ST. PAUL, Minn. — Like Minnesota, the state of Texas is strong in livestock. But Minnesota, including the University of Minnesota Extension’s livestock team, has long led in research and education on preventing the spread of disease among farms, especially since the 2015 outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza and the 2024 spread of avian influenza into dairy cows.
Zong Liu, Extension engineer at Texas A&M Agrilife, Extension Service and Agrilife Research, recognized Minnesota’s expertise. “Minnesota has dairy, but you also have a lot of poultry, and with the influenza outbreaks you were very well prepared,” says Liu. “A collaboration between Minnesota and Texas, states from totally different regions big in livestock, can have a national impact on improving biosecurity.”
Erin Cortus, Extension agricultural engineer, collaborated with Liu to create a playlist of 16 videos covering planning, outbreak prevention strategies, concerns for small-scale farms, emergency preparedness and more.
In casual conversations set on a park-like campus square, Cortus interviews Abby Schuft, Extension livestock educator; Dr. Carol Cardona, Extension specialist; Mickey Leonard, University of Minnesota researcher; and Dr. Marie Culhane, University of Minnesota Extension specialist.
This collaboration has proved timely as Texas, unfortunately, documented its first case of avian influenza in commercial poultry in April 2024, not long after the first detection of H5N1 was confirmed in Texas dairy cattle. Avian influenza was first detected in a Minnesota dairy in June 2024.
“The timing is ideal to share biosecurity messages and experiences in Minnesota with livestock and poultry producers across the U.S.,” says Cortus.
View the YouTube playlist.
— University of Minnesota Extension
