Northwest, Iowa — Iowa Turkey Federation executive director, Gretta Irwin, says the industry isn’t sure why there’s been a cluster of bird flu cases recently confirmed in several northwest Iowa turkey flocks.
More than 400,000 turkeys have died or have been destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease. Wild birds can carry the virus and shed it to poultry. A wildlife extension specialist says the vast majority of wild birds that migrate through Iowa have passed through. But there are some that stay for the winter. And a lot of birds fly through northwest Iowa on their migration south. The virus has been found in commercial turkey flocks in Buena Vista, Cherokee, Ida and Sac counties this month. Tyson Foods owns a turkey processing plant in Storm Lake. The company didn’t respond to questions about how the loss of those turkeys is impacting processing there. But Iowa State University ag. economist Chad Hart says the loss of those turkeys creates a processing hole.
The executive director of the Iowa Turkey Federation says the local impact is large, but it’s a small impact to turkey processing nationwide.
