Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 20, 1994 TAG: 9405200060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Since 1988 Virginia has enjoyed TB-free status, which allows farmers to ship their cattle out of state without testing them for the disease.
But that status has been in jeopardy since the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services quarantined a 287-head herd of cattle in Floyd County on April 12 when several cows reacted positively to a TB test, said Toni Radler, director of communication for the department. Additional tests are being conducted to determine whether any of the cattle actually have TB, with the results due in mid- to late June.
``The culture is proof positive,'' Radler said.
``A loss of TB-free status could cost cattle producers millions of dollars in lost international export business and extra testing,'' said Carlton Courter, commissioner of the department. The cattle industry is the state's largest agricultural sector, with sales of $334 million in 1993.
However, a change in the status probably would not mean that every animal sent to slaughter would have to be tested because inspection procedures already cover that, said Dr. W. D. Whittier, a veterinarian and associate professor at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.
Cattle sent out of state for breeding, showing or selling probably would have to be tested, he said. The costs to farmers could range from $1 to $50 for each head of cattle tested, depending on the ease of testing, the proximity of a veterinarian to a farm and the number of cattle to be tested.
Radler said any international export sales that state farmers conduct would be stopped.
But even if the state does lose its status, it probably would not be for long if the disease can be traced and contained.
``Hopefully we're talking about a couple of months,'' Radler said.
The Floyd County farmer, whom the state declined to identify, is almost certain to lose his cattle if even one is found to be diseased. Practically speaking, he would be forced to slaughter the entire herd.
While the department could not legally force the farmer to slaughter his herd, it could keep the cows quarantined. If he were to have each animal tested, then chose only to slaughter the diseased ones, he would have to continue to test the other animals for five years before moving any of them, Radler said.
``If he did that, it would kind of put him out of business,'' she said. ``I don't really think the farmer has many options [besides] putting the whole herd down.''
That would cost him up to $30,000 in lost sales, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture's payment of $750 for slaughtered TB-infected animals and $450 for those exposed but not infected would probably be less than the animals are worth. The infected carcasses are useless for anything except possibly animal feed; the exposed animals still can be sold for meat, but would likely bring a lower asking price than normal, Radler said.
The department began talking with the farmer in November when Pennsylvania agriculture officials notified it that carcasses at a packing plant there had been found to be infected and had been traced to Virginia. Seventy-six of 78 Virginia operations that had supplied cattle to an Ohio feedlot, which in turn supplied the carcasses to the Pennsylvania plant, have been inspected. Only the Floyd County herd returned positive tests.
Radler said the farmer may have bought cattle from states that now may not be rated TB-free. Whittier said there are requirements that cattle bought outside the state be tested, but it's impossible to say who, if anyone, has broken any regulations.
Still, ``the odds are they got it from other cattle.''
Radler said the farmer has been cooperative with the department. ``He hasn't done anything wrong,'' she said. ``It's not his fault.''
by CNB