BISMARCK – North Dakota livestock purchasers must make sure any livestock they buy or receive from other states meets North Dakota’s import requirements.
“Due to recent meat plant closures, we are aware of individuals planning to purchase live animals, particularly swine, directly from out-of-state producers in order to process them,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “We appreciate these good-faith efforts to help alleviate problems relating to the overwhelming number of swine awaiting processing. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health Division can offer assistance to ensure the animals have the proper documentation to allow movement to take place.”
All animals brought into North Dakota must meet the importation requirements of the State Board of Animal Health. The importation requirements help prevent animals from being exposed to diseases that can impact their health.
“Whether an individual is purchasing and importing one or more animals from out of state for food processing purposes, those animals need to meet the state’s import requirements unless they are going directly to a state or federal processing plant,” State Veterinarian Dr. Susan Keller said.
“If people are not planning to process the animals themselves, we want them to be aware that many meat processors are already booked for several months, so nearby plants may not be able to get hogs or other livestock in on short notice,” Livestock Industries Division Director Dr. Andrea Grondahl said. “Individuals planning to purchase an animal for plant processing should first check with their processing plant about wait times. If the animal cannot be immediately processed, other options such as checking with other plants or arranging for holding the animal until it can be processed will need to be made.”
Importation requirements and related information may be obtained from the Animal Health Division of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at www.nd.gov/ndda/importrequirements or by calling 701-328-2655.
A list of North Dakota meat processors may be found at www.nd.gov/ndda/ndmeatprocessors.