USDA is sounding the alarm regarding a nationwide shortage of veterinarians that is impacting rural America

    

Rising concerns about a nationwide veterinarian 
shortage is alarming rural communities.

(Photo by Michael on Unsplash)

A nationwide veterinarian shortage involving 243 areas across 46 states has been identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The record shortage is hitting rural communities particularly hard. According to a report produced by Iowa PBS, “The list of disciplines in need is a long one and includes rural mixed-animal practices, food-animal and livestock medicine, USDA and public health veterinarians, and some positions in animal rescue shelters.”

The report blames the shortage on a pandemic pet-ownership surge, rising educational costs and debt, professional burnout, and the benefits of life in urban versus rural environments. Laurel Bower interviewed several professors and professionals for the Market to Market show on the station. The recruitment issues were the same as those often mentioned when recruiting doctors for humans: the desire for personal time, time with families, low pay, lifestyle, or generally “work life balance.”

Minnesota veterinarian Dr. Jessica Fox reminded viewers that vet school grads are just starting out in life, maybe getting married and starting a family, and usually they are living in a city. “So, even if you had ideas of moving back home, maybe your partner doesn’t want to,” she said.

The report offered the surprising statistic that the U.S. has lost 90% of its large-animal veterinarians since World War II. Dr. Jennifer Quammen, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association told Bower, “Having veterinarians as the primary health care authority is very important to all of us …” not only locally but globally, with a “giant” economic impact. According to the USDA, just 4% of graduates are looking toward a large-animal practice.

Dr. Dan Grooms, dean of the Iowa State University College of Vet Medicine, summed the problem up by saying there is “no magic bullet” and that a variety of stakeholders will have to come together, including colleges, communities and state departments of agriculture. “Each of them probably have a little piece of the solution,” he said.

Community journalists can help hunters avoid chronic wasting disease risks

Chronic wasting disease distribution in North America as of April 2025. (USGS National Wildlife Health Center map)

As deer and elk hunting seasons open across the U.S. and Canada, community reporters can help prevent the possible spread of chronic wasting disease, which has affected 36 states and four Canadian provinces, writes Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists. "Journalists can do a lot to help hunters understand how to minimize any risks."

Chronic wasting disease is caused by the replication of abnormal brain proteins, known as prions, that clump together and cause brain damage. All hoofed ruminant mammals, such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, red deer, elk, bison and moose, are susceptible to contracting the disease.

So far, no humans have contracted CWD, but scientists haven't been able to prove or disprove whether the disease could be spread to humans by direct contact or by consuming meat from an infected animal.

"Many states have programs of one sort or another to help hunters safely handle the animals they kill," Davis adds. 

Community journalists who investigate and report on the disease in their community and publish prevention tips can also help reduce CDW risks, according to Davis. His story ideas include:

• Has CWD been found in your state? Where, how and how often? Contact your state wildlife agency for more information.
• Are there captive deer populations in your state? Deer farms are often available to hunters, and CWD incidence seems to be higher in such areas. Visit some and talk to managers, hunters and neighbors.
• There are businesses that process killed deer into specific cuts or frozen meat. If any are near you, discuss CWD safety with managers and customers.
• Are there labs in your state that check deer carcasses for CWD? Discuss with them how to mitigate the risk of CWD.
• Find local deer hunting clubs and discuss CWD with them. 

Davis also makes the following suggestions for sources:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Although compromised under the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC is supposed to track public health threats. It still offers levelheaded and science-based info on CWD.
• USGS National Wildlife Health Center: This important lab in Wisconsin exemplifies the U.S. Geological Survey’s expertise in sound science, with extensive resources on chronic wasting disease.
• State wildlife agencies: A good place to start looking for local facts and advice, as well as safety programs. For a list, start here or here.
• National Deer Association: This hunters’ group advises people about how to minimize CWD risks.
• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: The job of this unit within the Agriculture Department is to identify and control animal diseases, such as CWD. 

Virologists are worried about a human 'bird flu' pandemic; wastewater testing in Texas signals the disease's spread

Bird flu transmits from wild birds to other animals, including dairy
cows. At least 14 people have been infected. (Adobe Stock photo)

As bird flu continues to spread among U.S. dairy cows, the disease has become more adaptable, with 14 human cases reported since March. "Both are worrying developments, say virologists, who fear that the country’s meager response to the virus is putting the entire world at risk of another pandemic, reports Jessica Hamzelou of MIT Technology Review. "Infections in dairy cattle, first reported back in March, brought us a step closer to human spread. Since then, the situation has only deteriorated." Researchers have even found evidence of bird flu, or H5N1, in wastewater in 10 cities.

Even though H5N1 spreads stably in global bird populations, the disease has also infected their predators. "The list of affected mammals includes bears, foxes, skunks, otters, dolphins, whales, sea lions. . . . Some of these animals appear to be able to pass the virus to other members of their species," Hamzelou explains. "This is bad news — not just for the affected animals, but for people, too. It’s not just a bird flu anymore. And when a virus can spread in other mammals, it’s a step closer to being able to spread in humans."

