U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee to Hold Hearing on Avian Flu Pandemic and Its Impacts

Following a request from Iowa Senators Joni Ernst (R) and Chuck
Grassley (R), the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry will convene a hearing on July 7, 2015, to discuss the ongoing
outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), H5N2. The
outbreak has “decimated” turkey, chicken and other poultry flocks in 15
states, and an estimated 30 million birds in Iowa have been affected.

“This is an important opportunity to bring leaders and key stakeholders
together to review the pandemic spread of this deadly disease, identify
areas for improvement within response procedures, and set the state to
ensure we are better prepared in the future,” Ernst was quoted as saying.

Increases in wholesale table egg prices have reportedly “begun to reverse
due to buyer resistance and limited demand,” according to the agriculture
department’s Agricultural Marketing Service. See Press Release of Sen.
Charles Grassley, June 11, 2015; The New York Times, June 16, 2015.

Issue 569