The 2025 minnesota department of agriculture dairy hpai emergency cooperative agreement funding will contribute to payment for statewide testing of all grade a commercial dairies (milk destined for…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care Federal Grant Program (CFDA 10.025), will provide $272,159.52 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to conduct statewide testing of all Grade A commercial dairies in Minnesota for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The funding will support the collection, submission, and documentation of samples from approximately 1,630 Minnesota dairy farms on a monthly basis. The MDA will contract with industry laboratories to collect the samples and ship them to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for HPAI testing. The surveillance plan aims to test all dairy herds in the state until Minnesota achieves an "unaffected" status for HPAI, enabling a rapid response to any potential outbreaks and preventing further disease spread. The award period runs from February 12, 2025, to February 11, 2026.

The 2025 minnesota department of agriculture dairy hpai emergency cooperative agreement funding will contribute to payment for statewide testing of all grade a commercial dairies (milk destined for pasteurization) to move through stage 2 of the national milk testing strategy and the work activities that will be implemented to collect, submit and document samples and their results. These costs include sample and shipping supplies and contracts with 4 industry laboratories to collect the needed samples. Activities to be performed: the overall approach ensures an equitable and comprehensive sampling is completed of minnesota dairy farms, that statistically significant numbers of samples be collected and builds on existing infrastructure to gain efficiency and avoid disruptions to industry practices. To implement stage 2 milk testing, the cooperator plans to collect samples from each of approximately 1630 minnesota farms monthly for hpai testing at the minnesota veterinary diagnostic laboratory (MN VDL) using samples already collected for other regulatory purposes. The surveillance plan includes testing all dairy herds in minnesota monthly until the state achieves unaffected status and reevaluate sampling frequency. MDA will contract with dairy industry laboratories who will be responsible for collecting samples and shipping them to the minnesota veterinary diagnostic laboratory. MDA will compile and evaluate sample results and conduct outreach to dairy farmers and other affected industry stakeholders. Deliverables and expected outcomes: minnesota will be able to determine the commercial grade a dairy herd status for hpai and potentially quickly identify any non-negative herds through routine surveillance prior to clinical signs enabling the state to respond quicker and prevent disease spread while working to achieve U naffected status. Intended beneficiary(IES): rapid and effective response to hpai outbreak in minnesota minimizes further transmission of disease to other premises and minimizes the impact, to the extent possible, to agriculture trade within minnesota and with OTH ER states. This benefits the minnesota livestock industry, as well as consumers, who continue to have access to livestock and livestock products produced within the state.