The Montana Board of Livestock met Tuesday this week in Helena and I attended the meeting on behalf of MSGA. The board approved changes to the boundary and identification requirements for the Designated Surveillance Area (DSA) for brucellosis in southwestern Montana. The board also voted to move forward with proposed changes to the state’s trichomoniasis rules.
After putting a proposal to expand the boundary of the DSA out for public comment, the board reviewed the comments and voted to include a thumb shaped area in Beaverhead and Madison counties southeast of Dillon in the DSA. This decision was based on a study conducted by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks that found brucellosis-exposed elk in the Ruby Range.
The board also implemented a new requirement that all sexually-intact cattle coming out of the DSA be individually identified. The change follows import requirements recently implemented by several destination states for Montana cattle and a similar rule recently enacted in Wyoming.
The board voted to move forward with proposed changes to the trichomoniasis rule, which will be made available for a 60-day comment period in August.
The proposed rule changes shift focus from state-wide testing for trich to testing and other requirements for two disease management areas encompassing 10 counties (Cascade, Glacier, Ponder and Teton counties, and Big Horn, Carbon, Powder River, Rosebud, Treasure and Yellowstone counties) where the disease has been most prevalent.
Trich testing would be required on bulls within the management areas and no open cows could be imported into the state or sold out of the management areas except to slaughter. Additionally, the rule changes would require trich tags for all trich-tested bulls statewide, and would provide an exemption for grazing association and common grazing herds with approved management plans.
I updated the board on our involvement in the Yellowstone Bison Citizen’s Working group, a diverse, interest-based group working to make consensus recommendations to the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners in regards to managing bison in the Yellowstone area. I also provided the board an update from our association including inviting them to our Cattle Crawl event in August, and letting them know we are working on the grazing fee increase proposal under consideration by the State Land Board, submitting comments on changes to the Clean Water Restoration Act, and submitting comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding proposed “guidance” on farm vehicles and off-road agriculture equipment.
The board’s next meeting will be held Sept. 26-27 in Helena. The board will consider increasing per capita fees at this meeting.