Update Nov 19: Two more ranches affected
Fresno broiler ranch 172,800 birds
Merced turkey ranch 38,200 birds
- 3 million Central Valley poultry destroyed in the past three weeks
- California has more flocks affected by the virus than any other state with 23
- H5N1 Bird Flu spreads to 335 dairies in California from zero as of Sept 1
- USDA studies livestock vaccine
- Flocks struck by the virus recently in Utah, Arizona and British Columbia.
- Egg prices near double in California
Only days before Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday baking season, Central Valley’s poultry ranches are losing 3 million birds including a huge number of egg laying hens, broiler ranch chickens and turkeys with reports of new finds every few days. The virus is carried by migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway who visit the Valley this time of year bringing avian flu for a ride from British Columbia to Kern County. One of the state’s largest egg ranches was hit, located not far from the Kern Wildlife Refuge and in the heart of dairy country, suggesting the proximity and rampant increase in the virus in both cows and chickens may be no coincidence.
The increase in commercial poultry farm infections is matched by the spread of bird flu among dairy cows with 335 dairies in the state now impacted as of Nov 18, almost a third of the state number. The count seems to balloon every day in reports from USDA. Just a few months ago there was no virus reported.
The two livestock industries that cluster their animals in confined facilities are often just down the road from each other in the Central Valley.The Valley poultry industry has been on a similar viral timeline to the dairy farms coinciding with the annual bird migration. Is there a link?
The industry website Egg-News points out the question of spillover between dairy and poultry is not yet clear since “APHIS (USDA) has yet to release the results of epidemiological studies that presumably have been conducted on the transmission of H5N1 strain B3.13 in the dairy industry.”
In Kings County, the two new finds bring the number of poultry ranches affected to five – adding up to around 900,000 birds that needed to be destroyed.
USDA says H5N1 largely infects wild birds, with waterfowl such as ducks and geese being the natural reservoirs for H5N1 viruses. Most H5N1 viruses are highly pathogenic avian influenza, meaning spillovers into other bird populations can lead to high mortality rates, including domesticated poultry.
In Kings County, the two new finds bring the number of poultry ranches affected to five – adding up to around 900,000 birds that needed to be destroyed.
Central Valley dairies are clustered
This past Monday USDA reported new finds including California with six new commercial flocks hit by HPAI bird flu and British Columbia with 14 new cases, while Utah and Arizona each had one.The virus appears to be rampant in the Central Valley this week with the virus found in two commercial meat turkey flocks in Fresno County, involving 17,700 and 39,600 birds, a commercial broiler ranch in Fresno County with 259,000 birds; Two commercial broiler flocks in Kings County, involving 279,300 and 53,300 birds and a commercial broiler flock in San Joaquin County involving 29,100 birds.
In Kings County, the two new finds bring the number of county poultry ranches affected to five in the past few weeks adding up to around 900,000 birds that needed to be destroyed.
Besides livestock, as of November 15, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has confirmed twenty-six human cases of bird flu and 1 additional probable case with 14 of those workers in Tulare County where milk is the top farm commodity.
The Central Valley is home for both industries with animals transported in and out along with equipment and service vehicles going in and out of these large facilities every day.
Dust can carry virus
The industry website Egg-News this week pointed out that research shows that the infections can be transmitted over a distance of up to a mile on, for example, dust particles. Of course the fall is harvest time for a number of crops, including the nut industry, sending up plumes of dust in the Valley sky, at times associated with wind.
Egg-News points out that dairy cow-associated H5N1 viruses have jumped back into wild birds, and recent outbreaks in domestic poultry resembled H5N1 in dairy cows.
Egg News says that on a dairy “since the infection is largely restricted to the mammary glands, researchers believe that H5N1 is being transmitted to cows by contaminated milk equipment, particularly the milking apparatus that attaches to the cow udders. Transmission across farms is due to infected cattle movement and shared equipment and personnel across dairy farms.”
Condors inoculated
In an editorial this past week Egg-News said “APHIS Needs a New Approach to Control HPAIr:” They recommend that USDA adopt vaccination as a disease control strategy for bird flu, with promising results from clinical trials. In May 2023, the US authorized the vaccination of California condors against a type of avian flu that has been successful.
Also, the USDA has approved field trials to test vaccine that could prevent dairy cows from getting the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
The USDA approved the first field trials for the vaccine in September 2024 with the USDA’s Center of Veterinary Biologics (CVB) overseeing the trials.
At least 24 companies are working on the vaccine, including Zoetis and Merck Animal Health.
Advocates note the high cost of the influenza just in the egg market.”With domestic sales of shell eggs and products amounting to seven billion dozen, consumers paid an incremental $15 billion as a result of the prolonged and uncontrolled infection.”
Newcastle disease, which killed millions of birds, is now effectively controlled by vaccine.
If vaccines can save the US poultry and dairy industry over the next year, the industry may have to worry about who heads up the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who authorizes vaccines for animals and humans. Nominee RFK Jr has made it clear – he is anti-vaccine.
USDA will start testing bulk raw milk around the country for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) say reports. The department said on October 30 that testing would begin in early November.
“Milk silos will first be tested in states where the H5N1 virus has been identified; bulk sampling will then be rolled out in states where H5N1 has not yet been confirmed. If bulk samples test positive, testing will be narrowed down to the farm level to better track and monitor the disease. Farm testing will continue until herds in an area are confirmed virus-free.”
Egg Prices
For now the consumer is feeling the impact of all this with a sudden runup in egg prices.
As of Nov 13 the USDA reports that large, white cage-free eggs cost about $5.26 per dozen in California. This is according to USDA market data for the week of Nov. 8.USDA says this is a “benchmark” price.The price is up from $2.81 a month earlier. That is approaching a doubling of the benchmark,but may not reflect retail.
The last time California eggs were this high was in February when California egg prices – cage-free egg prices- peaked at $5.59 per dozen .
This year the bird flu has taken its toll with the outbreak of H5N1, a highly transmissible and fatal strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. The outbreak started in early 2022 and rapidly grew into the largest bird flu outbreak in U.S. history.
Most recently, outbreaks affecting more than 2.84 million egg layers were reported in October at commercial facilities in Oregon, Washington and Utah, according to the CDC.
As of Nov. 8, the virus has affected over 105.2 million birds in the U.S. since January 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The California egg shortage may likely have a pocketbook impact on holiday baking activity as we move into Thanksgiving.However a recent USDA analysis suggests consumers may not see a huge jump.
Large volume grocery retailers across the nation have launched their shell egg feature campaigns targeting holiday demand at relatively attractive price levels. Much of this is attributable to changes in the way shell eggs are being marketed with an increasing share (estimated at over half of all shell egg volume sold at retail) tied to production cost agreements not prone to fluctuation common in formula trading.
There are about 378.5 million egg-laying chickens in the US. As of last year there were 9.4 billion broiler chickens and 218 million turkeys processed according to the USDA.
Avian flu is a worldwide phenomenon.In the past two weeks, the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) of the fall season have been reported in Albania, Great Britain, Romania, and new regions of Germany and Ukraine.
Despite the increase in US egg prices this holiday season, turkey prices are down from last year when supply was also affected by bird flu.
Across the country, a 15-pound turkey cost an average of $31.16 ($2.08 per pound) in 2024, compared with $35.40 ($2.36 per pound) in 2023. That price reduction represents a price decrease of 12% from last year to now,” a report said. The lower price comes even as a U.S. Dept of Agriculture report shows turkey production dipped more than 6% compared to this time last year.
Condor photo Audubon