April 3, 2008

LANSING - Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Don Koivisto today announced that the state will receive close to $3.5 million in emergency funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to aid Michigan’s bovine Tuberculosis (TB) eradication efforts.

“Michigan has entered a critical phase in the disease eradication program, and the continued support demonstrated at the federal level is paramount to its success,” said Koivisto. “Bovine TB prevention strategies will give trading partners and consumers greater confidence that Michigan’s dairy and cattle exports are disease-free, which is vital in today’s global marketplace.”

Bovine TB is an infectious disease that is close to being eradicated in the United States, but still poses a significant risk to domestic livestock, wildlife, companion animals, and humans throughout the world.

"Bovine TB presents an ongoing threat to Michigan's economy by endangering the livestock our farmers and cattle ranchers need for their livelihoods. We must also protect deer herd and wildlife from this dreaded disease,” said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “I will continue to work with the Michigan Department of Agriculture to ensure our state receives the funding needed to eradicate the threat of bovine TB."

MDA will utilize these funds for stepped up prevention efforts, increased disease surveillance activities, and reimbursement for state farmers who must depopulate a bovine TB-infected cattle farm.

MDA has also implemented bovine TB testing regulations and movement controls - such as electronic identification and movement certificates - designed to detect disease early on and prevent cattle infected with bovine TB from moving to another farm. Michigan tested over one million cattle from 2000 through 2003 and continues to test throughout the state. To date, no TB has been found in cattle outside the bovine TB Zone.

The Bovine TB Eradication Project partners and the Michigan cattle industry have been working on the eradication of bovine TB since it was first identified in free-ranging white-tailed deer in northern Lower Michigan in 1994. To date, the state has spent approximately $97 million to respond to this disease.

The Michigan Bovine TB Eradication Project involves a multi-agency team of experts from MDA, the Michigan departments of Natural Resources and Community Health, Michigan State University, and USDA.

For more information on Michigan’s bovine TB eradication project, visit: www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.