• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven will take steps Tuesday to repeal a nearly 40-year-old rule requiring quarantine for baby calves entering the state without their mothers.
• Animal Industry Board members will hear the proposal at their board meeting.
• "I think the need may not be as evident now, and, as a result, a lot of people don't know," Oedekoven said about the quarantine requirement.
• The board will discuss updates on the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea, or PED, virus and host a public hearing on the license for a Yankton livestock auction that recently changed hands.
• The calf rule, which calls for 60 days of separation, was put in place at a time when young dairy calves were moved into the state from a lot of different sources, Oedekoven said. But the federal government recently passed a rule requiring a paper trail for animals moving across states. Modern practices can mitigate other risks controlled by the quarantine, he said.
• South Dakota officials already closely monitor the movement of calves, said Roger Scheibe, executive director of the South Dakota Dairy Producers. The group supports the potential change.
• "It's just one less thing they have to worry about," Scheibe said about farmers. "There has not been a problem."
• The board has also been closely watching the progress of the PED virus and will discuss updates on that front. Federal dollars are now available for newly infected herds to manage the virus and research new vaccines. And a recent federal order will require the reporting of all infected herds. Farmers dealing with the virus will have to develop a management plan with a veterinarian.
• Oedekoven said mandatory reporting already was in place within the state. Thirty-two herds in the state are infected with the virus.
• The money available for vaccine research will be a good thing, said Glenn Muller, executive director of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. And he hopes that producers continue to share and learn from each other even as reporting requirements increase.
• At the meeting, board members will also hear testimony on licensing the Stockman's Livestock auction in Yankton, which recently changed owners. All of the

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