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Will there be another HPAI outbreak this spring?

A state ag secretary says poultry producers are bracing for the possibility of another outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza this spring.

Iowa’s Mike Naig says the virus had a major impact in 2023 with millions of birds depopulated across the state. “We had 19 cases of high path in the state of Iowa this fall.”

He tells Brownfield, “All eyes now turn to spring and the question is whether or not these migratory birds that have been carrying this virus, whether they will have developed an immunity to that or whether they will once again be carrying it with them.”

Naig says finding a solution is no easy task. “It’s important that we have provisions in the farm bill that allow support for states and USDA to better respond. I know there’s been a conversation around vaccine usage against high path. I’m in favor of looking into that, but we need to really understand that there are trade implications and policy implications for that.”

Naig says farm to farm spread was minimal during the most recent outbreak. He spoke to Brownfield at the 2024 Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines.

AUDIO: Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig at 2024 Iowa Pork Congress