A contagious strain of bird flu is spreading throughout the country. It’s not dangerous to humans, but Midwest poultry farmers are preparing to take a hit to their bottom lines. Harvest Public Media’s Kristofor Husted (HEW-sted) reports.
In light of nearly 50 cases of bird flu outbreaks this year, China and South Korea have restricted poultry exports from the U.S. Pair that with a strong U.S. dollar and the Department of Agriculture projects an 8 Point 5 percent drop in poultry exports for 20-15. Last year poultry exports were valued at $5.2 BILLION dollars.
USDA agriculture economist Alex Melton.
“So you could do the math with that if you’re losing about 8.5 percent, that’s just under probably about 400 million dollars worth of trade.”
Melton says Russia’s ban on U.S. trade is also factored into the forecast. Officials estimate exports will total about 6.7 billion pounds this year.
