Wedoany.com Report-Mar 6, Absent avian flu and with more than 40 million laying hens, Ohio is one of the top three egg-farming states in the nation, along with Iowa and Indiana.
AVIAN FLU OUTBREAK: Ohio leads the country in avian flu infections, according to the Centers For Disease Control. It has seen more than double the cases of the second-ranked state.
But, in the past couple months, the state’s industry has suffered tremendously, losing more than 5 million egg-laying hens and 108,300 pullets in February alone. Also in those 28 days, it lost 339,300 turkeys to disease.
Since December, Ohio has been forced to kill almost 15 million birds infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu. It leads the country with avian flu infections, according to the Centers For Disease Control, and it has seen more than double the cases of the second-ranked state.
The state’s first human case of bird flu was also confirmed in February. The man worked on a farm in Mercer County and came into contact with infected poultry.
HPAI is found in an array of wildlife and domestic animals, most recently affecting cats. The national outbreak, which started in January 2022, continues and has now claimed more than 166 million birds nationwide, according to CDC reports.
USDA recently released details of its new $1 billion strategy to combat HPAI with long-term solutions. It includes $500 million for ramped up biosecurity to help keep HPAI from entering farms in the first place, including expanding its Wildlife Biosecurity Assessments and free biosecurity audits for all HPAI-infected farms.
USDA will also provide $400 million in financial relief for affected producers this fiscal year. The agency is exploring new programs to help farmers speed up repopulation, including ways to simplify the approval process to speed recovery.
Up to $100 million may be invested for research into possible new animal vaccines, therapeutic tools and other innovative solutions to minimize depopulations.
Looking ahead
The outlook for the egg industry hinges largely on balancing supply and demand, which has been greatly disrupted by the disease. It’s created shortages, and some stores are limiting the number of egg purchases per day.
HPAI is a highly contagious virus that spreads in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected animals, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of farmworkers.
Since December, there has an uptick in cases across the country, especially in egg-laying operations. USDA reported that about 18.8 million commercial egg layers were affected by HPAI in January.
Currently, the average price for a dozen eggs is around $6, with some consumers paying as much as $10. Before the outbreak, egg prices averaged $1.79 per dozen in 2021.
According to a new forecast by USDA, egg prices across the U.S. are expected to go up 41% by the end of 2025.
Egg imports
To help address the situation, the U.S will look to import between 70 million and 100 million eggs during the next month or two, USDA recently announced as part of its five-part plan to address bird flu.
While the industry isn’t ready to start vaccinating birds, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says it will increase research into immunization and roll back regulations to help cut costs.
An avian influenza vaccine for chickens manufactured by Zoetis received conditional approval from the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics on Feb. 14. However, there is concern for its impact on trade.
In a Feb. 13 letter to USDA, the co-chairs of the Congressional and Senate Chicken caucuses wrote that “vaccination in any poultry sector — egg layers, turkeys, broilers or ducks — will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products.”
“The problem is that most U.S. trading partners do not recognize countries that vaccinate as free of HPAI due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus,” the letter continued.
“The potential export losses that are likely to occur as a result of vaccination would have a devastating impact on thousands of family farmers who raise the birds.”
A conditional license is valid for a finite period and used to meet an emergency condition, limited market, local situation or other special circumstance. The vaccine must still receive final approval from USDA before it can be used in commercial poultry.
Among those supportive of the development of HPAI vaccines are the National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, International Dairy Foods Association and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).
Leaders from the four organizations recently wrote to Rollins, requesting a meeting with her to discuss their concerns and to develop a “path forward.”
