federal rules that will apply to animals that move in interstate commerce.

This almost certainly means that a massive lobbying effort from the various stakeholders in this issue are about to get very active.

How long the process will take is an unknown quantity, but officials with the USDA estimate it will take two years or more for the federal rules to be ready. Neuman writes that “it was not clear how far the government would go to restrict the movement of livestock between states if the animals did not meet basic traceability standards.”

NAIS was created during the Bush administration in the wake of the first discovery of Mad Cow Disease in the US, and has cost the federal government $142 million to date. The program was not popular with many of the nation’s farmers and ranchers, and in fact, only “40 percent of the nation’s livestock producers” participated, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Secretary Vilsack certainly heard discontent about NAIS when he was on the road this past year. The Times reports that in public meetings Vilsack “was bombarded by strident opposition.”

The USDA will now start working on a new system with the industry and the states. One concern of the industry that will have to be addressed is the potential problem of having fifty different rules for fifty different states. Neuman reports Mary Kay Thatcher, public policy director for the American Farm Bureau Federation, is happy with the decision but is worried that “a new system that could have different rules in every state might not be effective.”

Based on the estimated timeline, expect many more stories on animal identification.

To read Neuman’s article in the New York Times, click here.
To read the USDA news release on the change in the program, click here.
To see the new home page for the USDA's animal traceability programs, click here.
To see the APHIS Factsheet on animal disease traceability, click here.

Posted: 02/05/10

Agriculture Groups urge the end of Animal ID

The Wisconsin Ag Connection online is reporting that a coalition of 100 agriculture organizations have sent letters to both Congress and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking that federal law makers “dissolve the National Animal Identification System” (NAIS) completely.

The letter states the organizations, “'look forward to working with USDA to enhance our nation's animal disease preparedness in a manner that builds upon our past successes and respects the interests of U.S. livestock producers and consumers.'”

Congress, in the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations legislation, reduced NAIS funding to $5.3 million and did not specify how the funds should be allocated. The farm organizations are asking federal lawmakers to use the funds to put an end to the program altogether.

The letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack states, ‘"We respectfully request that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognize the fundamental flaws in NAIS and the public opposition to the program, and not use the $5.3 million appropriated for NAIS to further advance, in any way, this program [.]"’

The Wisconsin Ag Connection reports the groups would like to see the funds used to withdraw “all pending rulemaking” put forward to advance NAIS. They would also like the government to pay the costs for doing this, as well as pay for “all existing contractual obligations and NAIS-related costs that USDA incurred prior to Sept. 30, 2009 [.]” The groups also ask to government to take on additional costs associated with ending the program.

To read the Wisconsin Ag Connection article click here.

Posted: 11/24/09

Brazil May Implement Mandatory Traceability Law

Stock and Land online is reporting that the Brazilian upper house has passed a bill that would implement the kind of livestock traceability program that makes many in the US who raise or keep livestock cringe.

The current system in Brazil is voluntary, but according to the report, the system is “considered to be bureaucratic and not profitable . . .” While the new system would be compulsory, producers would have two years to comply with the system. Proponents of the new system argue it will be simpler and more affordable for producers. The current SISBOV system will not be replaced by the new one; it will “remain as one of the identification options.”

The Brazilian authorities claim the new system is not intended to open up new markets for its producers, “but aims to provide a safety assurance system throughout an animal’s life stages for the whole Brazilian herd, through to the final product supply chain.”

The new law will require all animals to carry identification through one of several different means—from tags to tattoos. Further, those who work in the cattle supply chain must be responsible for maintaining records of transactions involving cattle for five years following the transaction. Invoices must be kept for the same amount of time. “In addition, other documents, such s Animal Transit Records and sanitary inspection records, will be required as proof of traceability.”

The biggest concern of producers over the new system is whether or not it will fulfill the European Union’s requirements for traceability.

To read the Stock and Land report click here.

Posted: 11/09/09

FDA and FSIS to Hold Public Meeting on Traceability

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will hold a public meeting December 9-10, 2009 in the USDA’s South Building Jefferson Auditorium in Washington, DC. The meetings will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The public meeting will deal with “product tracing systems for food intended for humans and animals. The purpose of the meeting is to stimulate and focus a discussion about mechanism to enhance product tracing systems for food. This discussion will help FDA and FSIS determine what short and long term steps the two agencies should take to enhance the current tracing system,” according to the announcement on the FSIS website.

