H5N1 Avian Flu Strikes More Poultry in 4 States

Jan 29, 2025

By Lisa Schnirring

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed more H5N1 avian flu detections in poultry from four states, including several in hard-hit Ohio.

The latest outbreaks in Ohio involved four commercial farms in Mercer County, three turkey producers and one at a duck meat facility. Over the past month, Ohio’s outbreaks have led to the loss of nearly 6 million birds, including several large layer farms, with most of the other events involving turkey producers.

APHIS also confirmed an outbreak at a layer farm in Arizona’s Pinal County that has about 316,000 birds. Officials also confirmed two detections in backyard flocks, one in Nebraska’s Kearney County and one in Florida’s Orange County.

Since H5N1 was first detected in US poultry in early 2022, outbreaks have led to the loss of a record 147.25 million birds across all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

In dairy cow developments, APHIS confirmed one more detection, another herd from California, raising the national total to 944 and the state’s total to 727.

Source : umn.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.