Northwest Iowa — While most of us are looking forward to spring and the good things it brings, area poultry producers are vigilant against potential problems with bird flu.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, and Spirit Lake Farmer, Bill Northey says cases of the two types of avian influenza that have been found in Tennessee and Wisconsin are another reminder to be alert. Northwest Iowa was especially hard hit by the bird flu that ravaged flocks two years ago, causing millions of chickens and turkeys to be destroyed.
He says the news of the case that is highly contagious in Tennessee probably led to some uneasiness in Iowa’s poultry producers.
Northey says there’s no reason for consumers to be concerned.
Thousands of chickens were destroyed at the Tennessee farm after the “highly pathogenic” variety of the disease was found there. Another bird flu outbreak was reported at a Wisconsin turkey farm but it was not the highly-pathogenic variety.