How dangerous the virus can become depends on how it mutates, which isn't predictable. Scientists do know that the virus is effectively circulating and evolving. Hamzelou reports, "So far, it's clear that the virus has mutated but hasn’t yet acquired any of these more dangerous mutations, says Michael Tisza, a bioinformatics scientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. That being said, Tisza and his colleagues have been looking for the virus in wastewater from 10 cities in Texas—and they have found H5N1 in all of them."

For now, Tisza and his colleagues "don’t know where this virus is coming from — whether it’s coming from birds, milk, or infected people, Hamzelou adds. "But the team didn’t find any signal of the virus in wastewater during 2022 or 2023, when there were outbreaks in migratory birds and poultry." Tisza said, “In 2024, it’s been a different story. We’ve seen it a lot. . . . This virus is not causing a human pandemic right now, which is great. But it is a virus of pandemic potential."

Bird flu continues to infect cattle, but national testing for humans is stymied; only about 45 people have been tested

So far, H5N1 has not spread from human to human.

Despite studies showing Americans have little to zero immunity to H5N1, the strain of bird flu that has infected more than 100 herds of dairy cows and at least three farm employees, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration are distributing bird flu tests at a snail's pace. "The U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country," reports Amy Maxmen of KFF Health News. Without more testing, knowing how many dairy workers are infected is impossible. "A lack of testing means the country might not notice if the virus begins to spread between people — the gateway to another pandemic."

The CDC has around 1 million tests available, but the channels for getting the tests aren't the norm. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, "is concerned because the CDC and public health labs aren't generally where doctors order tests from. That job tends to be done by major clinical laboratories run by companies and universities, which lack authorization for bird flu testing," Maxmen explains. "Researchers cite testing failures as a key reason the U.S. fared so poorly with Covid."

Testing is critical to stemming a pandemic, but the U.S. needs to include clinical laboratories in the testing supply chain. Alex Greninger, assistant director of the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Laboratory, told KFF News, "Clinical labs are part of the nation's public health system. . . . Pull us into the game. We're stuck on the bench."

Meanwhile, H5N1 will continue to evolve, and the virus could begin to spread from person to person vs. cow to person, which is yet another reason "to involve clinical laboratories. . . so the nation can ramp up testing," Maxmen writes. "The fastest way to get clinical labs involved, Greninger said, is to allow them to use a test the FDA has already authorized: the CDC's bird flu test. . . . The CDC opened up that possibility by offering royalty-free licenses for components of its bird flu tests to accredited labs."

While several commercial labs requested those licenses, getting FDA approval has hampered progress. "The CDC has given seven companies licenses for its tests — although none have been cleared to use them by the FDA," Maxmen reports. "Greninger said the delays and confusion are reminiscent of the early months of Covid, when federal agencies prioritized caution over speed. Test accuracy is important, he said, but excessive vetting can cause harm in a fast-moving outbreak like this one."

To learn more about the evolution and transfer of viral zoonotic diseases, click here. 

Veterinarians face pet owners who reject vaccinations; research shows fewer vaccinations could be dangerous

Forty percent of dog owners distrust vaccines, new research
shows. (Photo by Karsten Winegeart, Unsplash)

New research shows that more pet owners are resisting traditional vaccines, which could cause disease outbreaks in animals and people. "Researchers who have studied vaccine hesitancy since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic say a growing body of evidence shows a surprisingly high level of mistrust among pet owners over vaccines for cats and dogs," reports Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal. "Almost 40% of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20% believe these vaccines are ineffective and 30% consider them to be medically unnecessary, according to a new study published in the journal Vaccine."

Commenting on the study's anti-vax skew, its lead author, Matthew Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University, told Armour, "We were shocked. In a world where mandates are being dialed back, and more pets go unvaccinated. . . .That’s a threat to our pets but also a public health threat to you and me.”

If fewer animals are vaccinated, the chance for previously controlled diseases such as rabies to return dramatically increases. Rena Carlson, a veterinarian and president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told Armour, "We’re going to see more and more disease as we see vaccine compliance drop. . . . Vaccines can really prevent severe disease.” Armour reports, "Seventy percent of dogs in a population should be vaccinated against rabies to prevent outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization."

Social media postings about the potential harm vaccines "could do" has contributed to the anti-vaccine movement. Armour writes, "A pet owner in California with a Chihuahua said she always takes her dogs 'off the system' because she said vaccines can cause cancer, seizures or death. . . . Misinformation and misperceptions are driving a lot of the skepticism, veterinarians say. Thirty-seven percent of dog owners believe vaccines could cause cognitive problems such as autism, according to the study in Vaccine. No scientific data exists that validates the risk for people or animals."

There aren't enough rural veterinarians; new legislation sets out a plan to attract new graduates

Rural America needs more veterinarians.

