Bird flu detected in Minnesota dairy herd's milk
A Holstein cow at a dairy farm near Holland, Manitoba, Canada, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. President Donald Trump said he may implement reciprocal tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products, threatening again to disrupt trade with a major US partn
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - H5N1 influenza has been detected in a Stearns County dairy herd as part of Minnesota's milk surveillance plan.
Bird flu detected in herd
Local perspective:
Bird flu was confirmed in the samples collected as part of the surveillance plan on March 21.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has quarantined the herd until they meet testing requirements that indicate it's no longer infected. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health also requires the farm to have three consecutive negative milk tests to be released from quarantine.
Dairy farms are required to dispose of milk from sick animals to remove it from the milk supply.
What they're saying:
"Identifying which dairy herds are infected is important so we can prevent disease spread and protect both animal and human health," Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. "Regular sampling and testing will allow the MDA and partners to identify where the virus is present, monitor trends, and prevent spread of the virus in order to protect unaffected dairy herds and poultry flocks."
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is testing pre-pasteurized or raw cow milk samples that were already collected from each of Minnesota's roughly 1,600 diary farms on a monthly basis.
Dairy farmers are told to monitor their herd and contact their veterinarian right away if a cow appears sick.
For more information on cow cases in Minnesota, click here.