bird flu
Egg prices fall by 26 percent in three weeks
After soaring above $3 a dozen during the summer, the grocery store price for Large white eggs Grade A or better is down by 60 cents in a three-week period, says USDA's latest National Retail Report. The 26 percent drop puts the average nationally advertised price at $1.74 a dozen.
U.S. to ask China to end bird-flu poultry ban
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he will suggest at the annual U.S.-China trade meeting that Beijing should lift its ban on imports of U.S. poultry, imposed earlier this year when an epidemic of deadly avian influenza hit poultry flocks in the western half of the nation.
Pork and broiler prices take a drubbing as supplies grow
With 2015 in its final months, U.S. pork production, in a rebound from the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, is 8-percent larger than a year ago and broiler chicken production is up by 4 percent, says the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.
Minnesota is No. 1 again in turkeys despite bird flu
Minnesota will retain its rank as the top turkey-producing state despite a 12-percent drop in output due to the bird flu epidemic, says the USDA's annual Turkeys Raised report. The state is estimated to raise 40 million, or nearly 18 percent, of the 228 million turkeys grown this year.
Iowa company is first with license for bird-flu vaccine
Harrisvaccines, based in Ames, Iowa, announced it is the first company to receive a USDA conditional license for a vaccine against avian influenza, the disease that killed 10 percent of egg-laying hens earlier this year and drove egg prices to record levels.
Bird-flu plan relies on speedy culling, vaccine on standby
After the "incredible scope" of the worst bird flu epidemic ever to hit the nation earlier this year, the USDA's plan for reducing the risk of an outbreak this fall includes swift culling of infected flocks with a bird-flu vaccine available "as a possible adjunct to, and not a replacement for, a future eradication effort." The usual response to discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza is to quarantine the affected farm and its surroundings and kill the infected flock to prevent spread of the virus.
11 percent of egg-laying hens dead in two months from bird flu
U.S. egg farmers lost 11 percent of their laying hens in two months, the government said - the latest impact of the worst avian influenza epidemic to ever hit the poultry industry.
In bird-flu boomerang, chicken to cost less
The avian influenza epidemic hit egg-laying poultry flocks and spared the growers who produce broiler chickens used for meat. But many nations restricted or altogether banned U.S. poultry products because of the flu. The result is a rapidly increasing supply of chicken, says the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. And when supplies go up, prices come down.
Bird-flu results: Fewer eggs and a 25-percent price increase
Egg prices will run an average 25 percent higher this year than expected two months ago - and at record high prices - because of the worst avian influenza epidemic ever to hit U.S. poultry farms, says the government. In its monthly WASDE report, the USDA estimated that the bird flu, which has affected 47.1 million fowl, would reduce egg production by 5 percent this year and by 4.5 percent in 2016.
First Minnesota farm hit by bird flu resumes production
The turkey farm that suffered the first outbreak of avian influenza in Minnesota is back in production, says the Associated Press. The Pope County farm was re-stocked with fowl on Sunday.
Biosecurity lapses helped spread of avian influenza epidemic
The worst avian flu epidemic ever to hit U.S. poultry farms was spread in part by lapses in biosecurity among producers as well as "environmental factors," said the government in an initial report on the disease that will depress table egg and turkey production into 2016. USDA's animal health agency said it plans to meet with industry and state officials in July to discuss security standards.
Retail egg prices sharply higher, up 42 percent in a week
The U.S. average egg price in grocery stores zoomed by 55 cents a dozen for Grade A Large eggs from the preceding week, a 42-percent increase, said the USDA weekly retail report. Egg prices are rising as a result of the worst avian influenza epidemic ever to hit U.S. poultry flocks. Stores sold a dozen Grade A Large eggs for $1.87, compared to $1.32 a dozen in the week ending June 5.
USDA pricetag for bird-flu epidemic may top $500 million
In a Bloomberg interview, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government may spend more than half a billion dollars to fight the avian-influenza epidemic and to compensate poultry producers for their flocks.
Egg prices drop 7 cents as bird-flu epidemic wanes
After increasing by 68 percent in five weeks, the price of eggs in supermarkets is down slightly. The average price for a dozen Large white eggs Grade A or better is $1.98 this week, 7 cents less than the previous week, according to the USDA's National Retail Report. "Shoppers will ... find some relief," says the report, noting more stores are featuring eggs in their advertisements.
Plenty of holiday turkey despite avian influenza losses
"Much has been made of a potential supply disruption impacting the availability of turkeys during the Thanksgiving holiday," say economists John Newton and Todd Kuethe of U-Illinois, who rebut the idea at farmdoc daily. They say the monthly Cold Storage report shows turkey stockpiles are 5-percent larger than a year ago and other USDA reports show turkey production from January-April was up by 7 percent from the same point in 2014.
After three-week surge, fewer bird-flu outbreaks reported
The worst avian influenza epidemic ever to hit the U.S. poultry industry is losing its punch, says Agri-Pulse, with fewer outbreaks being reported on a weekly basis and "leading industry and government officials to discuss steps to prevent a similar outbreak in the fall."
Bird flu confirmed in Wyoming and two Minnesota flocks
Three more cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza were confirmed by the USDA in a three-day period. All were the H5N2 virus. The Wyoming case involved an ailing wild Canada goose from Laramie County.
Bird-flu vaccine needs more work, only 60-percent effective
The government said it will not approve release of a vaccine against the worst U.S. epidemic of avian influenza in poultry because none of the drugs now available works well enough. "Currently, there is lack of a well matched, effective vaccine for HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] from the public and private sectors. The vaccine currently available offers just 60 percent effectiveness in chickens, leaving 4 in 10 birds unprotected," said the USDA.
Second recall of raw milk in California because of bird flu
California state agriculture officials ordered the recall of raw milk from a dairy farm in the Central Valley after tests found bird flu virus in a sample from the farm's bulk tank. The state Department of Food and Agriculture warned against consumption of milk from Valley Milk Simply Bottled on the grounds that it "may lead to infection with this rare, emerging flu virus." No illnesses were reported.