New Michigan Zoning Order Aims to Fight Bovine TB

For almost 25 years, we have been working to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) from Michigan’s northeastern Lower Peninsula (LP). While bovine TB remains a worldwide issue, the U.S. has seen very little bovine TB since the late 1970s, apart from Michigan’s northeastern LP. It has infected more than 60 cattle herds in this area, where the disease has a natural reservoir in free-ranging white-tailed deer. Unfortunately, the disease still exists, despite much work by agency staff, farmers, hunters, and others. In fact, in 2016 and 2017, Michigan exceeded the number of infected cattle herds permitted by our agreement with the USDA. This caused the USDA to call into question the effectiveness of Michigan’s TB Program and propose downgrading our status. A downgrade in status would decimate the cattle industry in the northeastern LP, impacting the entire state, and costing the industry and taxpayers millions of dollars. If Michigan is fortunate, we may escape a downgrade this time; however, USDA may take more drastic steps in the future. With that said, MDARD, with the support of the DNR, recently approved a new zoning order, updating Michigan’s cattle regulations. These updates create new wildlife biosecurity strategies that farmers will have to implement to minimize the risk of bovine TB affecting their herds.