April 26, 2024

New Federal Order for Cattle After Detection of Bird Flu Particles in Milk

Earlier this week, USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced plans to expand federal orders, including developing more on-farm tests for cattle, to monitor milk supplies and address the avian influenza outbreak affecting U.S. dairy herds. With media gravitating toward this issue, the FDA confirmed the presence of bird flu particles in some milk samples but stressed that pasteurization deactivates the virus. Despite this revelation, officials maintain the safety of the milk supply. The outbreak has affected 33 dairy herds across multiple states, though most cattle recover and mortality is extremely low.

The CDC also asserted that the risk to the general public remains low, with only one confirmed human case tied to the outbreak, and 44 exposed individuals who continue to be monitored. More than 20 states have implemented restrictions on cattle movement and testing protocols, and the USDA will now require testing for any dairy cows prior to interstate movement. USDA will cover testing costs for dairy producers and is confident testing capacity will not be an issue. California continues to require a CVI within 7 days if coming from an infected state (currently ID, KS, MI, NM, NC, OH, SD, & TX). CAFB has sent additional information out to members on this issue, but please contact Matthew Viohl if you have not received those details. We will continue to update members as this develops. For now, the APHIS order will go into effect on April 29^th.

Webinars on Recently Finalized ESA Rules

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently finalized multiple rules affecting the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. There will be two webinars held to provide overviews of the rulemakings and an opportunity to ask questions. The first webinar will cover classifying species and critical habitats, interagency cooperation, and protecting endangered and threatened species. The second webinar will cover the finalized multiple rules affecting the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Both webinars will provide an opportunity to ask questions. Links to the webinars can be found below.

Two CA Reps to Co-Chair Newly Founded Specialty Crops Caucus

Earlier last week, Reps. Jim Costa (CA-21), David Valadao (CA-22), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) and David Rouzer (NC-07) unveiled the formation of a Specialty Crops Caucus. The four will serve as co-chairs for the group, which is intended to help educate other lawmakers and offices on the agricultural issues most impacting specialty crops around the country. In remarks to reporters, Rep. Costa said “California is the leading producer of specialty crops, with over 400 different crops. Any Farm Bill must include strong, bipartisan support [for them].” As many of these commodities are often more labor-intensive and without direct crop insurance protections, CAFB and others have been pushing for this Farm Bill to be more beneficial to Western producers.

EPA Announces an Update on the Herbicide Strategy Process

The EPA released an update to the Herbicide Strategy process last week. The agency gave an update on three main principles. The proposed strategy — which is primarily designed to provide early mitigations that minimize impacts to over 900 listed species — is one of EPA’s most significant proposals to date and spans nearly a thousand pages.

• Making the strategy easier to understand - The EPA is simplifying the approach and using four tiers – none, low, medium, high – to describe the amount of mitigation needed. The agency is planning to create educational materials that further explain the tiers.
• Increasing the flexibility for growers to implement mitigation measures in the strategy - The EPA expects to expand mitigation measures, especially for specialty crops, to include erosion barriers, reservoir tillage, and soil carbon amendments. The agency is also working with the USDA and other organizations to include additional mitigation measures.
• Reducing the amount of mitigation that may be needed. This is specifically for growers who have already adopted voluntary practices to reduce pesticide runoff or where runoff potential is lower due to geography. The EPA is also considering whether growers could meet mitigation requirements if they participate in ag conservation programs or work with qualified experts to design and implement mitigation measures.

In addition to these three principles, the EPA is working on other changes and the logistics on implementation. They are also working with FWS to refine species maps. The agency expects to publish the final strategy by August 30, 2024. The agricultural industry has closely monitored these developments as there are significant concerns on the potential negative impacts to farm, ranch, and public lands.

Matthew Viohl

Federal Policy, Director

Erin Huston

Federal Policy, Consultant

Isabella Quinonez

Public Policy Coordinator