In this Issue:

• Headlines
• Avian Influenza Update
• FDA Says Pasteurization Works
• USDA Doesn't Find HPAI in Ground Beef
• FSA Issues Annual Policy Reminders to Farmers and Staff
• EPA Adds Two PFAS Chemicals to Superfund List
• Market Administrator's Bulletin for April
• Upcoming Events

Headlines

articles and press releases of interest this week

• Fairlife Forms New Partnership with Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Ledecky
• Colombia Becomes First Country to Restrict U.S. Beef Due to HPAI
• UGA Study Shows All Students Benefit from Healthy School Lunches
• U.S. to Test Ground Beef in States with HPAI in Dairy Cows
• Milk Prices Hold Steady
• Mexico Matters to U.S. Cheese Markets
• Lactose-Free Milk Pilot Drives Consumption
• No DMC Payment for March 2024
• Canada Dairy Trade Dispute with New Zealand Rolls On
• Michigan Department of Agriculture Issues Biosecurity Order for Dairy and Poultry Farms
• House and Senate Ag Committees Release Summaries of Farm Bill Drafts

HPAI Testing Procedure for Dairy Producers

The USDA APHIS federal order on movement of dairy cattle took effect on Monday, April 29. Per USDA, all lactating dairy cattle moving across state lines must be tested for avian influenza prior to movement.

Cull Cows

According to USDA, lactating dairy cows can move to an in-state sale barn or slaughter facility without a test. If a lactating dairy cow is moving from a sale barn to a slaughter facility, the animal will just need a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection or other documentation approved by the State Veterinarian.

Testing Protocol

First, if a producer needs to move lactating dairy cattle out of state they should contact the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health Division at animalhealth@agr.georgia.gov or call 404-656-3667. 

USDA’s order states that licensed veterinarians should pull samples for testing, but producers are encouraged to contact Georgia Milk or GDA if they do not have a veterinarian that can come pull samples. 

Samples must be taken from each quarter and combined into one sample between 5-10 mL. UGA’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories in Athens and Tifton will test samples. The diagnostic labs sent out an email with instructions for veterinarians and producers sending samples to the labs. Farms will need their National Premises ID number to submit samples to the diagnostic lab. Contact GDA to get your premises ID if you don’t already know it.

Samples must be collected and negative tests results obtained within 7 days prior to movement.

Other Key Points

Clinical (symptomatic) lactating dairy cattle are ineligible for interstate movement or movement to slaughter. Herds with a positive test for avian influenza are not eligible for interstate movement for 30 days from the most recent positive test. After that 30 day period, animals must be tested again and receive a negative test before movement. 

USDA’s order also requires laboratories and State Veterinarians to report positive avian influenza tests to USDA APHIS. In Georgia, avian influenza detections are reportable regardless of species. Prior to this order, some states only had reporting requirements for avian influenza in poultry and/or wildlife.

Resources for Dairy Producers

USDA HPAI in Dairy Cattle Resource Page

USDA Order on Movement of Lactating Dairy Cattle

USDA Additional Guidance on Movement Order

USDA Movement Order FAQ

Secure Milk Supply Biosecurity Website

UGA Veterinary Diagnostic Lab Email Guidance

Important Contacts for Dairy Producers

Georgia Department of Agriculture Animal Health Division

404-656-3667

animalhealth@agr.georgia.gov

Georgia Milk Producers

Bryce Trotter 

229-221-3906

bryce@gamilk.org

UGA Veterinary Diagnostic Lab - Athens

706-542-5568

athndlab@uga.edu

UGA Veterinary Diagnostic Lab - Tifton

229-386-3340

dlab@uga.edu

Additional Resources for Dairy Producers

• Updated HPAI FAQs
• HPAI FAQS (Spanish)
• Updated HPAI Recommendations for Producers
• National Milk Producers Federation Webinar (4-30-24)
• F.A.R.M. Program Biosecurity Resources
• EPA Registered Products to Kill Avian Influenza

FDA Confirms Pasteurization Eliminates Pathogens - Including HPAI

Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration released a statement announcing the agency’s ongoing testing of retail dairy products for avian influenza. The initial findings by FDA showed virus particles in pasteurized dairy products, but that the agency expected to find these particles as pasteurization kills pathogens but does not remove the genetic material from the milk. 

Late on Friday, April 26, the agency released an update on its second round of tests which involved injecting the virus particles from positive samples into embryonated eggs to determine if the virus was capable of replicating in the egg. Initial reports of this second study showed the virus was inactivated by pasteurization and incapable of replicating and spreading after heat treatment. On May 1, FDA made an additional announcement stating that all 297 samples tested negative for activated virus. These samples came from fluid milk, cottage cheese, and sour cream products in 38 states.