(Farm Journal photo)

Forty years ago, there were plenty of country veterinarians to care for livestock and other food animals. That's no longer the case and lawmakers are working to address the issue. "New legislation has been introduced to address the critical shortage of veterinarians practicing in rural America," reports Rhonda Brooks of Farm Journal. The bipartisan legislation, the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act S.2829, was introduced this past week as a plan to address the steep decline of veterinarians practicing in rural areas. "A report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation in 2022, noted that more than 500 counties across the U.S. have shortages of food animal veterinarians." 

The act would provide student loan tax benefits for graduates who choose  rural practice. The break helps "give more veterinarians the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are needed most," Brooks reports. "This change would reflect similar exemptions provided to medical doctors and other human health practitioners."

The lack of food animal veterinarians isn't just about farmers and animals; it can affect the public's food supply. Cornell University's Dr. Clinton Neill told Brooks, "The decline in food animal veterinarians in rural areas heightens concerns for several risks, including food safety threats, animal disease outbreaks, the potential passing of animal diseases to human populations, and decreasing rural economic growth. In essence, veterinarians protect the whole of the human and animal population, so it is critical that we have a strong pipeline of practitioners to work in rural areas."

Reasons new vet school graduates steer away from rural practice include "high levels of education debt that have outpaced potential earnings, especially in the rural U.S.," Brooks explains. "[The legislation] is encouraging more veterinarians to pursue companion animal practices and work in urban and suburban areas where incomes are often higher."

Legislation sponsors: Debbie Stabenow (D), John Boozman (R), Susan Collins (R), Mike Crapo (R), Kirsten Gillibrand (D), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R), Angus King (I), Amy Klobuchar (D), Jerry Moran (R), Lisa Murkowski (R), Patty Murray (D), James Risch (R), Tina Smith (D)

Next pandemic could come from pigs at county or state fair

A researcher takes a 'snout out' sample at a fair.
(Photo by Maddie McGarvey, The New York Times)

A state or county fair can be all sorts of fun, but when there are pig shows, there's often swine flu, and the next pandemic could start there. "But there is real risk in our own backyards — and barnyards. Since 2011, there have been more confirmed human cases of swine flu in the United States than anywhere else in the world," reports Emily Anthes of The New York Times. "Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, which can spread between animals and humans, have become more frequent in recent decades, and animal pathogens will continue spilling over into human populations in the years ahead. . . . Most have been linked to agricultural shows and fairs."

Americans often see pandemics as something that comes into the country and not something that happens here. But considering the number of swine cases in the U.S., the next pandemic could as easily come from within. "Although flu is often mild in pigs, the animals are renowned for giving rise to novel flu variants. In 2009, one of these new variants, which originated in pigs in Mexico, set off a pandemic that killed at least 150,000 people, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Anthes writes. "Dr. Andrew Bowman, a molecular epidemiologist at Ohio State University and his colleagues have been documenting the dangers and seeking ways to make swine shows safer. Meaningfully reducing the risks will require looking past the pigs to creatures on the other side of the spillover equation. What needs to change, Dr. Bowman said, 'is an awful lot of human behavior.'”

Anthes notes, "Pigs play a key role in the evolution of influenza. They can be infected by swine, bird and human flu viruses simultaneously, serving as mixing vessels in which different strains can reshuffle their genetic material, yielding new versions of the virus. When the 2009 swine flu pandemic hit, influenza surveillance in pigs was limited. [Bowman] began swabbing pigs at swine shows, ultimately uncovering a national network of events that resulted in human infections in a predictable annual cycle. Starting every spring, regional and national 'jackpot' shows, which attract serious swine competitors, bring together pigs from far-flung farms, causing new flu variants to spread across the country."

"Over the years that followed, the researchers worked to identify what made these shows risky. They found that although most fairs had hand-sanitation stations, few had signs explaining how to use them — and almost no one did," Anthes writes. Researchers also found that fair "line-ups" where pigs are one behind speeds transmission. "The researchers, who have shared their findings with show organizers and health officials, say they have seen some changes, with many shows moving away from mandatory mass weigh-in. . . . Still, some health recommendations, such as the advice to avoid eating or drinking around the animals, have been a tough sell. For many families, some of whom bring crockpots into the barn with them, sharing a meal at a show is a way of building community. . . . It is hard to determine how effective the team’s efforts have been overall; the surveillance is still fairly new, and some flu seasons are naturally worse than others." Bowman told Anthes: “But I think we have moved the needle. . . .There is change happening.”

At last, the price of eggs is falling; supply exceeds demand

Photo by Hannah Oliver, Unsplash

Oh, Chicken Little, the sky isn't falling, but the price of eggs is! An expert says the decrease is a "supply-and-demand, market-driven tumble," reports Adam Russell of Texas A&M Extension. University economist David Anderson told Russell that he expects the trend to continue.

