Here’s an update on news impacting your dairy as October 2024 comes to an end.

In the news this week, Colorado is mandating weekly bulk tank testing for HPAI in milk for all commercial dairy herds. More than 500 organizations call for action on the new farm bill and reports are released for dairy markets and beef-on-dairy.

As we flip to a new month, here's a recap of the news announced last week regarding financial assistance for dairy producers facing HPAI, as well as testing and research updates. The news also highlights new versions of the FARM Program just released, grant funding for dairy initiatives, and corn and soybean planing reports.

Three new states have detected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a dairy cattle. Last week, state departments in Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming reported cases of the disease, bringing the total of affected states to 12 and number of cases nationwide to just over 90.

While uncertainty still surrounds how humans can get the H5N1 bird flu virus from cattle, dairy producers, supervisors and workers continue their vital agricultural production in the frontline of these unfolding events.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a third human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) virus infection. The USDA is adding an additional $824 million in emergency funding to continue to provide critical rapid response activities and is launching a pilot program to give dairy producers more testing options prior to interstate movement of dairy cattle.

A dairy in Colorado has recently tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) H5N1 virus. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 34 across nine states, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

In response to the threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, the USDA has announced proactive measures aimed at safeguarding the nation's livestock industry. The actions of mandated testing and reporting are designed to curb the spread of the disease.