Omaha, Neb. (AP) – Bird flu Farmers are forced slaughter Millions of chicken per month, pay American egg prices For more than twice its cost in the summer of 2023. It seems that there may be no relief on the horizon, given the increase in demand with the approaching Easter.
The average price of a decorative country in the country was $ 4.15 in December. This is not completely high He recorded $ 4.82 two years agoBut the Ministry of Agriculture expects prices to rise by another 20 % this year.
Shoppers in some parts of the country are already paying more than twice the average price, or worse than that, and they find empty shelves in local grocery stores. Organic varieties and cage -free are more expensive.
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Some grocery stores restricted the number of shoppers they can buy.
“It is just a theft,” said Sig Mills, a resident of Minneapolis, who bought eggs to bake a birthday cake last week. “The eggs used to be a kind of basic food for us, but you know now, you may also go out to eat.”
What is the raising of prices?
The outbreak of the Flying flu that started in 2022 is the main cause of the high prices of eggs.
At any time there is a virus on the poultry farm, the entire herd is slaughtered to help reduce the spread of the virus. With the presence of huge egg farms that routinely include more than a million chickens, some infections can only cause a supply crisis.
The problem tends to continue because it takes months to get rid of all the bodies, disinfect the barns and bring new birds.
More than 145 million chickens, turkey and other birds have been slaughtered since the outbreak of the current disease began, as the vast majority of them were chicken laying eggs.
The cage -free egg laws in 10 states may also be responsible for some of the supply disorders and the increase in prices. The laws have set the minimum space for chicken or the requirements free of cage to lay eggs. They have already entered into force in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan. In a goal in Chicago on Monday, dozens of large traditional eggs cost $ 4.49, but dozens of large cage -free eggs were selling for $ 6.19.
Why is it difficult to control the virus?
Bird flu is spreading primarily by wild birds such as ducks and geese during their migration. Although it is deadly for a variety of animals, these species can generally carry them without getting sick, providing the virus an opportunity for mutation and prosperity.
The virus can spread through waste or any interaction between interim poultry and wild birds. It is also easily tracked on a farm on someone’s shoes or by car.
Unlike the previous outbreaks, The person who started in 2022 did not die at high summer temperatures.
The virus found another new host when Dairy Patients began last March. This creates more opportunities for the virus to survive and spread and unlike poultry, cattle is not slaughtered when they get sick because they rarely die from bird flu.
It became more than five people as well Bad with bird flu and One person died Since last March. Almost all of them worked around pathological animals. Health officials have not yet found evidence of the spread of the disease from person to person.
What is done to stop the virus?
Farmers go far to protect their herds.
Several poultry farms installed truck washing to purify the vehicles that enter their property and ask the workers to shower and change the clothes before entering the barn. They have also invested in duplicate groups of tools so that nothing used to be shared in one fold.
Some poultry farmers in laser are invested in the green lights in random patterns to inhibit ducks and geese from dropping.
Dairy farmers isolate any sick cattle and they test an additional before moving animals from the farm – especially if there is a close outbreak or if the cows are sent to a meat treatment factory. The government is also a milk test.
future Vaccines It may help, but it is not practical to vaccinate millions of chicken through bullets, and other countries may refuse to buy meat from painted birds.
Health officials emphasize that any sick or cattle birds are kept out of food supply. Cook the meat to 165 degrees (74 ° C) kills bird flu, E. coli, salmonella or anything else. pasteurization Also kills the virus in milk. Raw milk It is the only diet associated with diseases so far.
How much does the disease out of the disease so far?
It is impossible to know how much farmers have spent on closing the barns, building shower houses for workers or adopting other biomed measures.
“Over the past five years, my small farms alone have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on biological security,” said the Minnesota farmer, Türkiye Lauren Berri. “But not only that, it is time for a day you bring to biomed security.”
the The US Department of Agriculture ruled At least $ 1.14 billion, farmers compensate for birds who had to kill them. There was no similar number immediately available to you to help the dairy.
US Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman Shilo Ware said the ministry has also spent more than $ 576 million on its own response.
Prices of turkey and milk and Chick I also saw some pressure from bird flu.
Mike Vickers, director of Sentyrz Liqour & SuperMarket in Minneapolis, said that he could not even store any organic eggs or cage -free or built at the present time and is instead in selling large eggs or jumbo. He understands the pain that customers feel.
He said: “It is the first time in my life that I have to feel embarrassed ever on what I sell for the sake of eggs.” This is not our mistake. Today we pay $ 7.45 for dozens of eggs. We sell for $ 7.59. We achieve $ 0.14. This does not pay bills. “
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Fonk mentioned from Omaha, Nebraska. Vancleave from Minneapolis and Dorbin from Detroit.
