1. The News Alerts will return Monday December 1, 2025 - - Happy Thanksgiving!
Rodeos canceled in Oklahoma, Kansas following equine disease outbreak
By Nick Rex
FarmTalkNews.com
November 25, 2025
Major rodeo events in Oklahoma and Kansas have been canceled due to confirmed cases of a highly contagious horse virus.
Two positive cases of Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), a potentially fatal neurological syndrome in horses caused by the EHV-1 virus, prompted officials to cancel the remainder of the Barrel Futurities of America World Championship. The event was originally planned to run Nov. 17-22 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry reported that both infected horses had traveled to Oklahoma from Texas, after participating in the World Finals and Elite Barrel Race Nov. 5-9 in Waco.
The Women's Professional Rodeo Association also confirmed that infected horses began showing symptoms after attending the Waco event.
Two cases were confirmed in Texas by the Texas Animal Health Commission, which added that participants at the Waco event are currently being monitored under hold orders.
Three positive cases were confirmed in Louisiana by the Equine Disease Communication Center, which is monitoring the outbreak.
The Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, originally scheduled to take place in Mulvane, Kansas on Nov. 19-22, was cancelled pre-emptively following the outbreak.
As of Nov. 19, the Kansas Horse Council reported no cases of EHM in Kansas.
Full text: https://tinyurl.com/4vn26tcd
US Equestrian to Host EHV-1 and Biosecurity Webinar Dec. 1
US Equestrian Communications
November 25, 2025
In the midst of the ongoing outbreak of EHV-1/EHM following the WPRA World Finals and Elite Barrel Race, US Equestrian understands that many horse owners are anxious to maintain their horses' health and have a lot of questions about biosecurity and events. Dr. Katie Flynn, senior staff veterinarian at USEF, will be part of a webinar panel hosted by the American Association of Equine Practitioners on Nov. 25. USEF will also be offering its own webinar Monday, Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. Eastern for those who would like to tune in live.
Dr. Flynn will be joined by Dr. Sally DeNotta, board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist and member of the clinical faculty at the University of Florida. Drs. Flynn and DeNotta will review what we know about EHV-1, the current incident updates, best biosecurity practices, and the ways USEF ensures equine health at our sanctioned events. As of this writing, USEF is not requiring all sanctioned events to cancel, but has issued additional biosecurity recommendations for event organizers. Part of that guidance is encouraging organizers to coordinate with state and local animal health authorities to determine whether their specific event can be safely held.
Register for our Dec. 1 webinar and submit your questions in advance at this link: https://usef.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F09Jr14rQB-Mw016SmjJDw
The webinar will be recorded and available after the event.
Full text: https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/us-equestrian-to-host-ehv-1-biosecurity
3. USDA urged to fully restore bird flu surveillance [edited]
Letter from House members warns of ongoing HPAI effects on poultry farmers and food prices.
By Kristin Bakker, Digital Content Specialist, Farm Progress Livestock Group
Feedstuffs
November 25, 2025
Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Sarah McBride (D-Del.) and around two dozen other members of the House wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting the agency to immediately restore avian influenza surveillance and coordination to their full capacity as outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) return in "full force" around the country.
Their letter said HPAI has now become a "seasonal epidemic impacting poultry farmers and driving up grocery prices across the United States."
The effect on consumer food prices is already apparent, as wholesale turkey prices have risen sharply, surging 82% since the same time last year to an average of over $1.70 per pound.
As of Nov. 21, USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service reported outbreaks in 90 commercial and backyard flocks just in the last 30 days, affecting more than 1.6 million birds. APHIS data show that nearly 184 million birds have been infected nationwide since the outbreak started in February 2022.
Full text: https://www.feedstuffs.com/policy/usda-urged-to-fully-restore-bird-flu-surveillance
4. Register for NMC's 65th Annual Meeting
Capitalize on available strategies to prevent, treat and control mastitis, enhance udder health and foster animal health
MorningAgClips.com
November 25, 2025
NEW PRAGUE, Minn. - NMC: The Global Milk Quality Organization invites you to attend the 65th NMC Annual Meeting, Jan. 26-29, at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala. The 2026 NMC Annual Meeting revolves around the theme "What's Best for Her." This event will help the global dairy industry capitalize on available strategies to prevent, treat and control mastitis, enhance udder health and foster animal health.
