Although Easter egg hunts mostly use plastic crates for children, the demand for the real thing also intensifies around this time of year.
Egg prices have shot up 52 percent since HPAI was reported in Indiana on February 8th.
Three percent of the U.S egg-layer herd has been euthanized since the first infection. The virus has also impacted commercial turkey operations.
This week brought more focus on the issue and what’s causing the problem.
Peter Tubbs reports.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continued to spread among the nation's poultry herd this week with cases reported across the country. Five counties in Iowa confirmed avian flu in commercial poultry flocks with an unconfirmed number of birds destroyed.
Since January 1st, 23 states have reported cases of avian flu in either commercial or backyard flocks as the virus spreads through migrating bird species.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig: “We've got wild birds that are carrying the virus, they don't succumb to it but they can carry it. And where are we in the scheme of things in terms of migration of birds, right? We've got a couple of months yet to go. So that is why we've got to be acting quickly to contain it where it is.”
The interaction between migratory birds and commercial chicken and turkey flocks occurs naturally, and is difficult to control. Producers concerned about the health of their flocks will need to wait for the migration to end before potentially seeing relief.
Quick action is paramount once a site is suspected of contracting the flu.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig: “What you want to do is try to detect early, contain that site, quarantine that site and then depopulate and dispose of those birds as quickly as you can because that is the best way to prevent spread to other farms is to keep it contained on a site.”
The rapid containment has, so far, limited the spread of the avian flu to isolated flocks that came into contact with the migratory birds. But producers need to remain cautious and continue using disease protocols.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig: “I think a large part of why we're not seeing that lateral movement, farm to farm, is because we've done a better job of acting quickly to contain the virus where it is and that farms have implemented better biosecurity to protect their farms from movement.”
Two Iowa counties have been declared disaster areas, and live bird events have been canceled in the state for the immediate future.
Egg and fresh poultry prices are expected to trend higher as the outbreak continues. While the percentage of the nation’s bird crop affected by the virus is small, prices are rising due the unknown arc of the outbreak. Prices for eggs and poultry spiked during the avian flu outbreak of 2014 and 2015.
For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs
Bird flock reductions extend to new states because of HPAI. Lower snowpack increases drought anxiety. Scientists uncover clues to possible COVID-19 treatments from pig cells. Market analysis with Chris Robinson.
www.iowapbs.org
Wow, that is really cool..