Those interested in food traceability systems that can make the meeting should consider going as public comments can be submitted on sight. Additionally, those interested can submit written material for an oral presentation. The deadline for submitting an oral presentation request is November 23, 2009. Further “A brief description of any oral presentation and any written material for the presentation is due by December 2, 2009.” If you can’t make it to D.C. you can still participate via teleconference.

For more information on this public meeting click here to visit the FSIS website, where you can also register for the meeting.

Posted: 11/04/09

Failure to Register Cattle Leads to Conviction

A Wisconsin farmer, Patrick Monchilovich, has been convicted of violating the state’s law requiring owners to register their livestock. For the Wisconsin Ag Connection article, click here. According to the article,

“According to documents filed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Monchilovich was first contacted in April 2008 to inform him that he needed to register his premises. After he declined, an animal health inspector visited him with a final warning. A month later, he refused delivery of a certified warning letter, which was then hand-delivered to him during a final visit by the inspector and a compliance officer in June 2008.”

This is the second case involving Wisconsin’s animal identification law. Back in September, an Amish man challenged the law arguing it infringed on his religious beliefs. The Amish man’s argument is the law “could eventually result in the tagging of all animals, or the 'Mark of the Beast.’”

For more information on the religious challenge to Wisconsin’s animal identification law, click here.

Posted: 10/26/09

Interstate Response to Animal Disease Outbreak to be Tested

On Thursday of this week, October 22, 2009, the states of Kansas and Oklahoma are going to conduct the “nation’s first emergency response exercise to test interstate coordination and the logistics of implementing a stop livestock movement order when one is issued by state animal health officials.”

As the Oklahoma Farm reports story states, SAMS-KO, stands for Stop Animal Movement Statewide-Kansas Oklahoma. The real-time test to be conducted in coordination between the two states will involve those from state troopers to “area Vets and other who will be stopping trucks as if they were prepared to seal the border.”

The state officials will conduct and direct their respective state operations from the state capitals. The test could likely provide valuable information to other states on how to respond and coordinate with neighbors during a disease outbreak. Once an outbreak occurs conducting trace back investigations and preventing animals from traveling and possibly spreading the disease are timely procedures.

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is an attempt from the federal government to create the trace back procedures and to require the “tagging and record keeping” of certain animals so that a 48 –hour trace-back of the animal’s movement and the other animals that might have come into contact with the sick animal. The NAIS has become quite controversial for both livestock producers and elected officials. There is little word yet on whether or not the plan between Oklahoma and Kansas has engendered the same amount of, or any at all, controversy.

Odds are many states agricultural officials will be paying attention to what happens between the two Midwestern states on Thursday when the test is conducted.

To read the Oklahoma Farm Report story click here.

Posted: 10/19/09

Poultry Safety Improvements Could Be Coming

Rory Harrington has an article out for Food Production Daily online about a new technology that can scan poultry carcasses for contamination. The technology was developed by the U.S. Government and has “been successfully tested in a commercial plant.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), hyperspectral imaging systems have been improved to the point “so that it can detect small amounts of fecal contamination in poultry. Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that combines digital imaging with spectroscopy, creating individual wavelengths of light that pinpoint contaminants.”

ARS scientists worked at the Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit in Athens, Georgia. The work was conducted in conjunction with Stork Food Systems, which is a manufacturer of poultry processing equipment. To test the equipment out, a prototype system was put in a commercial poultry plant so that its performance could be tested under commercial conditions.

“In the trial, carcasses were imaged after evisceration but before washing at a rate of 150 birds per minute. The system ran for several days without hardware or software problems and demonstrated its feasibility, said ARS scientist Bosoon Park.”

This team is now “collaborating” with Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory in Maryland “which has developed an on-line system to ‘differentiate systematically diseased poultry carcasses from wholesome ones.” The same technology is used in this method, only at different wavelengths.

The ARS is now focused with it industry partners to merge the two systems “onto a common platform that includes a line-scan hyperspectral imaging camera, lighting, and operating and detection software.” Merging the two systems could lower costs while improving the efficiency of disease and contaminate detection. The new prototype should be tested before the end of the year, according to the development team.

