148 BETTER DAIRY FARMING 



229. The accredited herd plan. — This is a plan adopted in 



1917 to be used as a nation-wide program for the stamping out of 



tuberculosis. It provides for co-operation between the United 



States Government and the various states both as to financial 



support for carrying out the program and as to its supervision. 



To accredit a herd as free from tuberculosis means to certify 



officially that the owner has complied with certain specific rules 



laid down in the plan. These rules specify that an accredited 



herd is one that has been tuberculin tested under the supervision 



of the Bureau of Animal Industry or of a state official, and found 



to have no animals showing the disease upon two annual or three 



semi-annual tests and upon physical examination. It is further 



provided that where reactors are found they must be removed 



either by slaughter or segregation and that two more tests show- 



s SfS no further reactors are required. A thorough disinfection of 



•^ *^me barn is also required. All milk and other dairy products fed to 



^ © calves must come from tuberculin tested cows or else be pasteur- 



kj ^ ized. Xo cattle can be added to the herd unless they have passed 



^ "g* certain specified tests. Compliance with the above rules entitles 



fc <Jb* the owner to an official certificate — " Tuberculosis-free Herd" — 



9 ^ • good for one year and renewable at the end of that time if all the 



^* animals again pass the test. 



i^J 230. Payment for losses. — The feature of this plan which 



makes many owners hesitate to adopt it is the probable loss due to 

 the removal of reactors. It is possible to retain them by keeping 

 them entirely separate from the rest of the herd and this may be 

 done to advantage with animals in the early stages of the disease 

 and of special value for breeding purposes. However, many 

 problems of management arise here and all reactors should be 

 headed toward slaughter. Most owners want the reactors killed 

 at once and out of the way. To compensate for these losses, the 

 Federal Government pays a certain indemnity for each animal 

 slaughtered. Most of the states also pay a further indemnity, with 

 the result that unless the animals are especially valuable the owner 

 may actually lose little. The possible loss varies greatly in different 

 states according to the amount of indemnity provided. However, 



