USA continues to battle avian flu

May 25, 2015

As many as 179 detections have been reported

The United States is currently battling one of, if not the worst outbreak of avian flu the country has ever seen.

The numbers according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) are staggering.

From the time the first avian flu detection was reported on December 19, 2014 to the latest detection reported on May 21, 2015, there have been a total of 179 detections reported, affecting 40,721,073 chickens, turkeys and other poultry.

Young turkeys

Due to the outbreak, close to 30 countries have placed some sort of restrictions on American poultry exports. China, South Korea, South Africa and Thailand have flat out banned all American poultry exports for the time being.

The outbreak of avian flu appears to be the worst in Iowa, where more than 25 million birds are affected, causing Governor Terry Branstad to declare a state of emergency in Iowa.

Minnesota is America’s top turkey producer and it’s estimated the impact of this outbreak could be felt at Thanksgiving.

Impacts of the avian flu are being felt right across the board. Farmers are not only dealing with the sick birds, but also the impact its having on egg production.

In May of 2014, it would cost consumers $1.40 for a dozen large white eggs, compared to $2.20 on May 21, 2015.

Tell us your thoughts on the current outbreak of avian flu in the United States. Are you worried about the impacts it could have going forward?

Video: Treating Sheep For Lice!

We are treating our sheep for lice today at Ewetopia Farms. The ewes and rams have been rubbing and scratching, plus their wool is looking patchy and ragged. Itchy sheep are usually sheep with lice. So, we ran the Suffolk and Dorset breeding groups through the chutes and treated them all. This treatment will have to be done again in two weeks to make sure any eggs that hatched are destroyed too. There was a lot of moving of sheep from pen to pen around the sheep barn but by all the hopping and skipping the sheep were doing, I think they enjoyed the day immensely! We hope you do too!