By Jamie Martin
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently shared progress on the USDA’s five-step plan to fight Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and support egg affordability. Since the plan began in February, wholesale egg prices have fallen by 64% and retail prices by 27%.
The USDA’s plan focuses on helping farmers improve biosecurity and limit future outbreaks. More than 900 free biosecurity assessments have been completed, including wildlife risk and farm safety evaluations. These efforts aim to reduce the spread of bird flu from wild birds to poultry flocks.
“When President Trump entered office, the cost of eggs was at a record high, seriously denting consumers’ wallets after years of awful inflation. On my first day as Secretary, we got to work to implement a five-pronged strategy to improve biosecurity on the farm and lower egg prices on grocery store shelves,” said Secretary Rollins.
To help even more farmers, USDA covers full assessment costs and pays up to 75% of expenses for fixing serious biosecurity problems. Farmers can request assessments by contacting USDA via phone or email.
USDA has also offered $70 million in indemnity payments since February to help poultry farmers repopulate flocks affected by HPAI.
The department is also simplifying rules for producers, such as removing repetitive data requirements and easing line speed restrictions.
On the innovation front, over 400 proposals were submitted to USDA’s avian flu innovation challenge. The department will announce selected projects, worth up to $793 million, by fall.
To further ease egg supply challenges, over 40 million eggs and egg products have been imported from countries like Mexico and South Korea. USDA has approved six U.S. facilities for breaking and pasteurization to support safe processing of these imports.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-evgenii-leontev
Categories: National