Idaho agriculture officials describe targeted quarantines, milk testing as high‑path avian influenza affects dairy cattle and poultry

Director Chanel Tewalt of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture told the House Agriculture Affairs Committee that Idaho responded to the HPAI event with targeted movement restrictions and farm‑level measures after industry reports of sick dairy cattle from other states.

The update, delivered May (date not specified) by Tewalt and Dr. Scott Lively, administrator of ISDA’s Division of Animal Industries and state veterinarian, explained the department’s approach: restrict movement only where evidence shows benefit, prioritize milk testing and keep nonlactating animals and direct‑to‑slaughter movements available when safe.

The nut graf: ISDA officials said the outbreak presented an uncommon situation for a dairy state because the virus has shown up in lactating cattle and in poultry; Idaho’s policy emphasized production continuity and biosecurity while awaiting federal guidance.

Tewalt said Idaho “very, quietly turned off basically the movement system” early in the event to limit spread and protect producers, and that the state “was the only entity at the time, state or federal, to take this approach.” She told lawmakers Idaho’s restrictions were designed to allow milk and cattle movements where safety could be maintained.

Dr. Lively described the current national and state picture and the department’s operational choices. He said most domestic livestock identifications nationwide have been in cattle and that, as of the committee briefing, 977 of 978 recent domestic livestock identifications were cattle and one was an alpaca. He told the committee Idaho had identified multiple poultry facilities over the past three years and that Idaho had recently added a dairy to its quarantine list after earlier detections.

On milk testing and transmission, officials told the committee that ISDA is testing milk as part of surveillance and that HPAI in cattle has so far been detected consistently in milk. “We know that the disease is primarily existing in the milk,” Dr. Lively said, and ISDA’s quarantines have focused on lactating animals; dry cows, steers and calves remain eligible to move under ISDA’s protocols and animals moving direct to slaughter have been allowed without the same restrictions.

Lawmakers pressed officials on federal coordination, vaccines and household‑level concerns. Tewalt said conversations with USDA were uneven early in the event and that states and industry often had to move before federal direction arrived; she said vaccine rollout raises trade issues that must be resolved before widespread use. Dr. Lively said no cattle vaccine is yet available for this outbreak and that poultry vaccination policy involves complex trade considerations.

Committee members also asked about public guidance and consumer safety. Tewalt told representatives the department is a state‑level resource and encouraged constituents to contact ISDA staff and Dr. Lively for farm‑level questions; she added that ISDA continues to communicate with industry and with consumers about testing and safety. Both officials emphasized that, from ISDA’s investigations, the presentation in dairies has shifted since the spring peak, with fewer clearly symptomatic herds identified in recent months.

The briefing closed with ISDA representatives saying they will continue targeted quarantines, milk testing and biosecurity guidance, and will clear quarantines once virus is no longer detected in milk.

Ending: ISDA officials did not propose new state statute changes during the briefing; they described ongoing discussions with USDA and industry about vaccines, trade implications and future federal guidance.