The price of a dozen eggs peaked in January of 2023 at around $5 and has been declining since. "The Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Marketing Service reported retail eggs nationally were $2.74 per dozen between April 14-20 and were expected to be around $1.08 per dozen this week, Russell reports. "Anderson expects the cost of a dozen eggs will continue to decline in other markets around Texas and the U.S. because wholesale prices are already down to 84 cents per dozen. Prices that are low could be concerning for producers and are likely to trigger thoughts about slowing production growth. Declining costs for feed like soybean meal and corn are also helping livestock and poultry producers and may contribute to even lower prices. . . . The falling wholesale egg prices could be a good indicator that the next Consumer Price Index might show falling retail prices."

Egg producers have been trying to recover their flocks after last year's devasting avian flu. Russell reports, "Egg supplies are still below where production was a year ago, but supplies continue to rise amid declining purchases, Anderson said. Rising supplies and weaker demand are driving egg prices downward. Producers continue to rebuild the table egg-laying flock hit hard by the avian flu outbreak. . . . [Farmers lost] over 43 million laying hens in 47 states. Anderson told him: "Some of the demand issues are seasonal, but consumer response to higher egg prices is also part of it. . . . Meanwhile, egg producers continue to increase production, and the market is responding to the supply and demand factors. It's a good example of how the market works."

Feral swine from Canada threaten Minn., No. 2 pork state; in Georgia, landowners start trapping them in corrals

Feral swine can be attracted to a feeder, which can then be moved
to a corral where they can be shot. (Photo from The Oglethorpe Echo)

Feral swine have come to Minnesota, and in Georgia, landowners are starting to trap them in corrals so many more can be shot and killed at one time.

"Minnesota has long enjoyed its status as a state free of wild pigs, avoiding the billions of dollars of damages suffered each year by other states from invasive feral swine," reports Madison McVan of Investigate Midwest. "Now, Canadian 'super pigs' are threatening the state, and pork producers and regulators are concerned about the destruction and disease the animals could bring if they were to establish a population in Minnesota."

Wild swine are smart and hearty. "They have no natural predators besides humans. . . . The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service estimates that feral hogs cause up to $2.5 billion in damages nationwide per year," McVan writes. "The animals consume crops, destroy fencing, transmit diseases and parasites, and contaminate bodies of water by wallowing and defecating. . . . Once feral pigs take over a territory, it's nearly impossible to eradicate them, said Eric Nelson, wildlife damage program supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources."

The swine from Canada are descendants of hybrids created by breeding domestic pigs with wild boars for more hardiness. "In some cases, farmers released them from fences due to economic hardship during Canada's droughts of 2001 and 2002," McVan reports. "There is a very legitimate risk and concern about them coming straight into Minnesota," second-largest pig producer in the U.S. The Minnesota Pork Producers Association worries about diseases spread by feral swine, "especially African swine fever," which has no vaccine or treatment. "Farmers can lose entire herds to the disease, and countries often pause imports" from nations where the disease is spreading.

In Georgia, Morgan Quinn and Jack Rhodes of The Oglethorpe Echo are covering the feral-swine problem, and report that vegetable farmer Kendall Strickland has concluded that the best way to reduce the population is attractign them into corrals where they can be trapped and disposed of. “If you just shoot one or two at a time, you’re not really getting ahead of the problem in any type of way,” Strickland told the Echo. Here's a guide to how it's done in Scotland.

More states impose poultry quarantines to stop bird flu; scientists explain why it could pose a threat to humans

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention graphic

As the U.S. continues to experience the largest bird-flu epidemic on record, and more flocks are quarantined, "scientists are closely watching the outbreak" to determine the threat to humans, reports University of Colorado biology profssor Sara Sawyer. "Many virologists are concerned that this virus could spill over to humans and cause a new human pandemic."

In Pennsylvania, "207 poultry flocks in eastern Lancaster County and western Chester County that supply live bird markets" have been quarantined, reports Philip Gruber of Lancaster Farming. "A wave of farms in the live market system have tested positive for avian influenza, and others have tried to manage sick birds on the farm without reporting them to the state, State Veterinarian Kevin Brightbill told industry members. Brightbill said, “That is the kind of misguided thinking that can result in, frankly, a massive outbreak in Lancaster County and loss of all of our flocks."

Lancaster County (Wikipedia)

Gruber writes, "Brightbill said at least five farm owners have told him they had been dealing with sick birds for the past month but hadn’t mentioned this to the state. Farmers have been trying to control the disease by culling sick birds and not moving birds off the farm, but Brightbill said that's not enough. . . . The current virulent strain of avian influenza is adapted to waterfowl. The U.S. requires all flocks infected with avian influenza to be killed to prevent the disease from spreading."

In November, "Arizona, Mississippi, and South Carolina reported their first highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks in poultry flocks, part of expanding activity involving the Eurasian H5N1 strain that has now affected poultry in 46 states, with poultry losses soon to pass a record set in 2015," reports Lisa Schnirring for the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "The Arizona Department of Agriculture said that officials have quarantined the affected locations, where depopulation is under way. The virus had been previously detected a few times in waterfowl found dead in Arizona."

