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July 13, 2024
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 26, No. 10
H5N1 marches on Paynes
A perfect t
transition to States, local robots through fairs, shows barn addition take precautions By Stacey Smart By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
In just over three months since it was rst conrmed March 25, highly pathogenic avian inuenza H5N1 has continued to impact the dairy industry, in both incidents and precautions to reduce its spread. As of July 10, the virus has been conrmed on 145 different dairy farm premises in 12 states — Idaho (28), Colorado (30), Michigan (26), Texas (22), Iowa (12), New Mexico (8), Minnesota (7), South Dakota (5), Kansas (4), Ohio (1), North Carolina (1) and Wyoming (1). In the past 30 days, 53 newlydetected cases have been conrmed. They are limited to six states — Minnesota (July 2), Colorado (July 8), Iowa (June 28), Idaho (June 20), Texas (July 8) and Michigan (July 8). In a July 3 press release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a farm worker, this time in Colorado, became the fourth conrmed human case associated with the ongoing H5N1 outbreak affecting dairy cattle, along with one dairy farm worker in Texas and two in Michigan. The worker, who had been exposed to infected cows, suffered from conjunctivitis symptoms, and according to the CDC has since recovered from his infection. Two of the three other affected workers also suffered symptoms of conjunctivitis, while the third presented with ulike respiratory symptoms. While there have been four conrmed cases of cow-to-human transmission of H5N1, the CDC continues to rate the risk of infection to the general public as low. The CDC emphasizes that pasteurization of milk and cooking meat to proper recommended temperatures kills the virus, assuring the public that the food supply continues to be safe. Turn to H5N1 | Page 2
stacey.s@dairystar.com
SULLIVAN, Wis. — When switching to a robotic milking system, the Payne family made sure it could be done with minimal disruption to current facilities. They had built their freestall barn in 2016, so they wanted to maintain the integrity of a setup that was relatively new. By creating an addition to the barn, the Paynes made room for four DeLaval VMS V300 robotic milking units. Turn to PAYNES | Page 6
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Payne family — Brent (from leŌ), Tammy and Daryl — take a break June 26 on their farm near Sullivan, Wisconsin. The Paynes, who milk around 200 cows, began milking their herd with roboƟc milking units in November 2023.
Making the most of the journey Thompson elected as state FFA president By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Jescey Thompson stands by one of his show cows June 30 at his family’s farm near EƩrick, Wisconsin. Thompson grew up showing dairy caƩle.
ETTRICK, Wis. — From the time he was an eighth grader attending his rst state FFA convention, Jescey Thompson has been enamored with the organization. He knew he wanted to further his FFA involvement, and, after suffering a sports-related injury, decided to devote his energy in pursuit of the organization’s blue jacket. Thompson served as the state reporter last year and was elected as president at this year’s state convention which took place June 10-13 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
Turn to THOMPSON | Page 7