What's a Closed Herd?

I hear "Closed Herd" thrown around a lot.  People know it adds value but the definition seems to be unclear.  To be truly "Closed" the herd can't have fenceline or direct contact with other livestock, wild animals or their fluids or feces.  Visitors should be restricted to public areas where cattle don't have access.

A Closed Herd can't have biological contact with animals not raised on the farm, that includes visiting animals such as a bull, deer, dogs or horses.  If an animal leaves the farm, say for breeding or to be shown at the county Fair, they should never come back into the herd.  Animals should not be added through purchase or other sources.  Even a very young bottle or graft calf can be a vector of disease.

With all these limitations, why would anyone Close their herd?  This practice limits entry of diseases into the herd through strict management practices.  A disease-free herd can remain that way with great care.

Its best to test annually so you know your herd remains free of common zoonotic diseases that are transmittable from animals and people.  Some infectious diseases are BLV, BVD, TB, Brucella, Johne's, Q-Fever and Staphylococcus A.  These are spread by contact with fluids, including through Raw Milk.  Its important that the cow is healthy so you remain healthy.  

We take a lot of precautions to protect our herd's health.

• Visitor, service and delivery vehicles are restricted to the gravel driveway.
• Visitors, AI Techs and Veterinarians are required to do a bleach shoe wash to enter livestock areas.
• Alleys on all bordering property lines have at least 10' width and double fencing.
• Breeding is by Artificial Insemination of disease tested bulls or a bull born here.
• Wild animals and strays are kept away from our herd by Livestock Guardian Dogs and 6' electric fencing.
• We do not participate in any animal shows or events.
• We do not host public visitations.
• We have a Veterinarian who visits the homestead when needed.
• The last cow purchased, Bella, arrived 9/14/2017 and left 11/2019. She tested negative for BLV, BVD, TB, Brucellosis and Johne's in 2017, BLV, BVD & Johne's in 2018 and BLV, BVD, TB, Brucellosis, Johne's and Q-Fever in 2019.
• All the cattle in our herd were born into our herd to tested cows in our herd.
• All of the cows in our herd are tested each time they come into milk.
• Our calves are raised on colostrum and milk from our herd.  
• The only bottle calf, Baby, was purchased in 6/2012.  Our herd has tested clean annually since 2013 for BLV, BVD, TB, Johne's and Brucellosis.  We added Q-Fever testing in 2019 and Mycoplasma and Staphylococcus A in 2021. 
• We publish our test results publicly on our Press Kit page.

To some, this may seem like overkill.  To us, its making sure the animals in our care can live a long healthy life and we can continue to drink fresh Raw Milk.  And, I just sleep better!

Take care,
​Lorinda