# Bovine Tuberculosis



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I am beginning to have great concerns about BT....seems that it is beginning to make a comeback again....and is beginning to spread into the deer herd....again. I saw recently where 2 large bovine herds(Dairy & Beef) in Northern Michigan have tested positive. What was once thought to be eliminated or under control is starting to re-emerge sporadically across the country. Right now it seems to be concentrated in the Northern reaches of our country. What a devastating thing this could evolve into.

Regards, Mike


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I'm not quite old enough to remember the TB in Dairy herds but I'm told it was a nightmare. On our family farm my great-grandfather and grandfather bought a trailer load of cattle 3 times a month out of Canada, and we also had a auction barn on our farm. I remember the constant battle taking blood samples from cattle and injecting the cattle for the TB test and catching them again 3 days later to read the test. All Dairy herds in Pennsylvania needed to do that test annually as well I think that went away for now .


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## Uphayman (Oct 31, 2014)

We've been living this nightmare for many years. Even though the U.P. is a "TB free" zone, we can't move cattle to Wisconsin for sale , without pita testing. Basically we no longer have a market for our cattle there. The testing requirements have pretty well closed any heifer raising opportunities ,etc. Any untested animals going into Wisconsin, go directly to slaughter.

I do not see this issue resolved in my lifetime. The whitetail deer have more political clout, than the dairy and beef farmers in this state. Devastating is an understatement !


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Here is a informative short read put out by the PA Game Commission. If BT sees widespread expansion in the North America deer herd there will be no way of control....it will be over for the beef industry.....and others.

Regards, Mike

http://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wildlife-RelatedDiseases/Pages/BovineTuberculosis.aspx


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Problem we have in Michigan is a whole generation of 'deer hunters' that don't no a what a scrape or buck rub looks like (let alone, know how to scout, even for a runway). Their way of 'hunting' is to put down a 1 ton pile of carrots, sugar beets, apples or corn as a bait pile, then place their blind 25-30 yards away and shoot whatever shows up on the pile.

For a couple of years, we had a law, that limited the bait pile to 2 (two) gallon, spread out. Kind of like apples would naturally fall from a tree. That way if an infected deer was to take a bite out of an apple per se, it would pick up the remaining apple and eat it. With a pile, which apple did the deer just drop, happens, so he grabs another, spreading his saliva. (For those who don't know one way TB spreads is saliva.)

For the hunters, two gallons would mean you would have to 'resupply' the bait pile and that would require some effort (lord forbid). And the gas stations wouldn't be selling as much bait (it is not uncommon to see a station with pallets of bait at every gas pump island here in Michigan in the fall).

I know of a local farm family, that had 3 to 4 thousand bushels of old corn in the bottom of their grain bin this fall, decided to bag it up in 50# bags. They put out 30 bags a day at $6 bag, sold out every day with the honor system. They sold out, fines and all (not bad getting $8+ bushel, cash either).

I am a long way from the TB zone, but still had the 'opportunity' to catch all my herd on year (twice) for testing. Now I just have the 'opportunity' to purchase the ID tags, before the critter can leave my farm (even for slaughter, it must be tagged). One of my favorite sayings is "by God, we can track every cow in Michigan is, but we sure don't know where the terrorists are. How come we don't put tags on them when they come here?"

Oops, showing my disgust with the government again (and possible picking on the poor terrorists).

Larry


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