August 21, 2008

Minnesota could be split state for bovine TB status

The US Department of Agriculture could declare Minnesota a split state for bovine tuberculosis control within weeks, according to a report posted Tuesday on the Web agriculture database USAgNet quoting US Representative Collin Peterson (D-Minn.).

"We expect by the end of this month or the first of September that the split-state status will be approved by USDA," Peterson said to USAgNet in an interview last Saturday.

The 2008 state legislature created a 164-square-mile bovine TB disease management area and a program to buy out farmers' cattle herds within that area. Northern counties have been the site of 11 infected beef cattle since the first discovery in 2005.

The state of Minnesota is under the federal designation of Modified Accredited by the USDA, the third of five categories that outline strict regulations for the testing and movement of cattle across state lines for bovine TB. Cattle moving from the state must adhere to strict health inspections and certificates.

Officials at the state Board of Animal Health hope the USDA will allow the state to be split into two zones, with a concentrated bovine TB management area in northwest Minnesota and the rest of the state classified TB Free with no restrictions, the USAgNet story said.

As of the end of July, 45 herd buyout contracts had been signed by producers in the management area, who receive US$500 per head plus US$75 per animal per year until Minnesota regains TB-Free status, a Minnesota Board of Animal Health news release said. All animals that are part of the buyout must be removed from the zone or slaughtered by Jan. 31.

The Board of Animal Health estimated 67 producers in the zone eligible for the voluntary buyout and that 6,800 cattle will be removed.