USDA's recent decision to begin testing raw milk for the H5N1 virus has producers and processors asking questions.
One of the big questions is who is paying for the tests? Dr. Keith Poulsen with the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tells Brownfield that cost is covered. "There is USDA money to pay for those samples. Now, how specifically those samples are actually going to be taken will be up to the states, as far as my understanding."
When it comes to who can do the testing, Poulsen says there are still details that have to be worked out between the states and USDA. "The sampling, let's say whether it is a state milk inspector, or will the states or accredited veterinarians then train certified samplers? How we decide to do that I think will be maybe a little bit dependent on the state and what their industry is like."
Poulsen says states that already have positive H5N1 dairy herds will be testing milk silos first, with the other states joining in soon.