VERSAILLES, OH (WLIO) — The U.S. secretary of agriculture visited western Ohio poultry producers who have been hit hard by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI.
Secretary Brooke Rollins came to the state at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine to meet and talk with the impacted farmers.
Secretary Brooke Rollins came to the state at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine to meet and talk with the impacted farmers.
In late February, Rollins said her agency released a billion-dollar plan to help producers cope with egg shortages and rising prices. That plan included increasing biosecurity measures, helping producers repopulate their poultry, and allowing short-term egg importation from South Korea and Turkey.
While the bird flu has affected many states, farmers in Mercer and Darke counties had to depopulate millions of chickens and turkeys, a loss that could take years to recover from.
“There is no doubt where we stand today, in this county (Darke) and the adjacent (Mercer) County, and in these producers that I just met with for the last hour, hour and a half, that there's no part of America that has been more ravaged with the Avian Bird Flu than where we stand right now. And so that's why we're here. Hopefully I'll be able to get back here sooner rather than later, but we'll stay in constant touch with the governor, with your ag director, and with these farmers to ensure that we can get this back,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rollins said wholesale prices of eggs have declined by about 50% since the plan was announced, and retail prices have also started to decline across the country.
Rollins said wholesale prices of eggs have declined by about 50% since the plan was announced, and retail prices have also started to decline across the country.
