As the year closed out, California’s dairy industry was managing HPAI and its ever-changing landscape. For both HPAI and other issues, CDQAP has been striving to provide industry with timely actionable information. Particularly for HPAI, a focus has been on disease status, treatment options, worker safety and educational resources available for producers. Here’s the 2024 year in review.
- Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza – HPAI-H5N1 or “Bird Flu” was first confirmed in California dairy cattle on August 30, 2024. As of January 7, at total of 718 herds had been identified as infected, with 618 remaining under quarantine and 100 herds having been released from it. Thus far the outbreak has remained in the Central Valley. The virus has also spread to commercial poultry with 61 flocks having completed or awaiting depopulation.
Partnering with CMAB and UCCE, CDQAP provided weekly updates to processors and trade groups, in addition to half a dozen topic-focused webinars, including visitor biosecurity, outbreak management, wild bird control, and emergency funding, as well as ongoing research. Publications have addressed both worker safety and treatment.
CDQAP continues to provide newsletter articles and industry alerts providing time-sensitive, actionable information during the outbreak. In between newsletters, CDQAP distributed advisories on employee safety, PPE, mortality management, cow treatment, testing requirements, the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation, in-person workshops, and collections of producer resources.
- Minimizing Fees Through Certification – Currently, 765 California dairies are certified through CDQAP’s third party environmental stewardship evaluation program and receive a 50% discount in water board fees. The program continues to provide on-farm evaluations year-round for interested producers.
- Dairy PLUS Funding for Sustainable Facilities – CDQAP is part of the groundbreaking collaboration, Dairy PLUS. Part of the USDA-NRCS Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant, the federal-state-industry collaboration provides support for farm improvements which protect both air and water quality. This year, we saw the first round of proposal selections, and 14 projects were funded. Forty-nine applications for the second round of funding were received by CDFA by October 2024.
- Manure Treatment Technology Field Days – As part of Dairy PLUS outreach, CDQAP hosted three field days in May so participants could “kick the tires” on subsurface drip irrigation, vermifiltration, and weeping wall systems. The events provided opportunity to hear first-hand from producers operating systems and ask important operation and maintenance questions.
- New Drone Laws – CDQAP partnered with Western United Dairies in a webinar that hosted FAA and the Sonoma County Sheriff experts to explain farmers’ rights related to drones. Highlights were summarized on Page 2 of the October newsletter.
- Emergency Advisories – During rapidly developing situations, producers have been kept up-to-date and a variety of human and animal health issues. During the brutal July heat event, CDQAP provided heat advisory information about keeping animals and employees safe. Similarly, CDQAP provided actionable information related to the Vesicular Stomatitis outbreak. In November, as the state faced record rainfall, the program sent out flooding resources for livestock owners. Another advisory also warned producers of a non-accredited laboratory making unsubstantiated promises.
- Emergency Mortality Disposal – CDQAP and CDRF successfully partnered in obtaining a grant to examine environmental impacts of dairy mortality composting. The research is nearly completed. Watch for updates in 2025. All of us at CDQAP and our partner organizations wish you a healthy and prosperous new year! – Mike, Denise, and Deanne
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