Delegation from Iowa urges USDA to take further action against H5N1

Iowa’s U.S. senators and representatives came together to call on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to close research and response gaps as the state’s poultry and dairy producers grapple with the H5N1 outbreak.

Led by Senator Joni Ernst, the Iowa delegation wrote to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, stressing the need to continue working with leaders to support farmers with animals affected by the virus while taking additional measures.

Iowa’s delegation includes Senators Ernst and Chuck Grassley and Representatives Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. All are Republicans.

In the letter, federal lawmakers asked Vilsack to have the agency provide:

• A streamlined procedure to provide farmers with compensation for production losses and compensation
• Compensation for culled dairy cattle at market value
• Compensation for lost milk production of at least 90% of the market value
• Revision of the compensation tables for poultry to reflect the market value of the birds concerned
• Increased focus on research to strengthen manufacturers’ mitigation strategies

In 2024 alone, two commercial turkey farms and one commercial egg farm in Iowa were affected by highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI). Eleven commercial dairies in Iowa also had infected cattle.

“Preventing and containing animal diseases is a team effort,” Ernst said in a press release. “Our farmers’ livelihoods, the stability of our local economies and the entire food supply chain are at stake, so we need everyone on board in the fight against avian influenza. I’m working hard to ensure our producers and state leaders have the tools they need to stop the spread, and I urge USDA to join me in making this a top priority.”

Ernst’s press release on the letter also included supporting comments from Mike Naig, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, as well as representatives from the Iowa Turkey Federation, the Iowa State Dairy Association, the North Central Poultry Association and the Iowa Egg Council.

For more information on HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see the interactive map at WATTPoultry.com.

Check out our ongoing coverage of the global bird flu situation.