Low Pathogenic Avian Flu Found in Minnesota Turkey Flock

Nov 26, 2021

Animal health officials said Tuesday that a strain of avian flu confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in southern Minnesota does not pose a risk to the public and there are no food safety concerns for consumers.

The state Board of Animal Health said routine testing discovered low pathogenic avian influenza at a farm in Kandiyohi County. The board quarantined the flock and plans to test those birds and other flocks in the area for signs of the disease.

The virus is different from one that caused the highly pathogenic avian flu outbreak in the Midwest in 2015, health officials said.

“Testing birds before they go to market is standard protocol for our poultry flocks in Minnesota because it verifies healthy birds are sent to market, and if disease is detected, we can hold the flock and work quickly with producers to address the disease,” state veterinarian Dr. Beth Thompson said.

Click here to see more...

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.