Sanilac County Youth and 4H Fair Dairy Superintendents are alerting all participating dairy exhibitors and their families of some changes to the 2024 Dairy Show due the recent outbreaks of Bird Flu among Michigan dairy herds and an accompanying order by MDARD.
At the start of May, with summer and fair season on the horizon and an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) still happening across the state, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Dr. Tim Boring signed a “Determination of Extraordinary Emergency, “HPAI Risk Reduction Response Order,” to further protect Michigan’s poultry and livestock industries from the ongoing threat. The order went into effect on Wednesday, May 8, and applies to all dairy and commercial poultry facilities statewide.
While the order is aimed at protecting livestock and poultry populations, it does throw a wrench in traditional planning and exhibiting, with the order prohibiting all lactating dairy cattle and those in the last two months of pregnancy from being exhibited until there are no new cases of bird flu in the state for at least 60 consecutive days. However, despite the complication, the Sanilac County Fair Dairy Superintendents reassure exhibitors and encourage them to sign up and plan on show participation this year, as “no matter the circumstances,[organizers] will have something” for the category.
They also note that if exhibitors or their partnered farms choose to avoid the 2024 show due to their biosecurity plan, they can still sign the animals up and let the superintendents know, as the plans include something for everyone.
“While this Emergency Order is frustrating, we must remember that the health of the overall Dairy Herd, Poultry Flock, and population is most important,” the dairy superintendents noted via the fair’s Facebook page, but they still “will work hard to make the 2024 Sanilac County Dairy Show an entertaining and memorable event regardless of whether or not there are dairy animals present as a result of this order.”