To view the meeting agenda and/or to register, go to: https://www.nmconline.org/2026-annual-meeting. Book your hotel room at: bit.ly/NMC2026hotel. You may make reservations through Jan. 5 to be part of the NMC room block, which offers hotel guest rooms at a reduced rate.
"Proper care of each cow is essential to produce high-quality milk," stated NMC First Vice President Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University. "When cows live in a clean and comfortable environment, receive regular health monitoring, balanced nutrition and are prepped to achieve clean, dry well-stimulated teats every milking, they experience 'What's Best for Her' care. Healthy, well-cared-for cows naturally produce high-quality milk, which benefits dairy producers and consumers alike," added Thomson, who is serving as the 2026 NMC Annual Meeting Program Committee chair.
Full text: https://www.morningagclips.com/register-for-nmcs-65th-annual-meeting/
5. Bird flu spread by the wind? Poultry veterinarian explains amid outbreak
By Cathy Wurzer and Lukas Levin
MN Public Radio
November 24, 2025
Minnesota is in the midst of another wave of avian influenza. The virus is affecting commercial poultry flocks, wild birds and other animals. The cause could include wind.
"Even back in 2014 and 2015, when we had the really large outbreak of H5, now 10 years ago," said Michelle Kromm, a poultry veterinarian and disease mitigation expert, "there was some suspicions that wind might be playing a role."
There are 21 active cases of bird flu in the state right now, and the majority of infections this year have been in commercial turkey flocks, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
In animals, bird flu is often spread by direct contact or by contact with infected bodily fluids; but a recent investigation by ProPublica showed that wind can indeed be another form of transmission - allowing the virus to travel on dust and feathers blown across the landscape from farm to farm. That finding makes calls for a bird flu vaccine for flocks more urgent.
6. Action Steps for Selective Clinical Mastitis Treatment in Dairy Cows
By Dr. Jennifer A. Ida, Penn State Extension.
Lancaster Farming
November 25, 2025
Selective clinical mastitis treatment - have you ever wondered what's the goal? The goal is to minimize the unnecessary use of antibiotics while protecting animal health and welfare and preventing unfavorable economic outcomes.
Antibiotic use is an important component in emerging antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic use in livestock can be improved to limit its contribution to antibiotic resistance in animals, humans and the environment. Reductions in antibiotic use in livestock have been shown to more significantly impact antibiotic resistance in people who regularly interact with animals. This includes farmers and farm workers.
When implementing selective clinical mastitis treatment protocols, there are several things to consider.
Some nonsevere clinical mastitis cases can resolve without use of antibiotics. This is true for 1) cases in which bacteria is not currently present, and 2) cases that are due to gram-negative bacteria. However, this does not include Klebsiella species.
A recent National Mastitis Council webinar highlighted the importance of dry cow management for promoting health and preventing mastitis.
Cases with low bacteriological cure rates can also be excluded from treatment. These include your chronic cows. When deciding which cases to select for treatment, clinical signs, pathogen identification, somatic cell count and clinical mastitis history need to be considered.
Full text: https://tinyurl.com/ydtz3swv
7. While no one was watching: Tenuous status of CDC prion unit, risk of CWD to people worry scientists [edited]
By Mary Van Beusekom, MS
CIDRAP News
November 21, 2025
Nine days after the government shutdown began, all four staff members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Prion and Public Health Office were sent home after receiving reduction-in-force (RIF) notices. While the end of the shutdown led all four to be reinstated through at least January, layoffs after that time are possible.
Within the past few months, two other researchers who had been part of the team also had to be let go after their fellowship contracts weren't renewed, per the administration's policy of blocking contract renewals.
The prion unit, which monitors the nation for human prion diseases, is part of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. It launched in the mid-1990s in response to the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease") in UK cattle. BSE prions were inadvertently consumed by people who ate contaminated beef, causing the human form of BSE, variant CJD (vCJD). All infected people-more than 230-died.
The initial goal of the Prion and Public Health Office was to watch for any cases of vCJD in the US population. Since then, its focus has expanded to include advising hospitals on how to prevent and respond to prion contamination of instruments used in neurosurgery (prions are resistant to many usual sterilization methods), as well as working with state health departments on disease surveillance. Unit members also answer questions from the public.