Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that the New Mexico Livestock Board will begin to receive a portion of federal funding he helped secure to help the state manage last year's bovine tuberculosis (TB) outbreak.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released $570,000 – one fourth of the $2.28 million designated specifically for New Mexico's bovine TB prevention and eradication program. The remaining funds are expected to be released later this year.

Last summer, a number of dairy cattle in Curry County tested positive for TB. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bingaman urged the agency to provide federal funding to the New Mexico Livestock Board to cover costs associated with the necessary monitoring and testing associated with managing the outbreak.

"New Mexico's livestock industry is vital to the state's economy," Bingaman said. "Cattle and dairy herds are currently undergoing TB testing. The federal funding released today will help ensure the state can continue and expand its efforts to eradicate and monitor this infectious disease."

Bingaman was instrumental in helping secure the funding being released today. It is part of a total of $35 million Bingaman urged the USDA to make available for TB management in New Mexico. Some of that funding was used to reimburse the affected dairy owner for the cost of destroying the affected herd, which was a required step in order for New Mexico to retain its TB free status.

The livestock industry is New Mexico's single most important agricultural commodity with total annual sales of milk and beef cattle totaling almost $2 billion. There are over 1.5 million cattle and calves in New Mexico, including 340,000 dairy cows.