Hoping to eradicate bovine tuberculosis before it spreads beyond a corner of northwestern Minnesota, the state House unanimously passed a $6.2 million program Thursday that would provide for cattle buyouts, fencing and livestock testing.
The bill also includes an additional $1.2 million, offered by the Minnesota Cattlemen's Association, to pay a $1 bovine TB control assessment on each head bought in the state in 2009. The money would go to the Board of Animal Health for control measures.
Rep. Dave Olin, DFL-Thief River Falls, said he expects the bill that he sponsored will go before the Senate next week and that Gov. Tim Pawlenty will sign it.
Pawlenty appointed a state bovine TB coordinator this month and has expressed support for efforts to wipe out the infectious respiratory illness, which poses a threat to the state's cattle industry.
"There's general agreement that the forceful nature [of the bill] is necessary," Olin said.
The bill contains $3.35 million to reimburse ranchers and farmers for herds in the area of the TB outbreak, and to cover most of the cost of fencing cattle to keep them separate from deer.
Animals bought by the state would be slaughtered.
The state would pay $500 per head and $75 each year for each animal killed until the outbreak is arrested. The buyout program would be voluntary, but cattle owners in the outbreak area who don't participate would have to agree to a risk assessment and fencing if necessary.
