Since December, 15.5 million commercial poultry birds have been destroyed throughout the state in accordance with federal protocol in the fight against the disease, DeWine said in a press briefing after the meeting.
“For some time, the farmers who raise poultry in this part of the state — and this is the center in the state of Ohio for the production of eggs — have really suffered tremendous losses," DeWine said.
DeWine noted that the 15.5 million depopulated birds were not all confirmed positive cases of HPAI, but were in close proximity to at least one positive case and destroyed to help prevent further spread of the disease.
Assistance from the federal level will continue to be imperative in the local and national response to HPAI, DeWine said.
“One of the things that is clear is that the federal government is really going to have to accelerate the research that is being done in regard to bird flu,” DeWine said. “... One of the messages that I heard today (during the meeting) was, ‘Please do everything you can to speed that up.’”
DeWine said he will be speaking with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins this week to urge the government to do just that.
Dr. Dennis Summers, a veterinarian with the Ohio Department of Agriculture who was part of Thursday’s meeting and press briefing, said an effective vaccination strategy is also needed, though research to this end is still ongoing.
“There isn’t a lot of information yet on how we would implement that, or what type of vaccine it would be, but that’s something the USDA is continuing to work on, so that we know that it’s safe, effective, and provides the immunity that we’re looking for in our poultry flocks,” Summers said.
The birds in the state most affected by HPAI so far are the egg-layers. Turkeys and, to a lesser extent, ducks have also been affected, according to Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge.
“To put it in perspective, as far as the layer facilities, over 30% of our layer birds here in Ohio have been depopulated,” Baldridge said. “Those are the ones laying eggs each and every day.”
While efforts to get a handle on the virus continue, the USDA in February began providing compensation for some of the losses and costs faced by producers.
“One of the things I’ll take up with the secretary (of agriculture) is to see whether or not that compensation could be backdated because some of these farmers incurred losses before the date that went into effect,” DeWine said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Jim Chakeres of the Ohio Poultry Association said Thursday it’s too early to know when consumers can expect to see the price of eggs to come down, as this depends on how quickly farmers can repopulate their flocks.
“The challenge we have is supply and demand; when we’re seeing the supply decrease and the demand remain the same, it’s very difficult for that to happen,” he said. “Our farmers are working every day to get those barns cleaned and disinfected so they can repopulate and start producing eggs again. That takes time.”
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