USDA Wildlife Services outlines voluntary farm biosecurity assessments and sampling program
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Summary
Wildlife Services briefed the board on a national Wildlife Biosecurity Assessment (WBA) project offering free farm assessments, wildlife surveys and direct control; Minnesota work began in 2023 and has assisted 83 premises with 148 assessments to date.
Jason Gilzdorf of USDA Wildlife Services gave the Board a detailed briefing on the Wildlife Biosecurity Assessment (WBA) project, which began as a four‑state pilot and is now available nationally. Jason said participation is voluntary and the service is free to producers unless mitigation recommendations are repeatedly ignored and leadership elects to require producer cost‑share.
The WBA has three components: an exterior barn assessment (no interior entry), quarterly point‑count bird surveys and nocturnal mammal surveys using thermal cameras, plus direct control measures such as hazing, trapping and targeted lethal removal for non‑protected nuisance birds. Jason described the hazard tiering system (tier 1 direct access, tier 2 secondary hazards, tier 3 attractants) and explained how USDA delivers maps and a Wildlife Biosecurity Management Summary to producers.
He noted capacity limits in Minnesota — six WBA employees covering the state — and encouraged producers to request assessments and for partners to refer possible job candidates. Jason also described on‑farm sampling of captured birds for HPAI testing; he reported 238 wildlife samples collected in calendar 2025 and said most samples were from house sparrows, pigeons and starlings.
The Board discussed how WBA reports can guide producer mitigation, inform BCAP audits, and be paired with industry incentive programs administered by USDA Veterinary Services when producers seek reimbursement for capital fixes.