poultry

Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in a backyard flock of mixed poultry in northeastern Indiana, the farthest east the disease was been identified since the epidemic began last Dec. 14, said the USDA. The outbreak occurred in Whitley County, about 25 miles west of Fort Wayne. State official quarantined the property and said the flock would be destroyed as a precaution against spread of the disease.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency because of avian influenza that has hit nearly four dozen poultry farms in the state and resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of turkeys, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "It also has hit the first Minnesota chicken farm," J&A Farms, near Detroit Lakes, which has 300,000 egg-laying hens. Owner Amon Baer said federal compensation for the loss of the flock will not cover the expense of cleaning and disinfecting the laying houses.

Warm spring weather is the surest cure for the worst outbreak of avian influenza to hit the U.S. poultry industry in three decades, said USDA chief veterinarian John Clifford. Some 7.3 million chickens, turkeys and other poultry in 13 states have been infected or killed by the flu, or destroyed as a precaution against spread of the virus. Minnesota, the No. 1 turkey state, has recorded 41 cases.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in an egg farm with 5.3 million laying hens in northwestern Iowa, said the USDA. It was the largest outbreak yet in the United States and tripled the number of birds killed by the disease or destroyed to prevent its spread. Until the Iowa case, the USDA listed total losses from 53 other cases at 2.7 million birds, mostly turkeys. The Iowa Agriculture Department said state officials quarantined the farm in Osceola County, "and birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease."

U.S. poultry exports will fall by 8.5 percent this year under the pressure of avian influenza and the stronger dollar, says the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. Two major importers of U.S. poultry meat, China and South Korea, have restricted shipments as a precaution against spread of bird flu. The two Asian countries bought 5.5 percent of U.S. poultry exports last year. Their bans reduced U.S. sales by 25.5 million pounds in February, when bird flu was not as widespread as now.

Export restrictions on U.S. poultry, imposed because of outbreaks of avian influenza, are not likely to have a significant impact on the beef sector, said USDA chief economist Robert Johannson. "At this point, it doesn't appear to be an issue." A couple of dozen countries have imposed full or partial bans on U.S. poultry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told senators the bans affect roughly 15 percent of poultry exports and that the USDA was to keep shipments moving.

U.S. cattle, hog and poultry producers are expanding production, the government said in forecasting a sharp 3-percent increase in per-capita meat consumption this year. In its monthly WASDE report, the Agriculture Department raised its forecast of meat production by more than 1 billion pounds for this year. It estimated that the average American would consume 208.5 pounds of beef, pork and poultry in 2015, the equivalent of 9 ounces a day.

Thirteen cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza were confirmed in the Northwest U.S. since Dec 8, including three cases on Jan 16, said the Agriculture Department. None were in commercial flocks. "Because the H5N2 and H5N8 avian influenza strains are currently circulating in migratory birds in the Pacific flyway, we anticipate our active surveillance will result in additional findings in both wild birds and in backyard flocks with access to the outdoors," said USDA.