(NAFB.com) – The USDA announced it’s taking several additional actions to ensure the health and viability of the nation’s livestock and poultry. The agency is adding an additional $824 million in emergency funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation to bolster these efforts. It’s also launching a new voluntary H5N1 Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program to give producers more options to monitor the health of their herds and move cows quickly while providing ongoing testing and expanding USDA’s understanding of the disease. The main benefit for farmers who enroll in the voluntary pilot program is that they can prove their herds are free from H5N1 with results from a National Animal Health Laboratory Network facility. If the herds test negative for three consecutive weeks, farmers will be able to move animals without additional pre-movement testing currently required under the federal order. Producers from participating states can begin enrolling the week of June 3.