Bird flu affected Iowa the worst of the 15 states affected
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Despite the fact that the Obama Administration’s veterinarian called the most recent avian flu outbreak the worst in the history of the United States, a motion by Iowa officials to have the avian influenza outbreak declared a federal disaster was rejected by the President.
“The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has worked hand-in-hand with the USDA throughout this outbreak,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.” It is disappointing that the Obama Administration denied the Governor’s request that would allow much needed federal resources to come into the state to assist farmers and others who have been impacted. Our Department will continue to work close with the farmers impacted, local officials, other state agencies and our federal partners as farms continue to the cleaning and disinfection process and move towards repopulation of these facilities.”
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad requested four counties in the state be eligible for disaster declaration and have unemployment insurance, legal services and other assistance provided for them.
Since February of 2015 when the disease was first discovered on a farm in Minnesota, upwards of 45 million birds across 15 states have been affected. Iowa, the country’s largest producer of eggs, has lost more than 27 million birds itself.
A letter written to Governor Branstad from Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said the aftermath of the outbreak isn’t to the point where the state, local governments and other agencies are unable to provide the proper assistance.
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