(5MinNewsBreak.com) – As three devastating avian viruses spread quickly across poultry farms, Minnesota has been forced to declare a state of emergency.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Rural Finance Authority Board has declared an emergency for three animal diseases: avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and the H5N1 flu virus.
“The RFA Board’s declaration is an important step in helping Minnesota farmers affected by these three animal health diseases,” Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said.
This declaration opens up zero-interest Disaster Recovery Loans for affected farmers from February 12, 2025, to February 12, 2026.
“I encourage those who have faced livestock losses to explore these zero-interest loans,” Petersen added.
The severity of the situation is alarming. Minnesota has reported 871 aMPV-positive tests since April 2024.
HPAI has devastated the state’s poultry industry. Since March 2022, 185 cases have affected 9.1 million domestic birds.
The H5N1 virus, which can affect both poultry and dairy cows, made its first appearance in Minnesota in June 2024.
While the state government scrambles to provide financial assistance, the real cost to American families is already being felt.
Egg prices have skyrocketed by almost 65% since early 2024 due to shortages caused by these outbreaks.
This is yet another blow to hardworking Americans who have been already struggling with a difficult economy.
In the meantime, the federal government under Joe Biden has been blasted for its response to this crisis as woefully inadequate.
Instead of taking decisive action to protect the nation’s food supply and support farmers, they resorted to mass culling of poultry flocks.
Current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that the Biden Agriculture Department directed the killing of over 100 million chickens, contributing to a nationwide shortage of chicken and eggs.
Even more concerning is the potential threat to public health. These diseases pose serious risks to humans, with almost 70 human infections of H5N1 reported in the past year, mostly in California.
A farm worker in Ohio was recently hospitalized with bird flu symptoms, marking the fourth such case in America.
This raises serious questions about the government’s ability to protect its citizens from emerging health threats.
The impact on Minnesota’s economy cannot be overstated. As the twelfth-ranked state in US poultry production, with an industry valued at $1.1 billion annually, this crisis threatens to devastate local communities and disrupt the national food supply chain.
Nearly two million egg-laying hens and turkeys have already been culled in Minnesota due to bird flu, a number that is likely to rise as the emergency continues.
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