Senate Agricultural Committee adopts multiple rule dockets: animal‑industry, Grade A milk, CWD updates, quagga quarantine and temporary depredation rule

The Idaho Senate Agricultural Committee approved a package of rule dockets and temporary rules from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture covering animal‑industry regulations, Grade A milk standards, environmental nutrient management language, chronic wasting disease (CWD) clarifications for captive cervids, a quagga mussel quarantine in the Mid‑Snake, and a temporary rule implementing the legislature’s depredation reimbursement framework for wolf and grizzly losses.

Why it matters: The rules update procedural and technical requirements used by industry and regulators — including modernization of electronic animal health certificates, disease‑testing standards for captive cervids, and emergency quarantine boundaries and inspection requirements for aquatic invasive species. The changes affect producers, veterinarians, dairy processors, wildlife and conservation stakeholders, and recreation users in the affected waterways.

Major items and committee action

- Animal‑industry rulemaking (docket 02‑0403‑2401): Dr. Scott Lively, administrator of the Division of Animal Industries and Idaho’s state veterinarian, presented a negotiated rewrite and cleanup of the animal‑industry rules. The package removes several redundant incorporated documents (including federal NPIP references that are administered by USDA), updates accreditation and health‑certificate references, clarifies that electronic certificates (CVIs) are acceptable without requiring a printed paper copy, and streamlines quarantine and transit provisions that duplicate Title 25 of Idaho Code. The committee approved the docket by voice vote.

- Electronic certificates and data standards: Lively explained that the National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials sets data standards for electronic health certificates and that Idaho operates a free electronic CVI platform for licensed and accredited veterinarians. “If you have an electronic CVI, you don’t need to print it out. You can have it on your…