Recording Now Available: Dairy Industry Conference Call on HPAI and Federal Order

Thanks to those of you who joined us for the Dairy Industry Call on Wednesday. Dr. Alex Hamberg, Pennsylvania State Veterinarian, Dr. Ernest Hovingh, Resident Director of the Penn State Diagnostic Laboratory, and Jeff Warner, Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services, provided a review of the new Federal Order guidance and how Pennsylvania will be working to comply with the order, how the pre-testing will work, and guidance on raw milk. Also, this morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Ag released summary guidance on cattle movement.

Note: The next call will be on Wednesday, May 8, at 1 p.m.

If you missed it, the recording is now available:

• Click here to access the recording

Note: The USDA has confirmed that there is no threat to human health and milk. Dairy products remain safe to consume.

Documents referenced during the call included:

• APHIS Requirements and Recommendations for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus in Livestock
• The Federal Order Requiring Testing for and Reporting of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Livestock
• Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Order

USDA Releases Federal Order: Late last week, USDA released the Federal Order to require pre-testing on interstate movement of lactating dairy cattle and mandatory reporting of positive HPAI tests in dairy cattle. Dr. Hamberg and Dr. Hovingh provided their intepretation of the Federal Order guidance during the call.

Pennsylvania Releases Summary Guidelines: Following the call, this morning the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture released summary guidelines for import of cattle to Pennsylvania and additional guidance for livestock markets.

Weekly Calls Scheduled: The Center for Dairy Excellence will be hosting weekly conference calls on Wednesdays in May at 1 p.m. EDT to share regular updates on this evolving situation. The next call will be May 8, 2024. Learn more about the calls and add them to your calendar.

Biosecurity Kits Available: The Center and Penn State continue to offer everyday biosecurity resource kits for producers. Each kit includes a booklet with National FARM’s EveryDay Biosecurity Plan Steps 1, 2, and 3 and a Pennsylvania Supplement prepared for dairy farms to complete. These resources must be completed in the event of a quarantine to allow that farm to receive a 30-day milk movement permit.

For these upcoming industry calls, consider signing up for text alert reminders. We’ll text you a reminder the morning of the conference call and include the dial-in details. Text “Sign up” to 717-585-0766. To receive email reminders, click here to sign up.

Listen to the Recording

Read Federal Order