Scientists are watching how H5N1 mutates to gauge its threat to humans. In Colorado, Sawyer and her collegaues Emma Worden-Sapper and Sharon Wu did a Q and A; here's an edited summary:

1. Is this virus a serious threat to humans? The virus is highly pathogenic to birds, meaning that infections often cause extreme symptoms, including death. But its impact on humans is complicated. There have been relatively few human infections detected – fewer than 900 documented globally over several decades – but about half of those infected individuals have died. The good news about H5N1 for humans is that it currently doesn’t spread well between people. Most people who have contracted H5N1 have gotten it directly from interacting with infected poultry – specifically chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, which often are raised in close quarters on large commercial farms.

Photo via Lancaster Farming

2. Why is this outbreak suddenly getting so much attention? H5N1 is causing the largest “bird pandemic” ever recorded. A certain viral variant that arose in 2020, called H5N1 2.3.4.4b, is driving this outbreak. In agricultural poultry flocks, if a few birds test positive for H5N1, the whole flock is killed regardless of symptoms or infection status. The Biden administration is considering vaccinating farmed poultry flocks, but the logistics could be quite complicated.

The second reason for increased attention is that H5N1 is now infecting more bird and mammalian species than ever before. The virus has been detected in a broad array of wild birds and in diverse mammals, including badgers, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, ferrets, fisher cats, foxes, leopards, opossums, pigs, skunks and sea lions.

The third and most worrisome reason that this virus is getting so much press is that H5N1 now seems to be transmitting well between individuals of at least one mammalian species. In late 2022, mammal-to-mammal spread occurred in Spain in farmed minks. H5N1 spread very efficiently between the minks and caused clinical signs of illness and death in the mink populations where it was detected.

3. Here’s the key question: If H5N1 can achieve spread in minks, why not humans? We are also mammals. It is true that the farmed minks were confined in close quarters, like chickens on a poultry farm, so that may have contributed. But humans also live in high densities in many cities around the world, providing the virus similar tinder should a human-compatible variant arise.

4. Why don’t we make a vaccine just in case? With avian influenza viruses, it is not possible to make effective human vaccines in advance, because we don’t know exactly what the genetics of the virus will be if it starts to spread well in humans. . . . Right now, the best way people can protect themselves from H5N1 is to avoid contact with infected birds. For more information about prevention, especially for people who keep domesticated birds or are bird-watching hobbyists, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of guidelines for avoiding H5N1 and other bird flu viruses.

Livestock antibiotics will need a veterinarian's prescription

Photo by Harry Grout, Unsplash

Beginning in June, livestock farmers must change how they obtain antibiotics. "Most over-the-counter livestock antibiotic medications will no longer be available for purchase without a veterinary prescription," reports Courtney Love of Successful Farming. "Since 2017, the Food and Drug Administration has been trying to bring all approved livestock antibiotics under veterinary oversight. . . . This is the final phase of the FDA’s Guidance on livestock antibiotic labels."

It is also the end of a long battle to regulate the use of antibiotics in animals, driven by concern that overuse of the drugs encouarges the evolution of pathogens that are resistant to them.

Jennifer Roberts, a veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim, told Love, "The public has an interest in what farmers are doing to care for livestock, and there's an expectation that we are going to use antibiotics judiciously with livestock . . . . This regulation allows us to have a little more input on the farm and to have conversations with farmers about following medication protocol. . . . It will allow farmers to communicate directly with their veterinarian when using those products, making sure they're using the correct dose and following the appropriate withdrawal time."

Love explains, "Most over-the-counter medication for any species of livestock, including cattle, will be affected by this new rule. . . . However, there will be some exceptions for vaccines, dewormers, fly control. . . .The new regulation will also exempt over-the-counter products purchased before the June date and will be honored as an over-the-counter medication until it expires, says Hayley Springer, a veterinarian for Penn State Extension."

In response to the changes, retail farm stores may no longer carry certain medications. "Businesses that sell, dispense, or fill orders for animal prescription drugs must have a state pharmacy permit," Love writes. "Because of this, most brick-and-mortar farm stores might decide not to sell antibiotics once FDA requires a prescription, says Craig Payne, veterinarian, University of Missouri Extension."

Prior to June, farmers will want to prepare. "If a producer doesn’t have a veterinary-client-patient relationship with a local veterinarian, they need to establish one. This means farmers will have to find a veterinarian that is willing to become familiar with their farm and style of animal care by either one examination or timely visits to the farm," Love reports. "Producers should check the requirements in their state, as some areas have stricter guidelines. For example, South Carolina nullifies a farm's veterinary-client-patient relationship if a veterinarian has not seen the farm within one year, says the American Veterinary Medical Association."

"It's a change, but I think farmers will get used to it," Roberts told Love. "For those that have a relationship with a veterinarian, it's going to be an effortless change. For farmers that need to establish a relationship with a veterinarian, it's going to be a positive experience." Love adds, "However, Roberts acknowledges it's a change for most farmers that have valued the convenience of purchasing antibiotics whenever the need arises on their farms."

