From: Tahnee Szymanski, DVM Division/Program: Animal Health Meeting Date: 5/27/2026

Agenda Item: Out of State Travel Request

Background Info: As part of the NADPRP National Stop Movement Communication Plan Grant that Animal Health received, we have been engaging with the Livestock Marketing Association and our state markets. We have been asked to attend the upcoming LMA meeting in Deadwood, SD June 16-19 in order to attend and present at a Montana LMA session as well as a larger LMA emergency preparedness session.\n\nEstimated cost for Dr. Szymanski to attend the meeting $1,152 (includes travel in a state vehicle, hotel, and per diem).\n\nRecommendation: Approve the out of state travel request

Time needed: 10 minutes Attachments: Yes Board vote required? Yes

Agenda Item: Update on milk surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)

Background Info: As of May 1, the Department discontinued monthly testing of milk silos for HPAI. This change was made after giving industry members a chance to comment on the change and receiving no feedback. Montana’s largest egg producer was aware of the change and comfortable that discontinuing monthly dairy surveillance did not increase the risk of disease to poultry.

USDA recently announced a change to the National Milk Testing Strategy that will allow lactating dairy cattle from Stage IV/Unaffected states to move interstate without additional individual animal testing for HPAI. Because Montana has stopped conducting silo testing, we will lose our Unaffected Status and lactating dairy cattle leaving Montana will be required to be tested for HPAI per the updated Federal Order. We expect this change to affect a very small number of animals as we do not export many lactating dairy cattle from Montana.

Recommendation: N/A

Time needed: 10 minutes Attachments: No Board vote required No

Agenda Item: Pseudorabies

Background Info: On Friday, May 1, the Department received notification from Washington State that Montana had a swine premises involved in a trace from the recently announced pseudorabies positive premises in Iowa. The Montana premises was placed under quarantine, and all pigs on the premises were sampled for pseudorabies on May 7. All pigs were negative on the initial test. Animals must be resampled between 60-90 days after the affected premises in Iowa completes cleaning and disinfection, so a second round of sampling for the Montana premises will be conducted in June. This incident is the first detection of pseudorabies in the US commercial swine industry in 20 years and appears to have originated with a herd of transitional (outdoor raised) swine in Texas. Testing and investigation continue at the national level to determine the extent of this outbreak.

Recommendation: N/A

Time needed: 10 minutes Attachments: No Board vote required: No