When Disease Hits a Small Farm

After one of his herd tested positive for TB, a Michigan farmer found himself in a bureaucratic tangle that may put him out of business

by David E. Gumpert

When federal and state agriculture regulators learn of a potential farm disease outbreak, they quickly move in to isolate it by slaughtering not only diseased animals, but other animals that may have been exposed to the diseased animals, and quarantining the affected farms. Just such a containment process is currently under way in Britain to contain Avian flu in turkeys (see BusinessWeek.com, 2/5/07, "Bird Flu Outbreak Rattles Britain"). And recently gaining attention is a two-year-old USDA program called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), under which approximately 500 million-plus farm animals are to be identified via special digital tags, with the goal of speeding up the disease-identification/containment process.

It all sounds pretty straightforward. But how does the containment process work in practice?

Doug Kirkpatrick, who sells beef, turkey, chicken, and pork direct to consumers from his 160-acre farm in the small western Michigan town of Herron, knows exactly how it works, thanks to an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in one of his cows in late 2005. The glimpse he offers into the realities of containing farm disease isn't one to inspire confidence among owners of small farms.

Debra Eschmeyer, program director for the National Family Farm Coalition, a Washington-based organization, says some farmers worry that NAIS could be misused by the government to quarantine more farms and slaughter more animals than necessary, wreaking financial havoc on these businesses. "Everything is going to be available on one central database. It's easy to see it being abused…. The small farmer is oftentimes the easy target" for regulators, she adds.

Downward Spiral

Kirkpatrick is a case in point. His cow and pig herds have been destroyed, but he still awaits government approval to resume farming—a one-year delay that has put his business on the brink of collapse.

His troubles began in late October, 2005, when a dozen of his 55 cattle tested positive for bovine tuberculosis in a required annual test by the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA). This isn't an unusual occurrence. Deer routinely expose cows to the disease and the vast majority tested further turn out not to actually have the disease. But having even a single cow test positive is enough to warrant a quarantine of the farm until tests eventually exonerate the exposed animals. Unfortunately for Kirkpatrick, further testing over the next few weeks determined that one heifer possibly had TB, and that sent Kirkpatrick's farm into a downward spiral.

Regulators seized that animal in mid-November, and paid Kirkpatrick market value. But they also continued the quarantine of his farm, which meant he couldn't buy or sell any animals, and ordered more sophisticated tests to confirm for certain that the heifer had TB. When the test came back positive in early December, regulators gave a further order: destroy the entire herd of 55 cattle, along with Kirkpatrick's prized herd of 16 purebred Berkshire hogs. (Neither MDA nor USDA officials would discuss the specifics of Kirkpatrick's case, citing confidentiality and privacy restrictions.)

"Emotionally Awful"

Before the animals were confiscated, Kirkpatrick had the opportunity to negotiate compensation with a certified livestock appraiser assigned by the USDA. Though his leverage was minimal, Kirkpatrick figures he received pretty close to fair market value—nearly $56,000 for 47 cattle and 10 pigs (see BusinessWeek.com, 2/8/07, "What's in the Stew?"). (He was allowed to slaughter the remaining cattle and pigs for his own use.) And the regulators determined his 220 chickens and 240 turkeys weren't in danger of contracting TB, so would escape slaughter.

What may seem a simple process was in fact full of problems for Kirkpatrick, 56, who has owned the farm for 10 years since making "a mid-life change," leaving a career in construction to pursue his passion for farming.