Bird flu impact may go beyond eggs; shows signs of spreading among mammals; vaccine for poultry to be tested

The U.S. is experiencing a record outbreak of bird flu, a virus that is currently deemed a low risk to humans, but has hiked prices of eggs and poultry. The Biden administration is weighing whether to vaccinate poultry against the disease and it appears that the virus can spread among mammals. 

Bird flu spread among minks at a farm in Spain. (Nature photo) 

"The virus is primarily a threat to birds," Emily Anthes reports for The New York Times, "but infections in mammals increase the odds that the virus could mutate in ways that make it more of a risk to humans, experts say," 

Anthes reports that a new variant of the H5N1 virus has "taken an unusually heavy toll on wild birds and repeatedly spilled over into mammals, such as foxes, raccoons and bears, that might feed on infected birds." 

More recently, it has infected farmed minks, which scientists describe as a "new and troubling development," pointing to an outbreak in Spain where the virus appeared to spread from mink to mink and had an unusual mutation that might be a sign of adaptation to mammals, Anthes reports, adding that experts say the mink outbreak is no cause for panic, but highlights the need for more proactive surveillance.  

Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina reports that the risk of bird flu in humans is "currently very low," citing research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracked the health of more than 5,190 people who have been exposed to infected birds in 2022 and only one human case was reported. The Times reports "fewer than 10 known cases in people since December 2021, and there have been no documented instances of human-to-human transmission, according to the CDC."

Federal scientists are gearing up to test the first vaccines in poultry against the bird flu as a way to counter the growing oubreak, Alexander Tin reports for CBS News. The Biden administration has not yet greenlighted the use of these vaccines. Officials told Tin that one of the concerns about issuing these vaccines is that it could make it harder to export American poultry products.

The virus is spread from an infected bird's nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings. 

USDA says properly prepared and cooked poultry and eggs should pose no risk to consumers. 

"Right now you don’t need to do anything, unless you’re in close contact with birds. A person’s level of risk is dependent on duration and intensity of exposure. In other words, a person with one chicken in their backyard is at much lower risk than someone at a poultry farm," Jetelina writes. "Those around wild birds, such as at parks, lakes, rivers, or other waterways, need to exercise caution, including wearing PPE, washing hands, and changing clothes. If you have backyard poultry, wear a mask and wash your hands. Also, monitor the health of your flock, especially if they come in contact with other wild birds."

Advocacy group claims that record egg prices are the result of illegal collusion among vertically integrated companies

Eggs for sale in Glenview, Ill., Jan. 10 (Associated Press photo by Nam Y. Huh)

Why are eggs more expensive than ever? It's not inflation or bird flu, "as claimed by egg companies, but by price collusion among the nation’s top egg producers," an advocacy organization claims in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder reports.

Farm Action's letter said, “The real culprit behind this 138% hike in the price of a carton of eggs appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40%.”

Carlson notes, "Egg production has become a more vertically integrated industry over the past 45 years, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, a USDA-funded program based at Iowa State University. . . . The largest egg producer in the United States, Cal-Maine Foods, has come to dominate the egg industry through the acquisition of other egg farms across the country, according to their website. . . . Cal-Maine’s gross profit jumped 10-fold from one 26-week period in 2021 to the same period in 2022, according to the company’s most recent quarterly financial statement."

The outbreak of avian flu was the second in seven years. The one in 2015 "was deadlier but did not produce price spikes as high as those seen in 2022," Carlson reports.

Sarah Carden, senior policy advocate at Farm Action, told Carlson, “We see big agriculture controlling this narrative about avian flu and supply chain issues, but when you block out all that noise and just look at the numbers… there’s not a substantial decrease in supply.” The American Egg Board told Carlson, “Eggs are bought and sold on the commodity market, where farmers don’t set the price of eggs – the market does.”

Food prices will remain high through the holiday season; market analysts see chance of relief in about six months

(Photo by Alison Marras on Unsplash)

"Sticker shock" is one way to describe grocery shopping this past year. Shoppers are not imagining the pain: "The Consumer Price Index shows inflation cooling but food prices — particularly for some holiday staples — remain high," reports Casey Quinlan of States Newsroom. "The CPI increased 0.1% in November, which was lower than some economists expected. Over the last 12 months, it rose 7.1%. Food went up 0.5% last month after an increase of 0.6% in October. The food index climbed 10.6% over last year."

While U.S. inflation has dipped in general, grocery prices have not relented. David Ortega, associate professor at the department of agricultural food and resource economics at Michigan State University, told Quinlan, “Grocery prices are still 12% higher than they were a year ago. . . . The good news is that food price increases and grocery price increases peaked in August. They’re just slowly starting to come down."

The war in Ukraine, supply-chain backups, agricultural-output decreases due to climate change and the deadliest bird flu in U.S. history have all contributed to increased food prices, Quinlan reports. Ortega told Quinlan that although it’s hard to say when food prices will begin to come down, he expects that it could happen in the next six months or so.

