New disease certification program for sheep/goat producers

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Agriculture has established a new disease certification program for Ohio’s sheep and goat producers.

Enrolled producers can have their flocks/herds certified by the department to have achieved test-negative status for Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) or Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) after participating in a three- or five-year test and monitoring program.

Producers seeking to participate will need to enroll in the program through the department and must submit annual laboratory samples to a laboratory accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians such as the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Enrolled producers will be required to submit the test results to the department in order to receive an annual notice of flock/herd status. Once three consecutive annual tests have been submitted with all negative results, or once a five-year test and monitoring program has been completed with no positives detected, the flock or herd will receive Test-Negative Status for OPP or CAE.

Producers interested in enrolling in the program should contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health by calling 614-728-6220 for more information.