Study reveals just how damaging bird flu has been.
It’s been about five months since bird flu began causing major damage in Iowa, but a new study by Decision Innovation Solutions quantifies those losses.
The study estimates avian flu has cost the state’s economy roughly $1.2 billion so far, including more than $700 million in poultry and egg production and $359 million in impact to industries such as real estate, insurance, truck and rail transportation, wholesale trade and grain farming.
That means that in addition to farmers, businesses like feed suppliers, trucking companies, financial institutions and veterinary clinics are hurting. In total, avian flu is costing Iowa nearly 8,500 jobs, the study found.
Though the strain poses little or no health risk to humans, even a minor outbreak of avian flu can be extremely harmful to business. The contamination of just one farm bird means all of the birds in the vicinity have to be euthanized to prevent further spread of the disease, and farmers have to take particular care with the disposal of the animals to ensure they avoid polluting any air or water.
So far, this outbreak has caused the loss of 30 million layers and pullets and 1.5 million turkeys in Iowa—the study estimates that’s about 52 percent of the state’s layers and 15 percent of its turkeys.
This major blow to Iowa’s poultry supply is resulting in higher prices for eggs and turkeys. And Dave Miller, director of research and commodity services for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, told The Des Moines Register it could take up to three years for egg prices to get back to normal.
The Decision Innovation Solutions study explains that even once avian flu is completely under control, it will take farmers “significant time to repopulate the barns and get them back into full production.”
