CDQAP: Bird Flu, Forage Sampling, Dairy PLUS Workshops

The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) published its latest update this week, with excerpts below. Read the entire update here.

For many producers there is a no more pressing concern than the identification of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle. As of this writing there has been laboratory confirmation of HPAI infection in 26 herds in 8 states including Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Idaho, Ohio, South Dakota and North Carolina.

The disease syndrome has not been reported in California nor in beef cattle in any state. As new rounds of testing are completed, there will likely be additional infected herds identified. Importantly, there is epidemiologic evidence that the disease has been passed from infected herds to uninfected herds through the transfer of infected, but asymptomatic cattle.

So much guidance, so little time.
Producers are understandably concerned about protecting their herds and you can’t swing a barn cat around without hitting a new guidance telling producers what to do. USDA and NMPF have both produced biosecurity recommendations. CDQAP outreach has focused on California producers. CDC has released interim guidance for employees on infected farms. The list of recommendations seems to grow overnight.

We still don’t know exactly how the virus is passed from bird-to-cow or from cow-to-cow, making it challenging to have confidence in prioritizing specific preventative actions. Over the last several weeks however, laboratory and epidemiologic investigations have yielded important clues about which actions might be effective.

Wild birds introduced Bird Flu to Midwest cattle: it could happen in California too.
Genetic sequencing of virus samples from both affected cattle and wild birds found on affected farms confirmed the same HPAI strain and lineage that has been circulating within North American wild birds for the last several years. The same strain was also detected in barn cats and the single human case in a dairy employee. This has led both researchers and regulators to conclude that wild birds were the source of the original virus introduction of into the Midwest dairy industry.

This same viral strain has been circulating in wild birds in California, with almost half of the state’s counties reporting HPAI detection in wild birds over the last year. This raises the specter of West Coast dairy herds becoming infected from wild birds independent of importation of infected Midwest cattle. CDQAP and CDFA will deliver more outreach on wild bird control on dairies soon.

Continue reading here.

Forage Anyone?
By Deanne Meyer, Ph.D. Livestock Waste Management Specialist, Department of Animal Science, 
UC Davis and UC ANR

The wet winter has given way to peak activity for harvest. Do remember to take appropriate representative samples for analysis.

Sampling forage from each field where manure was applied is an important component of nitrogen management. A composite sample from each field consists of grab samples from multiple truckloads. To get best results take multiple grab samples from truckloads throughout the field. The more variable the field the more loads to grab samples from for the composite. Chill or refrigerate individual grab samples until you’re able to make the composite. Mix these together on a tarp or in a bucket and remove a composite. Store composite samples in an ice chilled area and deliver to the analytical laboratory as soon as possible.

Continue reading here.

Dairy PLUS Practice Field Days Coming in May – Watch for Registration Info
Stay tuned for more details on where you can see practices first-hand and learn if these technologies are a fit for your farm:

• May 16 – Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) with Manure Effluent
• May 23 – Vermifiltration
• May 30 – Weeping Wall