Donna McCallister, an assistant professor at at Texas Tech, told Quinlan that prices always increase this time of year, compounding the problem. Quinlan notes, "According to Bankrate’s Nov. 23 analysis of the cost of holiday essentials, six of 10 of the most inflated prices were for food, including turkey, bakery items, eggs, flour and prepared mixes."

McCallister gave Quinlan some suggestions for trimming grocery costs by "cutting down on food waste by going to stores more frequently for specific meals, buying some items in bulk, or switching from name brand to store brand to save money this holiday season."

To thwart overuse of animal antibiotics, farmers will need prescriptions or a legal relationship with a veterinarian

Livestock producers who need to use antimicrobals, a variety of antibiotics important to their industry, will be divided into "the haves and the have nots" by a Food and Drug Administration rule that takes effect June 12, 2023, Rhonda Brooks writes for Farm Journal's AgWeb.

"If you have a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship, you will be able to get a prescription from your veterinarian to purchase antimicrobials from them or a distributor and use them," Brooks reports. "If you don’t have a relationship with a licensed veterinarian, you won’t be able to purchase such products, many of which have long been available over the counter."

The rule applies to "injectables such as penicillin, sulfa-based drugs, boluses, intramammary mastitis tubes and some topical products," Brooks reports. Many other drugs were covered by a similar rule in 2017.

The rules are aimed to prevent overuse of the drugs, which can lead to resistance to them, said Sandra Stuttgen, a veterinarian and associate extension professor at the University of Wisconsin.

“Our survival rates on cancer and (other diseases) are great until a patient gets a secondary bacterial infection and there is not a drug to treat it,” Stuttgen said. “People die or have to have extended hospital stays then, and it becomes very expensive and very emotional. It's a huge social impact.”

As number of hunters falls, number of deer rises, increasing disease threats and damage to crops and landscapes

Deer are becoming more familiar neighbors.
(Photo from LifeInMichigan.com)

The nation's population of deer is rising, and its population of hunters is falling. That's causing problems for people in rural areas and suburbs, reports Keith Matheny of the Detroit Free Press.

Matheny notes, "Michigan is the second-leading state for car-deer accidents in the U.S., trailing only Pennsylvania, and car-deer accidents have increased 6.6% in Michigan since 2012, with 115 of them causing human fatalities. Farmers and orchard growers are seeing rising problems as well. The number of special, out-of-season deer permits granted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to address significant crop damage increased 60% from 2014 to 2020."

Milder winters allow more deer to survive, but denser populations make them more vulnerable to chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis, which they can give to or get from livestock. "That's a big worry for Michigan's beef and dairy industries," Matheny reports.

Hunting has kept deer populations in check, but less so these days because there are fewer hunters. "In the 1990s, driven by baby boomers, Michigan had 900,000 deer hunters in the woods. By 2030, the DNR expects about half as many. An age cliff looms where almost all of the hunters who have sustained the activity in Michigan for decades are just too old to do it anymore," Matheny reports. "In 2011, most deer-hunting licenses in Michigan were bought by men age 50. In 2021, most were bought by men age 60 -- as if it was the exact same hunters, just 10 years later."

Chad Stewart, deer-management specialist for DNR, asks, “How do you manage a deer herd when there are no longer as many hunters that you can depend on? Where the swell of new fawns in the summer is going to continue to dwarf the fall kill? That is something that is an ongoing discussion with deer biologists right now - not only in our region, but nationally.”

Local governments in more populated areas are responding to homeowners' complaints about deer damage. "In Southfield, residents are being asked on the general election ballot whether they would support a deer cull, a thinning of the local herd with the resulting meat donated to local food banks and similar organizations," Matheny reports.

Bird-flu outbreak wanes along with bird migration, but could resurge; virus is infecting foxes, bobcats, other mammals

Photo from U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr/Creative Commons

"A bird-flu outbreak in the U.S. that led to the deaths of more than 40 million chickens and turkeys and contributed to a spike in egg and meat prices appears to be waning, but experts caution the virus hasn’t disappeared and worry another surge could take hold this fall," The Associated Press reports.

The lingering threat was illustrated this month by a culling of more than 2 million birds "after infections were discovered at two large farms in Colorado," Josh Funk reports. "The number of birds culled to limit its spread dropped from a peak of almost 21 million in March to less than 800,000 in May."

In Iowa, the nation's top egg producer, which has lost the most birds (13.4 million), "No cases have been reported in the state since May 4, likely because migrating wild birds, which are blamed for spreading the virus, have moved out of Iowa," AP reports. "Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said the virus still poses a risk because more cases are being reported, but that 'It really does feel like we’re on the tail end of it for this year.'"

But "Richard Coker, a spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told AP, “We are not ready to say the outbreak is winding down. We remain vigilant and encourage producers to continue to practice strong biosecurity.” AP reports, "The summer heat should help kill off the disease, but experts worry that the latest version of the virus may be hardy enough to survive the season, leading to a new outbreak when wild birds migrate later in the year."

