News

Dairy markets see minimal HPAI disruptions

A dairy economist says the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus in dairy cattle has had a limited impact on milk markets.

Highground Dairy’s Betty Berning tells Brownfield “When the news first broke that there was a ‘mystery illness’ in Texas, we saw some lift in the market on concerns about supply.”

“That was early March, but since then not as much,” she says.

Detections in North Carolina and South Dakota bring the number of states with confirmed cases of HPAI in a dairy herd to eight.

In addition to North Carolina, 16 other states have tightened cattle import rules to varying degrees.

There are now 21 herds that have had positive detections for the virus.  Additional cases have been confirmed in the past week in South Dakota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, and Michigan.