This confirms what the dairy industry and health officials have long known: that pasteurization ensures a healthy and wholesome milk supply for consumers across the U.S. HPAI cases does not affect the safety of pasteurized dairy products.

FDA Advisory: Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

CBS News: Pasteurization Kills Bird Flu in Milk

New York Times: Pasteurized Dairy Foods Free of Live Virus



GMP Classifieds

Special thank you to GMP E-News sponsor Kreeger & Associates LLC. Check out www.kreegerdairy.com or call 517-294-3484 to learn more about current listings and upcoming auction events.

Want to showcase your business to dairy producers and industry professionals across the Southeast and US? Email info@gamilk.org to learn more about how you can advertise in the GMP E-News



USDA Tests Beef for H5N1 Influenza Virus

While we’re talking about food safety, let’s talk about ground beef. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced earlier this week that it was collecting samples of retail ground beef from the states with confirmed cases of high path avian influenza in dairy cattle. FSIS has been testing beef samples for traces of avian influenza and will partner with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service to conduct cooking studies where they will inject a “virus surrogate” into ground beef and then cook it at different temperatures to see how the virus is inactivated by cooking it. 

Yesterday, FSIS reported that the raw ground beef samples all tested negative for the presence of avian influenza. The cooking studies are ongoing, and FSIS is also studying muscle tissue samples from condemned cull cows at slaughter facilities to determine if HPAI can be identified in the muscle tissue of dairy cows. To date, no reports of virus in muscle tissue have been made. There was one necropsy case in Kansas in April that found some virus particles in lung tissue of a dairy cow from an affected herd, but no positives in muscle tissue have been found.

Beef Magazine’s Ann Hess has a detailed summary of the three studies on the beef side as well as additional info on FDA’s milk study.

Beef Magazine: USDA to Test Beef for H5N1

US News & World Report: No Sign of Bird Flu in Ground Beef



Farm Service Agency Issues Annual Policy Reminders to Farmers and Staff

Every year, the Farm Service Agency sends out a list of reminders for farmers to improve service at local FSA offices and also to help answer frequently asked questions the agency’s field staff receive.

In an email earlier this week, USDA sent out a reminder on important FSA procedures that impact producers including information on how to update payment information if you change banks, reminders that producers should receive a “Receipt for Service” after every visit to the FSA office, payment limitations, and more. 

You can read the full email and get up to date on FSA procedures and policies HERE.

EPA Adds Two PFAS Chemicals to Superfund List

Last week, we touched on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new ruling on setting acceptable PFAS limits on drinking water. PFAS stands for per-and polyfluoroakyl substances and are often called “forever chemicals” as they do not break down as quickly as most commercial and industrial chemicals. After our E-News went out, EPA announced a second decision to add two particular PFAS chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, to the list of substances covered under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund.

Agriculture groups like National Milk Producers Federation worry that extending Superfund coverage to PFAS could inadvertently classify farm land with PFAS contamination as Superfund sites. The American Farm Bureau detailed the implications of this ruling in an action alert to members. Essentially, the concern is that PFAS have been found in soil and ground water and that farmland could be swept up into the Superfund Act and listed as hazardous or contaminated. This would tank land values and potentially require farmers to undertake remediation efforts even though they did not generate the chemicals in the first place. 

To calm this concern, EPA also issued an enforcement discretion policy to clarify that the agency will focus its enforcement activities on “parties who significantly contributed to the release of PFAS chemicals into the environment.” According to EPA’s official press release on the new policy, “the agency’s intent [is not] to pursue certain parties such as farmers, municipal landfills, water utilities, municipal airports, and local fire departments, where equitable factors do not support seeking CERCLA cleanup or costs.” This is vital to farmers because Superfund sites are appropriate federal funds for remediation and decontamination on a priority list, and rural farmland would likely fall to the bottom of that list over time.

EPA Announcement

Farm Bureau Action Alert

Market Administrator's Market Bulletin for April

The following is the Southeast Market Summary from the F.O. 6 & 7 Market Bulletin. To read the entire publication from the Market Administrator’s office.

The minimum order uniform price for payment to producers supplying the Southeast Order marketing area during March 2024 is $22.07 per hundredweight for milk with a 3.5% butterfat test in Fulton County, Georgia. This is .965 times the uniform skim milk price of $11.23 per hundredweight plus 3.5 times the uniform butterfat price of $3.2099 per pound. Payment to producers may be adjusted by location differentials, if applicable, and by properly authorized deductions. Receipts of producer milk during March 2024 totaled 320.2 million pounds. There were 15 regulated pool distributing plants, 1 pool supply plant and 9 cooperative associations submitting reports of receipts and utilization that were included in the computation of the uniform prices for March 2024. Total in-area Class I route disposition was 292.2 million pounds in March 2024, an increase of 15.1 million pounds from February 2023.

April Market Bulletin for FO 6 & 7

Until Next Time,

Bryce Trotter