To read the Food Production Daily article click here.

Posted: 10/12/09

NAIS Program Continues, But With Less Money

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) has been a controversial proposal from the get go. While the program is five years old now, many in animal agriculture have yet to embrace the NAIS. Now the conference committee working on the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill has continued funding for the program for another year.

While the NAIS is set to receive $5.3 million for the new fiscal year, the North Platte Bulletin online’s George Lauby is reporting this is a “significant reduction from previous years, but does not placate opponents of the …program.” Bill Bullard, the chief executive of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), put his organization’s view of the funding decision thusly, ‘“We’re disappointed with the decision [.]”’ The program is designed to be able to trace back an animal’s movements and contact with other animals within 48 hours in case an animal was found to have a disease like “mad cow.”

“The critics say existing livestock records, such as brands, ear tags, veterinary logs and auction barn records do a good job of tracking cattle movements.” Currently the program is voluntary, but is expected that “inevitably every livestock owner will take part.”

While the Senate had approved $14.6 million for NAIS, the House approved no funding for the program. So, the compromise comes in at $5.3 million. So far Congress approved $142 million for the program over the last five years. Yet, the USDA has only registered 35 percent of “animal premises.” There was only a three percent increase in registrations last year despite a funding level of $14.2 million.

To read the article on the funding level published in the North Platte Bulletin click here.

Posted: 10/05/09

Animal I.D. Expo Set For Kansas City

Among the more controversial agricultural issues facing the livestock industry is the ongoing debate over the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). As with other government programs, proposed or existing, there is a lot of misinformation out in the public discourse about how the system will actually work and who will be affected.

To help dispel many of the animal ID myths and to foster an in-depth discussion on the topic, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture is sponsoring the ID INFO EXPO 2009, which takes place August 25-27 in Kansas City, MO. This is the eighth year of the expo. The expo will feature three days of speakers representing the various stakeholder interests.

The first session will feature government and industry experts who discuss the current state of the program based on a variety of issues. The discussion will cover traceability in domestic and foreign markets, the need for a trace back system, state involvement, and Homeland Security needs. The second day will focus on the producer side of the issue, including a discussion on potential costs. The final day will look at the program from the consumer perspective.

According to the story in Pork Magazine, Glenn Fischer, ID INFO EXPO planning committee chairman, hopes that ‘“At the conclusion of the conference, our goal is to have listened and learned so we in animal agriculture can identify solutions that will help advance a system that is animal-health driven, moves toward 48-hour traceability and helps preserve the profitability of our animal agriculture industry[.]”’

More info on the conference can be obtained by clicking here.
To read the Pork Magazine story click here.

Posted: 08/21/09

Challenge to Animal ID Dismissed

A lawsuit filed by the Farmers-to-Consumers Legal Defense Fund attempting to put a halt to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) was dismissed by Federal Judge Rosemary M. Collyer on Thursday, July 23, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

As reported by the Associated Press’s James Prichard and published on Forbes.com, the Judge dismissed the suit because federal law was not implicated and relevant Michigan state law was not addressed in the lawsuit. Judge Collyer’s decision points out that the animal identification program is not federal law or federal regulation. Rather, it is a program developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify and track animals should the need to do so arise. The program is voluntarily adopted by individual state departments of agriculture. To read the AP story click here.

Pete Kennedy, President of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a legal organization that represents farmers and consumers involved in the sustainable-agriculture movement, said the organization was considering its legal options, including the possibility of an appeal. The suit was filed in September, 2008. The organization was joined in the suit by more than a dozen farmers. All but one of the farmers is from Michigan.

In 2007 Michigan became the first state to make some aspects of the animal identification program mandatory. According to the AP, this occurred following the discovery of bovine tuberculosis in the state. The animal identification program was put in to effect by the USDA in 2003. For more information on NAIS from the USDA click here.

Posted: 07/24/09

Senate Agriculture Appropriations Passed Out of Committee

On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the $124.5 billion FY10 agriculture appropriations bill (S. 1406). To view article in the National Journal by Jerry Hagstrom, click here.

