USDA to Aid Dairy Farmers During Bird Flu Outbreak

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Friday that it will be providing financial support to farmers to improve "on-site biosecurity" to mitigate the outbreak of the avian flu virus which has spread across dairy cattle.

Bird Flu, known as H5N1, is often deadly in poultry and can be transmitted to other bird and animal species. The recent outbreak has occurred in dairy cows, alerting experts as to the possibility of wider contamination. The mortality rate for cattle is less than 1%. As of Thursday, the CDC has confirmed the virus has now spread to a least 36 herds in nine states with one confirmed human transmission.

The USDA will provide up to $28,000 per premises to support additional protection and testing measures which include PPE for employees, reimbursed veterinary costs, safe options for milk disposal and more frequent testing. In total, the agency plans to make $98 million available to fund the protective measures.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reports that the agency wants to give states an incentive to act. "We don’t necessarily have jurisdiction today over what happens inside the state. States are now considering and thinking about the possibility of preventing movement of sick cows or movement of cows without negative tests. We obviously encourage that and support that," he said.

The USDA pointed to the low mortality rate of the virus in their press release writing, "Dairy cows that have H5N1 generally recover well and there’s little mortality associated with this disease. It does dramatically limit milk production, which can cause economic loss for producers with affected premises."

The USDA has indicated it will compensate farms for loss of production due to H5N1 contamination.

Dairy farmer advocates have noted that while the additional funding for safety is helpful, the compensation of farmers for loss of milk production is most needed said Fred Gingrich, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. "The lack of funding has a been a major impediment to timely and accurate reporting, which is critical," he said.

On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed legislators that the agency is making preparatory measures in case the current avian flu can mutate and transmit to humans on a massive scale.

The FDA has found that about 20% of raw, unpasteurized milk from bulk tanks contained virus samples. The agency noted that "no evidence of live virus" was found in pasteurized milk, which is the vast majority of milk consumed in the United States.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) released a statement on Friday, thanking Vilsack for his leadership in helping dairy farmers. "Care for farm workers and animals is critical for milk producers, as is protecting against potential human health risks and reassuring the public," said President and CEO Gregg Doud.