USDA Consolidates Regulations for Laboratory Testing

Jan 30, 2020

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is making it easier for animal diagnostic laboratories to carry out vital livestock disease testing on behalf of the agency. USDA is updating regulations that outline how the agency approves laboratories outside the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) and the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) to conduct official testing for animal diseases, as well as how they can remain approved. USDA will now use a single, user-friendly process for laboratory approval and consolidate the existing regulations into one location. [Source: USDA 23 Jan 2020]

Approved laboratories play a vital role in our animal health efforts, by providing us with proven, accurate results in a specific timeframe. We rely on these laboratories every day to provide clear information about the health status of the nation's many herds and flocks. These changes will make it easier for laboratories to understand what they need to do to become approved and remain approved to conduct a wide variety of official tests for USDA.

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Video: Cleaning Sheep Barns & Setting Up Chutes

Indoor sheep farming in winter at pre-lambing time requires that, at Ewetopia Farms, we need to clean out the barns and manure in order to keep the sheep pens clean, dry and fresh for the pregnant ewes to stay healthy while indoors in confinement. In today’s vlog, we put fresh bedding into all of the barns and we remove manure from the first groups of ewes due to lamb so that they are all ready for lambs being born in the next few days. Also, in preparation for lambing, we moved one of the sorting chutes to the Coveralls with the replacement ewe lambs. This allows us to do sorting and vaccines more easily with them while the barnyard is snow covered and hard to move sheep safely around in. Additionally, it frees up space for the second groups of pregnant ewes where the chute was initially.