Agriculture Secretary Outlines Plan to Combat Bird Flu

By Clayton Baumgarth

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins announced a $1 billion strategy to combat bird flu and high egg prices, though when and how those funds will be made available has yet to be determined.

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rollins outlined a five-pronged strategy including $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers, and $100 million for vaccine research and to explore temporary egg import options.

In a statement to WFIU, a USDA spokesperson said, “Funds will be available to producers to improve biosecurity after they’ve completed a wildlife biosecurity assessment or biosecurity audit. Additionally, USDA is working to quickly outline details of a process to apply for funding to support the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other strategies to combat HPAI (bird flu) and directly assist farmers.”

They added that biweekly updates on the programs will be shared publicly.

In an interview with Farm Journal, Rollins said the $500 million for improving biosecurity efforts will happen “immediately.”