Bird flu

At the Farm Progress Show in Boone Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the next phase for a bird flu vaccine for dairy cows and more funding to expand domestic fertilizer production. The former Iowa governor also discussed the USDA’s forecasts for a downturn in on-farm income for 2024.

State fairs can spread viruses from animals to humans. With bird flu in cattle, some experts advise caution.

One of the state’s top dairy producers in northwest Iowa is optimistic that producers can overcome an outbreak in cattle as state and federal agricultural officials take action against the virus.

The bird flu outbreak continues to expand in the U.S. and Iowa, with tens of millions of chickens, thousands of wild birds and dozens of mammal species infected.

In early June, state and federal officials confirmed bird flu infections in two dairy herds in northwest Iowa. The cases made Iowa the tenth state in an ongoing outbreak.

Some states’ wait-and-see approach worry public health expert as bird flu inches closer to humans.

The H5N1 bird flu has been common across wild bird populations for the last few years leading to the culling of millions of chickens in the United States. Now that it's showing up in dairy cows and milk samples, what does this mean for our food and transmission to humans? Experts say, your milk is safe, and as of now, the risk to human health is low.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has hit the U.S. hard over the last year and a half — leaving 60 million chickens and turkeys dead across 47 states. The USDA is working on a vaccine, but that could create new issues.

In extremely rare cases, bird flu can infect and kill cats and dogs when the pets eat birds with the disease.

The spring bird migration is well underway. Expert birders return to the show to discuss the species that are returning to Iowa and others that are passing through.