Magna Carta News
Monday, February 16, 2004
Animal disease control
Oklahoma House of Representatives
February 16, 2004
By MIKE W. RAY
House Media Division Director
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Measures to cope with potential outbreaks of animal disease such as "mad cow" or avian flu, and to reduce repulsive odors emanating from concentrated animal feeding operations, have been endorsed by the House Committee on Agriculture.
House Bill 2217 by Rep. Elmer Maddux would allow a licensed managed feeding operation (LMFO) or a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) to exceed its authorized capacity if:
-- an animal that is confirmed or suspected of being diseased is found at the facility;
-- the owner of the facility has reasonable cause to believe one or more of his animals has or may have a disease that would cause a public health emergency, a substantial and imminent economic hardship to the owner or to animal herds throughout this state, or if the state Board of Agriculture issues an order imposing temporary restrictions or a quarantine restricting the movement of people, livestock, machinery and
personal property out of a licensed managed feeding operation.
Under no circumstances could the facility's animal unit capacity be exceed for more than five days after a "confirmatory test" indicating whether an animal is or is not diseased. The bill mandates that a confirmatory test would have to be performed within 20 days of discovery of a diseased or potentially diseased animal at the facility.
A producer is not likely to wait three weeks to get such a test performed; he/she will submit the animal to testing as quickly as possible, Maddux asserted. The 20-day limit was incorporated into the bill simply because there is no time limit imprinted in state law now, the Mooreland Republican said.
"Anything we can do to ensure the safety of the food chain is beneficial to the public," Maddux added.
State law defines a LMFO as a hog farm of more than 1,000 animal "units": 2,500 hogs that weigh more than 55 pounds each, 10,000 hogs that weigh less than 55 pounds apiece, or a combination of the two. A CAFO is any high-volume animal feeding operation but typically refers to cattle or the 13 wet-waste poultry farms in Oklahoma.
House Bill 2623 by Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, would direct the State Board of Agriculture to develop "a test of approved odor abatement, reduction and control methods..."
The bill also would instruct the Board of Agriculture to "conduct research, investigation and interpretive programs pertaining to odor abatement, reduction and control methods for animal maintenance, waste storage, land application and carcass disposal..." The state agency would be required by HB 2623 to coordinate those efforts with Oklahoma
State University and Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
The bill also would allow any LMFO to claim a tax credit against its license renewal fees if it invested directly in an odor abatement technology project, or if it donated funds to OSU and/or Panhandle State to support odor abatement research. The credit would equal 95 percent of the odor abatement project cost or the financial donation to research;
if the credit exceeded the license renewal fee, the unused portion of the credit could be carried forward for up to five years.
The Agriculture Committee, which is chaired by Covey, gave "do pass" recommendations to HBs 2217 and 2623. Both measures now will be submitted to the entire 101-member House of Representatives for consideration.
-30-
Oklahoma House of Representatives
February 16, 2004
By MIKE W. RAY
House Media Division Director
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Measures to cope with potential outbreaks of animal disease such as "mad cow" or avian flu, and to reduce repulsive odors emanating from concentrated animal feeding operations, have been endorsed by the House Committee on Agriculture.
House Bill 2217 by Rep. Elmer Maddux would allow a licensed managed feeding operation (LMFO) or a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) to exceed its authorized capacity if:
-- an animal that is confirmed or suspected of being diseased is found at the facility;
-- the owner of the facility has reasonable cause to believe one or more of his animals has or may have a disease that would cause a public health emergency, a substantial and imminent economic hardship to the owner or to animal herds throughout this state, or if the state Board of Agriculture issues an order imposing temporary restrictions or a quarantine restricting the movement of people, livestock, machinery and
personal property out of a licensed managed feeding operation.
Under no circumstances could the facility's animal unit capacity be exceed for more than five days after a "confirmatory test" indicating whether an animal is or is not diseased. The bill mandates that a confirmatory test would have to be performed within 20 days of discovery of a diseased or potentially diseased animal at the facility.
A producer is not likely to wait three weeks to get such a test performed; he/she will submit the animal to testing as quickly as possible, Maddux asserted. The 20-day limit was incorporated into the bill simply because there is no time limit imprinted in state law now, the Mooreland Republican said.
"Anything we can do to ensure the safety of the food chain is beneficial to the public," Maddux added.
State law defines a LMFO as a hog farm of more than 1,000 animal "units": 2,500 hogs that weigh more than 55 pounds each, 10,000 hogs that weigh less than 55 pounds apiece, or a combination of the two. A CAFO is any high-volume animal feeding operation but typically refers to cattle or the 13 wet-waste poultry farms in Oklahoma.
House Bill 2623 by Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, would direct the State Board of Agriculture to develop "a test of approved odor abatement, reduction and control methods..."
The bill also would instruct the Board of Agriculture to "conduct research, investigation and interpretive programs pertaining to odor abatement, reduction and control methods for animal maintenance, waste storage, land application and carcass disposal..." The state agency would be required by HB 2623 to coordinate those efforts with Oklahoma
State University and Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
The bill also would allow any LMFO to claim a tax credit against its license renewal fees if it invested directly in an odor abatement technology project, or if it donated funds to OSU and/or Panhandle State to support odor abatement research. The credit would equal 95 percent of the odor abatement project cost or the financial donation to research;
if the credit exceeded the license renewal fee, the unused portion of the credit could be carried forward for up to five years.
The Agriculture Committee, which is chaired by Covey, gave "do pass" recommendations to HBs 2217 and 2623. Both measures now will be submitted to the entire 101-member House of Representatives for consideration.
-30-
