Minnesota's cattle producers to benefit from change in animal health regulation

A change in federal regulations on bovine tuberculosis is expected to benefit Minnesota cattle producers.

Before they restrict the movement of cattle across state lines, regulators now have flexibility to consider the actual risks of bovine TB transmission and to credit a state's efforts to control the disease. Minnesota Bovine TB Coordinator Joe Martin said the change could save cattle producers thousands of dollars in testing costs.

South Dakota and Nebraska said they likely will now allow imports of untested cattle from most of Minnesota. Martin expressed hope that North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin will follow.

Restrictions remain in place for a pocket of north-western Minnesota where bovine TB has been found in some wild deer and cows.