The outbreak remains smaller than one in 2015, when 50 million turkeys and chickens were killed, making it "the most expensive animal health disaster in U.S. history," AP notes. "The government spent nearly $1 billion then to deal with infected birds, clean up barns and compensate farmers. The USDA has so far approved $793 million to cover costs this year," but that won't cover lost income, National Turkey Federation spokeswoman Beth Breeding told AP.

Wisconsin red fox kit, recovering (Dane County Humane Society)

Meanwhile, Emily Anthes of The New York Times reports that the virus is infecting wild mammals: "At least seven U.S. states have detected the virus in red fox kits, to which the pathogen appeared to be particularly lethal. Two bobcats in Wisconsin, a coyote pup in Michigan and skunks in Canada have also tested positive for the virus, as have foxes, otters, a lynx, a polecat and a badger in Europe. (Two human cases, one in the United States and one in Britain, have been reported as well, both of which were in people who had close contact with birds.) There is no evidence that mammals play a significant role in spreading the virus, and the risk to humans remains low, experts said."

Bird flu fades in May after death toll of nearly 38 million birds, but USDA doubles funding to animal-health agency

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has resulted in the deaths of nearly 38 million domestic birds, mostly egg layers, since February; Agriculture Department data for May suggest the pandemic is dying down. "Losses for the month were on track to be the smallest of the year. A viral disease that spreads best in cold conditions, bird flu typically dissipates with the arrival of consistently warm weather," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network. "All the same, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack transferred an additional $400 million to the USDA agency responsible for protecting animal health on Friday. The transfer doubled, to nearly $800 million, the money available for fighting HPAI and indemnifying owners of commercial flocks."

About 780,000 commercial birds died from bird flu or were culled preventively in May, far fewer than the 14.7 million in April, 21 million in March and 1.5 million in February. Overall this year, "Egg-laying hens, 28.8 million in all, accounted for three of every four losses to HPAI," Abbott reports. "The number of layers in the U.S. flock was down by 6 percent compared to a year ago because of bird flu. Often volatile, egg prices at the wholesale level soared to nearly $3 for a dozen Large eggs in the week before Easter, double their price at that point in 2021, but were trending downward. The nationwide wholesale average price was $2.48 last week."

Colorado man tests positive for avian influenza, but CDC says the virus is still a low threat to humans

"Bird flu ranks as a low threat to public health, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after a Colorado correctional inmate tested positive for avian influenza after culling an infected flock. It was the first U.S. case and the second worldwide of human infection by the H5N1 viruses now circulating among birds globally," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Energy Reporting Network.

But, the agency says humans are still at very little risk of contracting the virus, and that the case is the only one they've seen after tracking the health of more than 2,500 people who had been exposed to infected birds. The patient, who is younger than 40, is tired but mostly asymptomatic, and repeated flu tests have come back negative, Abbott reports. The Colorado Department of Public Health theorized that, because the man was in close contact with infected birds, the virus may have been present in his nose without truly infecting him.

The only other recent bird flu case happened in England in December, and officials say the patient had "very close, regular contact with a large number of infected birds, which they kept in and around their home over a prolonged period of time," reported the BBC. Here's the CDC's guidance on how to minimize the risk of contracting avian influenza.

More than 36 million domestic birds, mostly chicken and poultry, have died from the bird flu or from cullings of infected flocks over the past three months. The Agriculture Department transferred $263 million to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service last week, in addition to $130 million in mid-March. "APHIS works with state and local officials to identify outbreaks and carry out response plans that include quarantines, cullings of birds, disposing of dead birds, and sanitizing infected premises," Abbott reports.

Quick hits: Texas town split by murder charges in alleged abortion; why food prices are up and farmer profits aren't

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

Montana ranchers live right next to a nuclear missile silo—a thought that has been much on their minds during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Washington Post talks with them about what that's like. Read more here.

Texas passed an anti-abortion law last year that empowered citizens to enforce it via lawsuits against abortion providers or those who help them. But recently a woman in a small town was arrested on murder charges for an alleged abortion (though she was soon released and the charges dropped). The controversy split her community. Read more here.

In a recent video, the Michigan Farm Bureau discussed why food prices have been increasing but not farmer profits. Watch the video here.

It's not just chickens and turkeys that are dying from the bird flu pandemic. Bald eagles in 14 states have died too. Read more here.

Just in time for Earth Day, here's a list of America's most endangered rivers. Read more here.

Decades after a Ukrainian teen spent a year in rural Kentucky as a foreign exchange student, the same small town welcomed her back again, this time as a refugee along with her children. Read more here.

Rural Texans who met Vladimir Putin in 2001 reflect on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Read more here.

The University of Kentucky has received a $1.5 million gift from an African American who grew up on his family's farm in the Bluegrass region, meant to encourage Black and other underrepresented students to pursue farming and other natural resources careers. Read more here.

Georgia has the latest "Freedom to Farm" bill, meant to protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits filed by neighbors. Read more here.