From staff reports WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Association of State Department of Agriculture Senior Director of Public Policy RJ Karney gave legislative and policy updates during the National Association of Farm Broadcasters annual Washington Watch event in Washington, D.C. recently.
“One of the main priorities for NASDA right now has been the focus and attention on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the dairy industry,” Karney said. “This has been one where we have been making sure there is a lot of collaboration occurring between the states and the federal government, ensuring that we understand this is an animal issue. This is one that NASDA, our state departments of ag and our state veterinary officials, and also APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) are working a strong collaboration to make sure they can find workable solutions for the dairy industry and members at large.”
Emphasizing the message of pasteurization’s effectiveness in removing viruses and other harmful bacteria, Karney said, “That is probably what a lot of our attention has been on, but also ensuring that with the new federal order that came out, how is that going to be impactive for the dairy industry and the dairy farmers so that they understand what these new testing requirements entail? With our state Department of Agriculture and with our state chief veterinarian officers, how is that testing going to unfold?”