A new state regulation is in effect to help control the spread of trichomoniasis in Oklahoma cattle, according to the Oklahoma agriculture department.
The new addition to the existing Oklahoma Cattle Trichomoniasis Program went into effect July 1 and will be fully enforced Jan. 1, 2011.
Rod Hall, director of Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Animal Industry Services Trichomoniasis Program, said the new legislation involves the change of ownership of a bull within the state of Oklahoma and will require a negative trichomoniasis test within 30 days of the transfer.
“Change of ownership can come through private or public sale, lease, trade or barter,” Hall said. “Exceptions to this mandatory testing includes bulls less than 24 months old that can be certified as virgin bulls, bulls consigned directly to slaughter; and ‘cutter bulls’ that will be castrated and put on feed within 10 days of purchase.”
Rodeo or bucking bulls that travel to an event and then leave the state are also exempt.
Regulations already in place regarding breeding bulls entering Oklahoma from other states stipulate that bulls must be tested negative for trichomoniasis within 30 days of entry and be identified with an official identification device. Acceptable ID are silver metal USDA tag, 840 RFID tag, registration tattoo or brand if accompanied by a copy of registration papers.
Three negative culture tests at least one week apart or one negative PCR test meets the Oklahoma trichomoniasis testing requirements.
With approximately 2.4 million breeding females in Oklahoma and an average of one bull for every 25 cows, Hall estimates there are about 96,000 bulls in the state.
“I believe we can conservatively assume we have a 3 percent infection rate in Oklahoma bulls. If each infected bull is exposed to 25 cows with a 15 percent calf loss, it would result in 10,800 calves lost,” he said. “At $500 for each calf, the cattle industry would face a total loss of $5.4 million annually. In a herd with a compact breeding season, a trichomoniasis infection can decrease calving percentages by up to 50 percent. This is devastating for a calf crop.”
