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 The funds became available after the federal Office of Management
and Budget granted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's request
for additional emergency funds, USDA sources confirmed to Reuters on
Tuesday.
Virulent H5 avian influenza strains have spread to 14 states in five
months and affected about 24 million birds so far, mostly egg-laying
hens and turkeys, according to USDA.
That tally is expected to grow, as U.S. authorities confirm pending
cases. The outbreak, which is also affecting two Canadian provinces,
shows little sign of slowing.
In Minnesota, the largest producer of U.S. turkeys, state officials
said almost 5.5 million turkeys and egg-laying chickens have either
died from the flu virus or are set to be killed in an effort to
contain the outbreak.
In Iowa, the top U.S. egg producer, state agriculture officials said
an estimated 20 million chickens and turkeys have been affected
there.
The outbreak's economic ripple effects are being felt across
numerous sectors, from food companies seeing a squeeze on egg
supplies, to meat processors flooded with excess poultry products
amid export market bans.
Also on Tuesday, Hormel Foods Corp unit Jennie-O Turkey Store said
it will temporarily lay off 233 workers at a Minnesota plant,
effective May 26, because the flu has reduced turkey supplies. It
was the first known instance of a company linking job cuts to bird
flu. There is no date set for the workers to return.
"Our intent is to have everyone come back to work when bird numbers
return to normal levels," Randy Vergin, manager of the Jennie-O
Turkey Store plant in Faribault, Minnesota, said in a statement.
The outbreak has also raised concerns that turkey supplies may be
tight for the Thanksgiving and holiday season.
The strains pose a low risk to human health, experts say, and no
human infections have been identified so far.
ECONOMIC SQUEEZE
While scientists believe wild birds are spreading the disease,
researchers do not know exactly how the highly pathogenic H5 viruses
have penetrated inside barns.
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The outbreak is also hurting scores of U.S. poultry farmers, who are
expected to submit indemnity claims to the U.S. Agriculture
Department in the wake of their birds becoming infected and flocks
culled.
"Farmers across Minnesota are in a financial and emotional
whirlwind," said Minnesota state Rep. Jeanne Poppe, a Democrat.
"Turkey processing plants are being forced to idle production lines
because of the drastic decline in turkey supplies and workers are
being laid off."
Initially, USDA had set aside $84.5 million to compensate farmers
and for other outbreak-related costs. The agency can use additional
funds to pay for the expected increase in indemnity claims filed by
poultry farmers.
The funds are also approved for such uses as sanitation of equipment
and the culling of infected flocks.
"We are confident that support for producers will continue to be
adequately funded as needed," according to a statement from USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(Additional reporting by Karl Plume and Karen Pierog in Chicago;
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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