In this issue
- Staff Update
- Dairy Silo Testing for HPAI
- Poultry HPAI Update
- RFID Tag Readers for Swine
- Livestock Exhibition Rules
Field VMOs: Dr. Ellen Yoakam, Dr. Angela Rospert, Dr. Cynthia Wise, Dr. Lauren Vesprani, Dr. David Contini
Field Animal Health Inspectors: Kalin Turner, Kelsey Short, Molly Roberts, Danny Sweitzer, Heidi Johnson, Nick Wells, Zach Sims, Arlis Young, John McIntyre
Office Personnel: Dr. Dennis Summers, Dr. Kristy Shaw, Cindy Bodie, Heidi Allen, Reagan Crock, Charity Conn, Sarah Martin, Jacquie Keller-Potvin, Moesha Wilson, Joni Vance, Kendra Rowell, Tyler Dollhausen, Lyndsey Biddle
Commercial Dog Breeding: Dr. Melissa Simmerman, Mike King, Ann Wyant, Michele Hanna, Candice Ryan, Caitlin Morelock
Contact us
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Division of Animal Health
8995 East Main Street
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
Phone: (614) 728-6220
Fax: (614) 728-6303
animal@agri.ohio.gov
Interested in free RFID tags? Find out more!
Moving animals out of state? Find the requirements here:
InterstateLivestock.com
Growing Ohio Magazine: Presented by ODA
Your feedback is important to us
To provide comments about the newsletter or to get additional information on any covered topic or service content, please
contact us.
|
|
Staff Update
Lyndsey Biddle - Animal Health Receptionist
Lyndsey is a 2009 graduate of the Bradford School Vet Tech Institute. After earning her Registered Veterinary Technician license, she worked in mixed animal veterinary clinics throughout southeastern Ohio. Lyndsey grew up in Licking County showing horses in 4H and currently resides in Fairfield County with her husband and two children. Next time you are at ADDL please welcome Lyndsey to the Animal Health team!
 |
|
USDA National Milk Testing Strategy in Ohio |
Brian Wise, ODA Dairy Division Chief
Ohio is currently participating in the USDA National Milk Testing Strategy for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) by collecting samples of raw milk from processing silos/tanks located in Ohio. The raw milk being sampled is intended for pasteurization (which neutralizes the H5N1 virus). So, there is little to no risk to public health when consuming pasteurized dairy products that may have been manufactured from milk that tests positive for H5N1. Ohio has been participating in the National Milk Testing Strategy since late January of 2025. To date, milk representing over 95% of the Grade “A” dairy farms in Ohio has been tested, and Ohio remains an unaffected state. This is being conducted and facilitated by Dairy Division staff at ODA.
The National Milk Testing Strategy is designed to facilitate a comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds, and provides a strategy to identify which states and herds within them are affected with H5N1.
If an individual farm wants to participate in the voluntary dairy herd status program, they should contact the Animal Health office for more information.
For more information on the National Milk Testing Strategy and H5N1 in Dairy cattle - visit the USDA website.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Poultry Update
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continues to occur in the United States as we enter the fourth year of this outbreak. Ohio's poultry industry was significantly impacted over last several months in the western area of the state, particularly in Darke and Mercer counties. The ODA website is kept up to date with information on these detections, information on how to submit samples to the lab, ODA and USDA's response during this outbreak, and biosecurity resources. On the web page, there is both a map of current active control areas (under the "Take Action on HPAI" tab) and a list of all detections that have occurred in Ohio (under the "Tracking HPAI Across Ohio" tab).
After a case is detected, ODA and USDA staff work closely with OPA and poultry producers on the response which includes depopulation, disposal, biosecurity audits, and environmental sampling of the premises.
Ohio producers are encouraged to be alert and practice enhanced biosecurity. The Defend the Flock Program with USDA has great information on biosecurity for backyard producers.
If you suspect HPAI in your backyard flock, please call the Division of Animal Health at 614-728-6220.
If you have questions about sick wild birds, please call the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) at 1-800-WILDLIFE.
|
RFID Tag Readers for Swine Exhibitions and Extension Programs
From National Pork Board website
Swine extension, state pork associations, and exhibition sites with an up-to-date Premises Identification Number (PIN) can apply for up to 4 handheld RFID tag readers. These readers can either scan both RFID tags and barcodes or be a longer RFID-only reader designed for chute or pen settings.
Funded by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services through NPB, this initiative helps reduce the cost of transitioning to RFID tags in the swine industry and supports traceability efforts. These readers make it easier to verify animal identification at shows and reduce handling to read ear tags. Though primarily for exhibition swine, they can also be used for other species with electronic IDs.
Funding is available through Sept. 14, 2025. If you’d like to acquire RFID readers or have questions, contact Brent Pepin, NPB director of swine health at bpepin@pork.org.
Livestock Exhibition and Fair Rules
ODA is tasked with determining the regulatory framework for exhibitions of livestock to ensure the food safety of market livestock, health and welfare of the livestock, and provide consistent regulations for the competition. ODA distributes testing supplies and performs urine sample testing for select market livestock exhibited at county, independent, and state fairs. The testing is critical to ensuring the market livestock tested are safe for consumption.
Updates to Chapters 901:1-18 and 901-19 became effective on May 23, 2024. Specifically, chapter 901:1-18 pertains to the importation requirements for exhibition livestock and chapter 901-19 pertains to the practices in preparation to and at the exhibition. To read the regulations in their entirety, please click the links below. There are multiple resources on ODA's website to provide additional information on these including:
ODA Resources:
FAQ Document
Fairs and Exhibitions Newsletter
Fairs and Exhibitions Newsletter- Second Edition
Chapter 901:1-18
Chapter 901-19
If you are an educator, parent, exhibitor, or fair veterinarian and have additional questions, our Fairs/Exhibitions Administrative team is always available to answer questions. If you wish to speak to the team, please email animal@agri.ohio.gov.
|
All past issues of the Quarterly Animal Health newsletter can be found on the ODA website.
|
|
