Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says poultry producers who lost flocks in the worst avian influenza epidemic ever to hit the United States could have birds back in the barn by fall, according to USA Today. “Our hope is by the end of the summer we’re in a position to get folks back into business across the entire 21 states that were impacted,” said Vilsack, “assuming we don’t have a re-emergence and assuming everything goes well.” Vilsack was in Des Moines for a meeting of the poultry industry, state veterinarians and the USDA to discuss the spring epidemic that killed more than 48 million fowl, including 31.5 million in Iowa, the top egg-producing state.
Of 211 commercial operations hit by the virus, 90 have finished cleaning and disinfection work, Vilsack said. The USDA will spend $700 million in helping producers deal with the outbreak.
The two-day conference will discuss preparations for a potential new round of bird flu when migratory waterfowl fly southward in the fall. In a report released a few days before the conference, the USDA urged stringent biosecurity guidelines to reduce the chance of infection.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad extended a State of Disaster Emergency proclamation an additional month, through Aug. 30, to make it easier to use state resources to help farmers recover from bird flu.