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Minnesota turkey farms restocking

Thirty-nine out of the 108 turkey farms in Minnesota affected by avian influenza are now eligible to restock.  Turkey Growers Association executive director Steve Olson says the remaining 69 farms are finishing up the disinfecting process.

“Then the barn will sit empty for 21 days, they’ll take environmental samples.  Then if everything goes smooth there, then those (farms) will be eligible for restocking as well.”

He tells Brownfield if the farm raises the young birds, the restocking begins with the arrival of poults.

“Those will come on the farm, they’ll raise them in their brooder barns for four to six weeks, and then move them to a grow-up facility.”

Olson says financial assistance is available through Minnesota’s Rural Finance Authority.

“Farms that had infected flocks are eligible.  It’s a shared (or) blended rate; so the state provides a zero-interest loan and then a private lender also provides a low-interest loan.”

He says the money is for restocking birds and also to make changes to the barn system.  The last reported case of avian flu in the state was on June fifth.