With new outbreaks, bird flu toll nears 59 million fowls
Ending a five-month hiatus, highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in commercial flocks in two states — turkey farms in Utah and South Dakota — said the Agriculture Department. Some 58.97 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens and turkeys being raised for human consumption, have died in bird flu outbreaks that began in February 2022.
Upside Foods announces commercial-scale plant
Upside Foods, one of two companies approved to market cell-cultured meat in the United States, will locate its first commercial-scale plant in a suburb north of Chicago, said CEO Uma Valeti on Thursday. The 187,000-square-foot facility would begin with the production of ground cultivated chicken, with plans to expand to other species and whole-textured products in the future.
India reduces import tariffs on U.S. turkey and duck meat

In the second breakthrough in three months, India said on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting that it would reduce import duties on frozen U.S. turkey and duck meat. Lower tariffs will give U.S. exports a chance to win sales in the rapidly growing market, said U.S. poultry groups, while calling for India to open its market further.
White House competition checklist cites livestock marketing, ocean shipping

In a summary of achievements, the White House pointed on Monday to progress toward increased competition, including action on livestock marketing, consumer right-to-repair and ocean shipping rates. It said President Biden would "highlight progress we need to continue to make to promote competition and protect consumers" in the State of the Union speech on Tuesday, with so-called junk fees as an area for action.
Bird flu losses now on par with worst U.S. animal disease event
In nine months, nationwide outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have killed 50.12 million birds in domestic flocks, said USDA data on Wednesday. Losses from HPAI and the culling of infected flocks are now on par with the 2014-15 bird flu outbreak, which the USDA has described as the most significant animal disease event in U.S. history.
More than 47 million birds lost to avian influenza
Bird flu was discovered in a backyard flock in the Albuquerque area, making New Mexico the 42nd state where the viral disease has been confirmed this year, said the Agriculture Department on Thursday.
Europe reports biggest bird flu epidemic ever
Bird flu cases have been reported from the Arctic islands of northern Norway to southern Portugal this year in the largest epidemic yet seen in Europe of the disease, said the E.U. food safety agency on Monday. The virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was unusually persistent during the summer and the risk of disease among flocks would increase with autumn migratory season, it said.
Poultry exports face potential risks from avian influenza
The risk of another outbreak of avian influenza this fall remains elevated and the stakes for poultry producers couldn’t be higher, with U.S. poultry exports expected to reach record levels in 2022, said a report Tuesday from CoBank's Knowledge Exchange.
Antitrust settlement requires poultry processors to reform tournament system
Two large poultry processors agreed to guarantee a base payment to the farmers who raise their birds, a fundamental reform of the so-called tournament system that pits growers against each other for income, said the Justice Department on Monday. The reform was part of a proposed consent decree that would order the processors, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms, plus Cargill Inc to pay $84.8 million in restitution for conspiring to hold down wages paid to processing plant workers.
Colorado infections push HPAI losses above 40 million birds
More than 40 million birds in domestic flocks, mostly chickens and turkeys, have died in the worst outbreak of bird flu since the 2014-15 epidemic, according to USDA data released on Monday. The outbreaks, which have killed 6 percent of the egg-laying hens in the country, were blamed for an Eastertime spike in egg prices.
‘Large supply gaps’ coming, says No. 2 U.S. turkey processor
Bird flu will have a “meaningful impact” on turkey supplies in coming months, said the head of Hormel Foods, the second-largest turkey processor in the country, on Thursday. Chief executive Jim Snee said Hormel anticipated “large supply gaps” for its Jennie-O Turkey Store operations in the months ahead because of flock losses.
Worst U.S. outbreak of bird flu in seven years fades in May

Nearly 38 million birds in domestic flocks have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from coast to coast since early February, but USDA data suggest the threat is fading. With one day to go in May, losses for the month were on track to be the smallest of the year. A …
Nine cases of lethal bird flu in eastern U.S.
State and federal officials have killed tens of thousands of broiler chickens and turkeys on poultry farms in Indiana and Kentucky, and backyard flocks in three other states, while fighting outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). They are the first cases of the viral disease, which can quickly wipe out flocks, among domestic flocks in two years.
Meat plants tied to 6-8 percent of early Covid-19 cases
Livestock processing plants "may act as transmission vectors" for spreading the coronavirus, said researchers who estimated the plants were associated with from 6 to 8 percent of Covid-19 cases nationwide during the early months of the pandemic. "Ensuring both public health and robust essential supply chains may require an increase in meatpacking oversight and potentially a shift toward more decentralized, smaller-scale meat production," said the researchers in a paper appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Poultry slaughter slides but not as far as beef and pork
While red meat production fell by nearly one-fourth during April, poultry slaughter dropped by a much smaller 8 percent, said the USDA's monthly Poultry Slaughter report. Production of chicken, turkey, duck and other poultry meat totaled 4.09 billion pounds for the month, compared to 4.43 billion pounds in March. (No paywall)
Poultry leads as U.S. meat consumption flies high
Despite a surge in sales of plant-based faux meat, Americans are consuming record amounts of meat and at the moment, poultry is driving the increase. Per-capita consumption will climb to 225.6 pounds in 2020, the highest total ever, with poultry accounting for half of it, according to the …
In Nebraska, fight over Costco chicken farms escalates

As Nebraska's brand-new Costco chicken processing plant begins sending birds down the line, residents are escalating their protest against the company by pushing for a statewide moratorium on new concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).(No paywall)
With Costco chicken plant set to open, Nebraskans want more oversight of poultry farms

The arrival of a Costco chicken processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska, spurred the introduction of the state’s first industrial chicken farms in 2018. With the plant set to begin operations after Labor Day, some residents are pushing for stronger — or any — oversight of large poultry farms in the state.(No paywall)
North Carolina poultry industry overtakes hogs in waste, report says
North Carolina has been grappling for years with the enormous quantity of waste produced by its hog farms. But the state has more than twice as many poultry farms, and the state must consider the impact of poultry waste when thinking about how to regulate the agriculture industry, says a new report from the Environmental Working Group.