S.D. mare quarantined for CEM

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s state veterinarian, Sam Holland, said at least one horse in the state has been quarantined after being exposed to a venereal disease.

About 300 horses in 38 states are being tested for exposure to contagious equine metritis (CEM), a venereal disease that affects horses. Reports indicate four stallions in Kentucky and three in Indiana have been diagnosed with the disease. Holland said the quarantined mare was brought to South Dakota.

“The mare was bred in Indiana and the individual in South Dakota bought the mare and brought her into our state. So she’s being quarantined here now and being tested,” Holland said. “Of course, this isn’t a highly contagious viral disease; it spreads horse to horse (and) is strictly a bacterial venereal disease spread only through breeding or breeding equipment.”

It causes temporary infertility and spontaneous abortion but is treatable, according to Holland.

“The quarantine is just so that the mare doesn’t get moved or sold to other farms where she could expose other horses that way – should she prove to be infected,” he said.

Horse owners should always use preventative measures when dealing with out-of-state breeders to make sure such diseases aren’t spread, Holland said.

“There’s no reason to think ... that we’d have any more of this disease here. But today with the artificial breeding and the movement of the mares from state to state for various breeding programs and incentives, it’s always good to ask and make sure that good hygiene and good practices are being observed,” he said.

Horses infected with CEM can be treated with antibiotics and disinfectants, Holland said.

Cattle truck flips on I-69

AUBURN, Ind. (AP) — A cattle trailer flipped on its side on Interstate 69 in northeastern Indiana, spilling more than two dozen cattle onto the roadway and closing the highway for several hours.
State police say the crash happened about 6 a.m. Jan. 9 near Auburn, about 20 miles north of Fort Wayne. DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Dave Cserep said the rig was northbound when it drifted off the roadway and struck a barrier. The truck and trailer separated and the tractor wound up in a ditch while the trailer flipped on its side on the median.

Police say the truck driver was injured and taken to a hospital. Some of the about 38 animals were killed or injured in the crash. The others were being held at the Dekalb County Fairgrounds after members of the county fair association were called to help emergency crews round up the animals.

9 more Tenn. counties get aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Farmers in nine more Tennessee counties are getting federal help to recover losses caused by drought.

The Tennessee congressional delegation announced Jan. 8 that USDA Secretary Edward Schafer declared the added counties disaster areas. The counties added under the declaration include Bedford, Cocke, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Putnam, Sevier, Van Buren and White.

In addition, farmers in 23 contiguous counties will be able to apply for assistance. Tennessee Agriculture Department spokesman Tom Womack said a total of 55 counties are now covered by primary disaster declarations and farmers in more than 75 percent of the state could be eligible for aid.

Iowa DNR investigates dairy spill

DENVER, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a manure spill from a dairy farm near Denver in northern Iowa.

The release at the Denver Dairy was discovered early Jan. 1 by employees as they showed up for work. They initially reported that the manure had not reached a stream, but an unknown amount of manure did reach an underground tile that flows into a tributary of Crane Creek, about 12 miles north of Waterloo.
It was unknown if the spill caused a fish kill. The DNR will issue a notice of violation for not reporting the spill within six hours of when it happened or was discovered.

Judge reduces sentence in scam

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — A former West Virginia bank president who cooperated with federal officials in investigating a cattle and banking scam has gotten two months shaved off his prison term.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston reduced Charles Henthorn’s from nine to seven months. The former president of the First National Bank of Ronceverte has cooperated with authorities as they investigate the fallout from the scam.

Prosecutors say Greenbrier County resident Kevin O’Brien fraudulently sold the same herd of cattle to different buyers in West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Illinois and Nebraska. In October, O’Brien was sentenced to eight years in prison. Henthorn, 48, was convicted of taking bribes from O’Brien.