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Minnesota developing a Secure Milk Supply program

The emergency response director for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture says U.S. livestock producers have never been so vulnerable to animal disease threats.

But a voluntary program is being developed to help mitigate potential losses.

Mike Starkey had a key role during the avian influenza crisis two years ago.

He spoke to dairy farmers attending the Minnesota Dairy Growth Alliance Summit in St. Paul Thursday about the likely consequences of a Foot-and-Mouth disease outbreak.

“Agriculture is really moving to a just-in-time delivery system, and if Foot and Mouth disease were to break in Minnesota, we would be stopping the movement of all animals and animal products.”

Starkey says the University of Minnesota is collaborating with USDA on a voluntary program to keep dairy products on the market in the event of Foot-and-Mouth.

“What can farmers do today, or during an outbreak, that will allow them to move milk from a control area; they are affected but not infected; how can they move that milk to market?  How can they stay in business?  That’s where we need to get to.”

The Secure Milk Supply program requires producers to meet certain biosecurity standards and perform active observational surveillance.

Starkey says similar programs are being developed for Minnesota beef and pork producers, and he believes other states are exploring it too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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