In dairy-related news as we start the third week of January 2025:

Lee karen
Karen Lee
Managing Editor / Progressive Dairy

Six more states added for national milk testing

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced an additional six states are enrolling in the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS). This brings the total number of states testing under NMTS guidelines to 36 since the first round of states joined in early December.

The six states enrolling in the strategy include: Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina and West Virginia.

With the additional states, the NMTS will account for bulk milk tank samples from two-thirds of the nation’s dairy herds, or nearly three-quarters of the nation’s milk production.

The goal of the NMTS is to conduct mandatory, nationwide bulk milk surveillance in all 48 contiguous states to further enhance understanding of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 presence among dairy herds for the USDA and its federal partners.

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The testing involves five stages that describe a state’s testing activity and the presence of H5N1 in that state. Of the 36 states enrolled as of Jan. 17, 17 states are considered to be in Stage 2, meaning they have state-level bulk tank sampling programs already underway. California, Michigan and Nevada are considered to be in Stage 3, meaning that they are affected states that have rapid response measures in place to address detections. Sixteen states are in Stage 1, meaning that silo testing is underway or is set to begin imminently. Mississippi has moved to Stage 4, which means all dairy herds in the state are considered to be unaffected. Mississippi will continue sampling to demonstrate absence of the virus.

As part of the National Milk Testing Strategy’s sampling of milk silos and bulk tank milk, APHIS has not detected any affected herds in new states without previous confirmed detections.

However, Michigan, a state that has effectively managed positive herds, was able to detect a previously unknown infected herd through their NMTS efforts and bulk tank testing program. This is a strong indicator that the strategy is working as expected, is performing effective surveillance of HPAI in the national dairy herd, and it underscores the need for continued monitoring and surveillance efforts at the bulk tank level.

WSU leading H5N1 communication efforts for dairy workers

As a result of previous COVID-19 messaging work, Washington State University’s (WSU) Murrow College of Communication researchers were tapped by the USDA to create H5N1 messages to reach dairy workers to help keep them and their herds safe.

The WSU team sought input from farmers and scientists to develop a communication toolkit for extension agents to help dairy farmers respond to the H5N1.

The project was funded by a $90,000 USDA grant. The WSU team will continue to collaborate on this project with EXCITE, an interagency effort between the USDA and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention focused on health in rural and other underserved communities.

For more details on the project, read Murrow leading national H5N1 communication effort for dairy workers.

U.S.-Indonesia dairy partnership empowers farmers to enhance Indonesian dairy sector

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) debuted its Training for Farmers Program earlier this month in Bogor, Indonesia. The training marks a key milestone for the U.S.-Indonesia Dairy Partnership Education project, a joint effort launched in 2024 among USDEC, New Mexico State Department of Agriculture (NMDA), New Mexico State University and their Indonesian partners Global Dairi Alami, Cimory and Ultrajaya.

The Training for Farmers program, more than a year in the making, is a critical initiative of the U.S.-Indonesia Dairy Partnership (USIDP), which supports Indonesian dairy farmers through in-person and online training in critical areas such as farm management practices, cattle health, nutrition and disease prevention.

The Indonesian dairy industry has an important role to play in the country’s Free Nutritious Meal Program, which plans to fight malnutrition by providing school children and other at-risk populations with access to proper nutrition through consistent milk consumption.

Currently, there are 160,000 dairy farmers across Indonesia, caring for (as of 2023) more than 513,000 dairy cows in the country, 98% of which are located in Java. The inaugural training session was attended by 20 dairy farmers from Bogor and its surrounding areas.

In addition to in-person education, the program enables trainers and farmers to access and use training modules remotely through mobile devices, sharing live and recorded trainings that can reach farmers across the country with customized insights that can help elevate farmer skills and increase outputs.

The program’s goal is to train 100 dairy farmers this year alone to improve dairy industry production and, in turn, access to high-quality nutrition, throughout Indonesia.

Dairy’s Foundation awards grants to strengthen dairy education and outreach efforts

Dairy’s Foundation has awarded five grants to programs focused on building healthy and vibrant dairy communities across the U.S.

As the only public-held national foundation supporting dairy education and initiatives across the entire dairy industry food chain, Dairy’s Foundation provides financial support for programs that nurture the next generation of dairy leaders, develop the skills of current dairy farmers and strengthen the bond of trust between consumers and producers.

This round of grants will support:

  • Animal Agriculture Alliance in Arlington, Virginia, to support the 2025 College Aggies Online program that connects college students nationwide through a nine-week program to build their skills and confidence as effective advocates for agriculture, with a focus on participant retention and outreach.
  • Columbia Community Creamery in Chewelah, Washington, for signage, displays and printed materials in the planned CCC Dairy Education Center that will provide a permanent location for education programs including producer meetings, dairy education presentations and school activities to increase producer knowledge and public trust.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, New York, for the development of video, multimedia and display materials to raise consumer awareness of food and dairy production at the Agricultural Awareness event at the Delaware County Fair.
  • Dairy Discovery in Alto, Michigan, for “Cow Camp” day camp program for children ages 6 to 12. The program introduces young people to dairy farming and agriculture as well as providing career development and leadership opportunities for older students through the C.A.M.P. COWnselor program.
  • KC CHEESE for Youth in Kent County, Michigan, to fund a professionally designed graphic wrap with educational information about dairy for the KC Moobile Milk Parlor that has been built for use at county fairs and as educational opportunity for area schools, organizations and events.

The next deadline for grant applications is June 1. More information is available for grant seekers at the Dairy Foundation's website.