The government has paid $71.9 million to producers as indemnities for poultry flocks that were victims of the worst epidemic of avian influenza ever to hit the United States. The Agriculture Department announced the payments in a weekly report on the massive state and federal response to the outbreaks that affected 49.6 million fowl in commercial flocks, including 42.1 million chickens and 7.5 million turkeys. The disease was confirmed in 21 states, mostly west of the Mississippi River. Iowa, the No. 1 egg state, and Minnesota, the leader in turkeys, suffered the worst losses.
The USDA says egg production will drop by 5 percent this year from 2014 levels because of bird flu, and egg prices in grocery stores will be record high.
A supplier to the food industry has sued an Iowa farm for failure to deliver eggs while dealing with avian influenza, says the Associated Press. In its lawsuit, Michael Foods Egg Products Co. says it has lost more than $75,000 and faces substantial harm because Hawkeye Pride Egg Farms violated a 2014 contract for eggs. Michael Foods is a subsidiary of Post Holdings Inc., a cereal company. Hawkeye Pride is a division of Center Fresh Group, which lost 5.5 million egg-laying hens to bird flu. According to the AP, Post estimates that a quarter of its yearly egg commitments have been affected by bird flu.