Federal Order in Effect to Test Bulk Milk for HPAI

Dec 10, 2024

By Hope Kassube

On December 6, 2024, the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) was announced, requiring additional testing for and reporting of HPAI in livestock and milk. The program focuses on testing bulk milk with the goal of eliminating H5N1 in US dairy cattle. Upon request from APHIS, any farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility with raw milk for pasteurization must allow APHIS to test for the disease. Laboratories and state veterinarians must report positive influenza A nucleic acid detection results to APHIS, and owners of positive herds will be required to provide basic epidemiological information, including animal movement logs.

The program can be broken down into five stages:

Implementing national plant silo monitoring
Determining a state's H5N1 dairy cattle status
Detecting and responding to the virus in affected states
Demonstrating ongoing absence of H5 in dairy cattle in unaffected states

With the ultimate goal of:

Demonstrating freedom from H5 in US dairy cattle

This order complements the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture program requiring bulk milk testing for HPAI, which was enacted in November of 2024, and builds on the April 2024 Federal Order requiring mandatory testing for the interstate movement of lactating dairy cattle.

There have not yet been any cases of HPAI in PA dairy cattle, but there have been a total of 720 confirmed cases across 15 states since the beginning of the outbreak.

Source : psu.edu

Video: What Really Drives Meat Quality in Pork? - Dr. Yan Huang

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Yan Huang from University of Arkansas explores how genetics, nutrition, and stress management shape pork quality. He explains how molecular pathways influence fat deposition, muscle growth, and meat flavor while balancing production efficiency. Listen now on all major platforms!

"The most important driver of pork quality. Feed plays a very important role in the meat quality."

Meet the guest: Dr. Yan Huang / yan-huang-77829421 is an Associate Professor in Nutritional Skeletal Muscle Biology at the University of Arkansas. With academic experience across China, South Korea, and the United States, his work focuses on the genetic and molecular regulation of muscle growth and fat deposition in swine. His research connects genetics, nutrition, and pork quality to improve production efficiency and consumer satisfaction.