Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA’s new H5N1 Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program provides an incentive for dairy farms to participate in a testing regime so they can move dairy cattle more freely across state lines.

“Which would be a benefit to many producers who are currently not impacted or affected by the virus.”

Vilsack says there are many factors to consider when figuring out how Influenza A spreads and it’s not just the transfer of livestock.

“It might be even more importantly the number of people who come on a farm who then leave that farm to go to another farm and whether or not biosecurity has been fully implemented on both farms. It could be the equipment that comes on the farm is used at another farm.”

He says as H5N1 continues to spread, USDA is challenged in making sure dairies understand the importance of biosecurity not only for their farms, but for other farms in their community.

Vilsack says thousands of H5N1 tests have been conducted from both cattle and milk.

“We’re trying to corner the virus so that over time it dissipates and we get to a virus free herd and virus free state.”

Enrollment for the H5N1 pilot program is expected to begin this week and USDA says producers should reach out to their state veterinarian for more details.

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