Ag Policy Blog

Iowa Senators Seek Hearing on Bird Flu

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
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Iowa's two senators wrote a letter Thursday to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts calling on him to hold a hearing over the federal government's response to bird flu.

Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst asked for a hearing in a timely manner as long as it did not divert key people from efforts to keep H5N2 from spreading further. The H5N2 avian influenza outbreak has hit 45 million chickens and turkeys in 15 states, of which roughly 31 million birds in Iowa have been infected or euthanized.

"Family farms, which depend on predictable lifecycle of birds, are left with empty bards and questions regarding their future," the senators wrote Roberts.

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The senators added that Iowans have questions about the magnitude of the outbreak. "However, due to the sheer size and scope of this outbreak, we have heard from countless folks in Iowa who are concerned about the lack of certainty caused by this situation -- many of whom just want to find a resolution to this tragedy and get back to work."

USDA reported Wednesday that the department has paid out about $160 million in indemnity to producers so far. The Iowa senators stated there were concerns "centered on the complexity of the indemnification process," as well as "the overlapping levels of agreements requires for a grower with an impacted site to get de-populated, materials removed, facility disinfected and compensated for loss of birds." The senators maintain there are "some flaws in the response plans and indemnity calculations for different types of producers."

Iowa has been wracked with challenges about how to get rid of so many dead birds. Some landfills owned by have rejected taking the dead stock even though the infected farms are located locally. Residents in other counties have become upset because dead chickens are bagged then driven for hours to landfills in their counties. Large incinerators have been brought in also to help destroy the carcasses.

Regarding economic impacts, Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey told DTN earlier this week that some producers could go months without income, particularly because they are contract growers and not eligible for unemployment. Meanwhile, barns could remain empty for months before it could be safe for growers to put birds back in them. Then there is uncertainty about whether H5N2 will return with the wild migration this fall.

Grassley and Ernst told Roberts in their letter that a hearing would provide an opportunity for local officials and producers to review what has happened thus far and identify what has worked and what has not, as well as set the stage for better preparedness in the future.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com.

Follow me on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN.

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Bonnie Dukowitz
6/7/2015 | 2:40 PM CDT
Another hearing. Good grief.