by Dru Glaze
Arkansas Farm Bureau

  For many Americans shopping at grocery stores each day, the thought of unsafe food rarely crosses their mind.In the state of Arkansas the Livestock and Poultry Commission (L&PC) works to ensure that food being consumed by those shoppers is safe, while also working to safeguard human and animal health.

According to the L&PC’s web site the Commission’s mission is “To safeguard human and animal health, assure food safety and quality, and promote Arkansas livestock and poultry industries for the benefit of our citizens.”

The commission fulfills this mission through four divisions; administration, laboratory services, livestock inspection and disease control, and egg and poultry inspection.

The administration division provides executive coordination, supervisory and administrative services to all activities performed by the agency. It is also charged with the task of distributing the agencies $12 million budget.

The laboratory services division maintains a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Little Rock.  “We have one of the top labs in the country,” said Jon Fitch, executive director of the L&PC. The lab is used to diagnose livestock and poultry diseases.  The lab provide post-mortem examinations, bacteriological, chemical, serological, toxicological and virological testing.

The livestock inspection and disease control works to suppress and eradicate animal diseases. The Commission works closely with USDA, veterinary Services in controlling the movements of livestock on an intra and interstate basis to ensure compliance with state disease control laws and regulations. This means almost all herds of cattle and swine in the state are inspected. The L&PC, through this division, strives to protect livestock and poultry industries from dreaded and costly diseases that would affect production and marketability.

The fourth division, Egg and Poultry Inspection, governs the quality of eggs and poultry sold in and out of the state.  Inspectors ensure compliance with existing state and federal laws and assist producers and packers in their operations to provide the consumer in Arkansas and its export states with the highest quality standardized product. “When people see USDA approved, they should know that a lot of that testing is done by our employees as well as USDA employees” Fitch said.

What are some of the programs that affect producers directly, one might ask.  The L&PC provides Brucellosis testing for cattle and swine, Johne’s disease testing, and scrapies testing in sheep. These are diseases that producers may not know they have that affect marketability and animal production. 

“Many people may have had a cow in the past with Johne’s disease and thought it was hardware,” said Fitch. “We are working in cooperation with the federal government to try to find as many of those herds that are out there to try and help people eradicate Johne’s disease.”

The efforts of the Commission in disease eradication were proven in 1997 when Arkansas was declared Brucellosis-free. 

The Commission provides a Brucellosis vaccination program free of cost to producers. Producers wishing to take part in the vaccination program need to call and set up an appointment with the agency for age-eligible calves.

It also works with Equine Infectious Anemia in horses.  “We are very involved in that as well to try to take care of horses, which sometimes get forgotten in the whole livestock industry, and they are a part of it and a big part of the livestock industry in the state,” Fitch said.

The Commission’s livestock supervisor has been very active in a Quality System Assessment Program (QSA) Fitch said. The program is an animal identification program based on source and age.  “If a producer chooses to be apart of the program they can send animals to overseas markets such as Japan and Korea, which require animals to be at least 20 months and ability to trace the animal all the way back to the source,” he said. The only cost to producers is tags, which are $3.25 per nested pair.

The Commission also works with younger members of the livestock and poultry industry by testing poultry, steers, market hogs and some sheep and goats during the fair season.

The Commission has recently assisted with the euthanasia and proper disposal of chickens and cattle following the tornados this spring.  “This was the first time we had done something like that,” Fitch said.

As of late, the Commission has had the task of finding and testing all chickens in a 6.2-mile radius after a recent discovery of avian influenza in the northwest Arkansas. All birds in the area tested negative for avian influenza.  The Commission will retest all of the birds to ensure public safety, but believe the bird will again test negative. 

Fitch says “Our attitude is that we’re out there to help anybody who has an animal disease problem and we’ll do what we can to assist industry and individuals.”

The agency employees 120 people across the state.

The Commission also has seven commissioners who are appointed by the governor and serve seven-year terms.  The commissioners are from across the state, representing the various aspects of the livestock and poultry industry.  Commissioners oversee and approve policy changes before they are presented to the legislature.