Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved New Mexico for “split-state” status for bovine tuberculosis (TB). 

In September 2008 USDA placed ranches and dairies across the state of New Mexico under tough mandatory movement restrictions and testing requirements after a single positive bovine TB case was identified in the state earlier that year. Such regulations are not only enormously costly to New Mexico’s livestock industry, but they place undue burdens on producers far from the site of the one bovine TB case.

The split-state status means only cattle shipped from Curry and Roosevelt Counties will now have to be tested for bovine TB.

Last year Bingaman and Udall along with rest of the New Mexico delegation had pressed then-USDA Secretary Edward Shafer to work with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to reinstate New Mexico’s earlier split-state status. 

“New Mexico’s livestock industry is the state’s single most important agricultural commodity.  Reinstating split-state status eliminates needless barriers for many of our state’s ranches and dairies,” Bingaman said.  “I’d like to recognize the hard work of the members of the New Mexico Livestock Board and State Vet’s Office for their efforts in helping bring about this important change.”

"New Mexico's economic viability depends on our strong livestock industry, which comprises more than 75 percent of our state’s agricultural sales," said Udall. "After months of working to reinstate our split-state status, this is welcome news and I commend the members of New Mexico's agricultural community for working together to make it happen.”

There are over 1.5 million cattle and calves in New Mexico, including 340,000 dairy cows.  Total annual sales of milk and beef cattle in 2007 were over $2.3 billion.