The United States Department of Agriculture on Friday announced they will require the testing of unpasteurized milk samples in Michigan and five other states (Colorado, California, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oregon) for bird flu. The move is the latest in a nationwide effort to contain an outbreak of H5N1 that has hit the dairy industry.
In a statement, the USDA said that its new federal order “requires the sharing of raw milk samples, upon request,” from dairy farms as well as processors and bulk transporters of milk.
The order also requires dairy herd owners to provide info on infected cattle with the department for “contact tracing and disease surveillance.” In addition, private lab and state veterinarians must report samples that test positive for H5N1.
The order set up a five-stage plan that entails testing of silos and tanks to identify herds with cattle that test positive for H5N1, using “rapid response measures” to contain any spread, and continued testing until the virus is absent.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the plan would give farmers “better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves,” and help control the spread of H5N1.
According to the USDA, Michigan led the nation in milk production-per-cow and was sixth in milk production in 2023. The state produced over 12 billion pounds of milk that year.
Michigan agricultural officials have been aggressively working to limit the spread of avian flu in dairy herds. The avian flu has infected two people and been found on 30 farms so far this year.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development says that testing will occur once a month for farms and the process “has been designed to be minimally invasive to dairy operations,” according to a statement on their website.
State officials say they emailed dairy farmers about the testing change last month. “Sampling is largely occurring with existing milk samples in coordination with laboratories,” the statement read.
“Not knowing how many herds in the state were infected was a limiting factor in being able to predict and to be able to prepare and to be able to reduce risk,” said Phill Durst, a dairy and cattle expert with Michigan State University Extension.
“This new order by MDARD through USDA will let us know about all the infected herds in the state,” he said.
Durst emphasized that dairy products are still safe thanks to the pasteurization process killing the H5N1 virus. He said the overall dairy supply will likely not be impacted.
“Not all herds go through it at the same time or the same level,” he said.
