The United States reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California. Reports show that authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm in Merced County, California. Almost 119,000 birds on the farm had been killed by December 2. A recent outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Georgia, the biggest chicken producer in the U.S., is set to trigger trade restrictions from major meat importers.
Industry groups warned last week that a move of that kind could financially harm farmers and processors. The USDA’s most recent egg price outlook says egg prices were predicted to increase by 20 percent in 2025, compared to 2.2 percent for overall food prices. The USDA has attributed the rise in egg costs to the “bird flu outbreak which has caused a strain in the number of laying hens.”
