News

8 million turkeys lost to HPAI so far in 2022

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continues to rattle the turkey industry.

“We have lost about 8 million turkeys to date, and those losses are very challenging.”

Beth Breeding with the National Turkey Federation tells Brownfield new cases continue to be diagnosed, making the virus a top concern heading into next year.

“We want to ensure there is support from the federal government for research and funding to push back and learn more about this virus, particularly as we go into the farm bill and looking at ways for prevention, preparedness and response.”

Breeding says turkey producers continue to do all they can to deliver quality protein to the nation’s grocery stores and dinner tables and she does not anticipate this year’s losses to impact availability of turkey over the holidays.