What's Happening?
In early 2024, the H5N1 virus, or HPAI, infected dairy cattle in Texas and has since spread to dairy cattle (and some people) in many states. HPAI has not been detected in New England or New York, but the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State of Vermont want to limit HPAI’s spread. USDA is working to eradicate the disease in dairy cattle across the United States.
Toward that end, USDA announced a mandatory raw milk monitoring program at dairy processing facilities across the United States to monitor and identify HPAI on dairy farms beginning in December of 2024. Because a large volume of Vermont milk is exported and processed in other states and commingled with milk from numerous other states in dairy plants, determining the identify of the source farm(s) or state(s) of a positive test result from comingled milk may be necessary.
To address this challenge, the mandatory processor samples will include farm BTU (Bulk Tank Unit) numbers enabling USDA to contact states that may be the source of the positive HPAI result in the commingled sample. If a silo milk sample tests positive for HPAI, USDA will contact all states that shipped milk to that silo based on BTU information. Each state will then be expected to either prove that its dairies are free from HPAI or identify the source farm(s) that has/have HPAI.
The objective is to protect public health and the dairy industry, which is why VAAFM will proactively sample cow dairy farm bulk tanks throughout Vermont to protect our dairy farmers and farm workers, safeguard herd health, and allow the continuation of normal dairy operations across our great state.
USDA’s mandatory testing program will start in early December 2024. VAAFM personnel will collect raw milk samples from farm bulk tanks, starting with monthly samples. The monitoring program is expected to continue until further notice from USDA. The ultimate goal of the monitoring program is to achieve nationwide disease eradication of HPAI in bovine cattle.
Why is Vermont Implementing Bulk Tank Testing?
- Establishing Benchmark Testing Data: By conducting monthly bulk tank samples for dairy farms, we anticipate that Vermont will be able to demonstrate that our farms’ milk is HPAI free. This will allow Vermont to be ruled out quickly as a suspect state when commingled raw milk from numerous states is tested by USDA at dairy processing facilities. Knowing each Vermont farm’s status will allow the shipment and processing of milk to not be interrupted and normal business operations to occur.
- Early Detection and Response: Studies indicate HPAI can be detected up to two weeks before clinical signs appear in cattle. If any Vermont dairy should contract HPAI, early detection enables prompt containment, treatment, and improved herd health.
- Cross-Species Risk: Many dairies operate near farms with poultry, increasing the risk of cross-species, cross-sector transmission. States impacted with HPAI in bovine cattle have had transmission from dairies to poultry operations resulting in poultry depopulation, economic losses, and industry tension.
- Potential Regional Disease-Free Status: If Vermont and surrounding states can reach a disease-free status with USDA, existing lactating animal movement testing could be reduced. Disease free status may increase buyer confidence in Vermont milk.
More Detail
- Samples will be processed at Cornell University’s certified lab and results will be reported to VAAFM within approximately one to two weeks.
- VAAFM will only notify farms of positive HPAI sample results.
- Sample results from individual farms are considered confidential and exempt from disclosure under the public records act. Data related to the HPAI monitoring program will be compiled anonymously.
- If a farm’s milk tests positive for HPAI, VAAFM’s Animal Health section will contact you to discuss how to protect yourself, your employees, and your herd, and they will also review how to mitigate the spread of HPAI to other farms.
- If a Vermont farm’s milk tests positive for HPAI, milk destined for pasteurization will be allowed to ship, because pasteurization effectively inactivates the HPAI virus in dairy products.
For questions or concerns related to sample collection, please contact the Dairy Section at 802-828-2433.
For additional information on HPAI please contact the Animal Health Section at 802-828-2421.
National Milk Producing Federation (NMPF) Bulk Milk Testing Explainer (PDF)