Via KCCI.com: Vilsack answers KCCI's questions on bird flu outbreak. Excerpt:
In an exclusive interview with KCCI's Laura Nichols, U.S. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack talked about the USDA's top priorities to combat the avian flu outbreak.
Right now, 63 Iowa farms have been affected, and more than 25.5 million birds are dead, dying or scheduled to be euthanized.
Vilsack said that his top priorities are identifying the problem as soon as it occurs, containing it so the virus doesn't spread to others farms and then working with the producers to reimburse them for their loses.
So far, he said the federal government has paid out $50 million across the country in the 20 states affected. He said he anticipates it could go up to $150 million.
"We are providing reimbursement for the birds that are lost. We are proving reimbursement for the cost that's incurred in cleaning and sanitizing the facilities, but we want to make sure that we do that properly, which means there has to be enough time between the time we depopulate the flocks and the time we put a new flock in," said Vilsack.
Vilsack said safely disposing of the dead birds is crucial right now.