According to the article,

[o]f the $124.5 billion in spending, $100.8 billion is for mandatory farm subsidy and nutrition programs, compared with $87.8 billion in the FY09 bill and the President's request of $100.846 billion... The bill includes $23.7 billion is for discretionary programs, compared with $21.3 billion in the FY09 bill and the President's request of $23.6 billion. USDA discretionary programs include food safety, agricultural research and rural development... Nutrition programs comprise about 69 percent of the Senate bill with $86.1 billion including $61.4 billion in mandatory spending for the supplemental nutrition assistance program, also known as food stamps. The bill also provides $16.8 billion in mandatory spending for the school breakfast and lunch program, and $7.5 billion in discretionary spending for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC). The bill increases WIC spending by nearly $700 million above the level in the FY09 agriculture appropriations bill... The bill includes $2.4 billion for the FDA, up $299 million above FY09 and the Obama administration's full request. It also includes $1.1 billion for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, up $47 million over FY09 levels.

The senate bill does provide cuts in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Section 32 program, just to name a few. Finally, the senate’s bill does not include a provision to halt funding of the national animal identification program. But Senator Jon Tester is working on an amendment similar to the House provision, and may offer it on the Senate floor. For more on this issue, click here to view an article by Sally Schuff in Feedstuffs.

To view a copy of S. 1406, click here.

To view a copy of the House's version of the agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 2997), click here.

For more on the House's version of the agriculture appropriations bill, click here for a National Journal article by Jerry Hagstrom.

Posted: 07/09/09

National Animal Identification System Still Struggling

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is once again likely to remain exactly as it is now. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced earlier in the year that the USDA would host a series of listening sessions across the country to gather feedback and ideas on how to improve the currently voluntary program. The number of additional listening sessions was expanded in late May and are still currently ongoing. The feedback that the Secretary has been getting has not been in favor of the program. Animal agriculture groups such as the Kansas Cattlemen's Association have done more than provide feedback to the USDA. According to the High Plains Journal the KCA recentily provided testimony to Congress on the NAIS. The KCA:

detailed how NAIS is not a food safety issue and explained that NAIS is not a disease prevention program, but rather a management and identification program. "The implementation of mandatory NAIS, when looked at critically, does nothing to protect food safety or the health of the consumer. The capability of tracking meat products is lost once the livestock hits the packer. Therefore, since we have a system in place that has been utilized and functions, which takes care of these issues, why do we need to spend another $175.9 million on a program that a large majority of producers do not favor?

Either way Brownfield has reported that the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee cut off the USDA's spending for NAIS stating that the program does not have enough participants to be effective. Secretary Vilsack said that the issue is still on the table since there is still a long ways to go in the appropriations process and that the scheduled listening sessions will still be held.

Posted: 6/19/2009

UPDATE: 32 herds in Nebraska Quarantined because of TB

On June 2, 2009, we posted a blog concerning a herd of cattle quarantined in Nebraska, click here to view blog. On Thursday June 11, 2009, the quarantined was expanded to thirty-one other herds in the Rock, Holt, Loup, Boyd and Brown counties. Click here for Associated Press story. According to state Agriculture Director Greg Ibach,

the other 31 herds have been quarantined because the animals may have had fence-line contact with the infected herd.
The 32 quarantined herds, which must all be tested for TB, are in Rock, Holt, Loup, Boyd and Brown counties. Ibach said other herds could be added to the quarantine if investigators learn they may have contacted the infected herd.
Testing of all the quarantined herds will begin next week, but that will take a considerable amount of time to complete.
"This is a process that will take months, not weeks to complete," Ibach said.

Bovine tuberculosis is considered untreatable and all cattle in a herd are typically killed, regardless of infected or uninfected. According to the story,

[t]he other option is continued quarantine and testing. But an entire herd must have eight consecutive clean tests before the quarantine could be lifted, a process that could take years.

Until the quarantine is lifted none of the herds can be sold until special permits are obtained.

Bovine tuberculosis can be transmitted from cattle to people. But Ibach assured the public, “The chances of a human being contracting this disease is virtually zero," Ibach said.

For more information check out the Nebraska Bureau of Animal Industry’s website set up for this quarantine.

Posted 06/12/09