The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency recently promulgated final regulations restricting the sale of certain types of chemicals that contain iodine. Iodine is actually used as an ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamines which is why it is the subject of the regulations.

While no product in banned, any product containing more than 2 percent iodine is restricted, meaning that any company that sells the product needs to pay a fee and keep sales records.

Generally these requirements outweigh the economic return to the company from selling the product.

It appears that all the teat dips are exempt from the new regulations (most of them are about 0.1 percent). There may be a few dips sold in concentrated form that will no longer be available. NYFB has checked with IBA and Eagle Dairy Direct, and none of their products fell in this category. There are also dips that contain more than 2 percent iodine, however these products do not contain pure iodine but> rather iodine with other molecules attached limiting their use in drug manufacturing. These products, known as complex materials, are also exempt from the regulations.

Another affected product is the 7 percent tincture solution used for dipping calf navels to prevent infection. This solution will be regulated, and Animal Medic and Eagle Dairy Direct are not going to sell the product at this point. This means farmers likely will need to purchase the product from the drug store. They also can purchase Triodine-7 which is supposed to have the same disinfectant properties but, due to chemical composition, cannot be utilized for meth production. The product is about 8 to 10 percent higher in cost.