What you need to know about BSE:

BSE stands for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. Another term for BSE is “Mad Cow Disease” because of its effects on the central nervous system.

Because of the report of a BSE-infected downer cow in the United States on December 23, 2003, USDA has imposed some new rules. One affects your dairy market cattle directly. For up-to-date BSE information, visit the USDA Fact Sheets on BSE

Preventing BSE in Your Herd (Video)

More about preventing BSE from entering your herd
Ruminant protein feeding ban, acceptable feed commodities, feed regulations and compliance issues

Examples of PROHIBITED feed commodities
  • Meat meal
  • Cooked or steamed bone meal
  • Meat or bone tankage 
  • Un-inspected or uncooked human food meat products

    Examples of ALLOWED ("exempted") commodities
  • Milk Products (milk replacer) 
  • Blood Products (blood meal) 
  • Pure pork or equine products 
  • Poultry products (feather meal) 
  • Fish products (fish meal)
  • Animal fat, tallow and grease

    • What you need to know about downer cows

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