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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
USDA has rolled out a plan to test the nation’s milk supply for avian flu, which has swept through a large portion of the nation’s dairy herd since March.
House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson is ready to move another extension of the 2018 farm bill, acknowledging to reporters Monday evening that lawmakers are unlikely to consider the measure in the lame duck session. “We’re prepared for an extension,” Thompson said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending several measures to reduce the risk of farmworkers being infected with bird flu as well as testing of poultry and dairy employees who may have been exposed to the H5N1 virus, even if they do not show symptoms of illness.
Animal veterinarians are pushing USDA to move quickly in testing milk nationwide to get a handle on where the H5N1 virus is located so it can be controlled.
USDA plans to sample milk in states where dairy herds have been infected with avian flu, in an effort to stamp out the virus, which was first confirmed in Texas in March before spreading to herds in 14 states.
The hog industry says the U.S. pork supply is safe following detection of H5N1 in a pig from a backyard farm in Oregon, but concerns remain about possible mutations in the virus.
In what appears to be a response to claims amplified by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the dangers of modern agriculture, nearly 270 farm groups from across the country are warning leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees about the importance of inputs such as pesticides.
