USDA rolls out $1 billion plan to combat bird flu after egg prices rise
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday it plans to spend up to $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to try to reduce the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry.
The virus, also known as bird flu or H5N1, has disrupted the work of poultry farmers for years and began infecting dairy herds last year. But a recent spike in egg prices has led to renewed public attention to the disease.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the new five-point plan would implement increased biosecurity measures for poultry farms to help reduce interactions between domestic flocks and wild birds, provide funding for farmers to quickly repopulate after having to cull infected flocks, remove some regulations, import eggs from other countries and research a vaccine.
Rollins said she was “confident” that the firing of probationary federal employees and efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce wouldn’t negatively affect USDA.
“As we look to streamline and make more efficient the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will we have the resources needed to address the plan I just laid out?” she said. “We are convinced that we will, as we realign and evaluate where USDA has been spending money, where our employees are spending their time.”
The USDA scrambled earlier this month to rehire employees working on H5N1 issues, who were fired as part of government efficiency moves.
Bird flu vaccine
Rollins was lukewarm on the idea of using a vaccine to address bird flu, saying she believes the issue needs further research before the United States would potentially begin vaccinating poultry against H5N1.
“We got a lot of feedback from those who think that’s the immediate solution, and that we should be doing it,” Rollins said.
But after she “really dug in” and spoke with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and veterinarians, Rollins said she concluded there needs to be more research.
“A lot of the feedback I got was, as I mentioned, that it could be a solution,” Rollins said. “But to push that out now and require it — we’re just not ready, we don’t have enough information and we need to fully understand how it will affect the food supply.”
Details from USDA
Kailee Tkacz Buller, chief of staff at USDA, said on a call with reporters that up to $500 million of the $1 billion total investment would go toward helping farmers bolster their biosecurity measures.
The USDA plans to begin that work with egg-laying hens before expanding to other poultry farms and will cover 75% of the costs of upgrading farms with best practices, she said.
Rosemary Sifford, deputy administrator of veterinary services and chief veterinary officer at USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, said on the call that the agency will help coordinate biosecurity audits for flocks that have been affected by H5N1 as well as flocks that haven’t contracted the virus.
USDA will then work with the farmers to cover that 75% share of fixing the highest risks to the poultry flocks, Sifford said.
Buller said up to $400 million of the $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds would go toward helping farmers repopulate their farms quickly with an indemnity rate “based on fair market value.”
The final pot of funding, up to $100 million, would go toward research into vaccines and therapeutics for poultry.
“We’re going to make sure that we work to limit any impact on export trade markets, if there ever were vaccinations rolled out,” Buller said.
Egg imports
USDA officials, speaking on background during the call with reporters, said that in addition to trying to find a vaccine for bird flu and helping farmers with biosecurity measures, the department is working to bolster egg imports.
One of the USDA officials said they were laying the groundwork to increase the number of eggs coming from the nation of Türkiye from about 70 million to 420 million annually.
The official didn’t provide many details about the arrangement other than to say it will last until egg prices within the United States go down and that the USDA would not subsidize any private purchases.
An official declined to answer a question about whether that would mean no tariffs on eggs coming into the country.
“This is just an opportunity for us to have the conversation,” the official said. “So we’ll continue to have those discussions.”
Last updated 5:00 p.m., Feb. 26, 2025
Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
MORE FARMING:
IRS: Many farmers and fishers face March 3 tax deadline; disaster areas have more time
IR-2025-27, Feb. 27, 2025
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has reminded farmers and fishers who chose to forgo making estimated tax payments by January that they must generally file their 2024 federal income tax return and pay all taxes due by March 3, 2025. Because it’s on Saturday this year, the usual March 1 deadline is pushed back two days to Monday, March 3.
The special March 3 deadline allows farmers and fishers to avoid any estimated tax penalties. Though several tax-payment options are available, the IRS urges farmers and fishers to consider the quick, easy and free option of paying taxes electronically from their bank account using either their IRS Online Account or IRS Direct Pay. IRS Online Account and IRS Direct Pay are available only on IRS.gov.
The special March 3, 2025, deadline applies to anyone who qualifies as a farmer or fisher and did not make a 2024 estimated tax payment by Jan. 15, 2025. Those who made a qualifying payment by that date can wait until the regular April 15, 2025, deadline to file and pay and still avoid estimated tax penalties. See Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for details.
For this purpose, a farmer or fisher is anyone who received at least two-thirds of their gross income from farming or fishing during either 2023 or 2024.
Special rules for disaster areas
Disaster-area taxpayers, including farmers and fishers, have more time to file and pay. This extension is automatic; taxpayers don’t need to file any paperwork or call the IRS to get it.
Currently, taxpayers in the entire states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and parts of Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia have until May 1, 2025, to file and pay.
Like other taxpayers, these disaster-area taxpayers who need more time to file, beyond May 1, can get it byrequesting an extension to Oct. 15, 2025. But because this extension request only gives them more time to file, any tax payments are still due by May 1.
Electronically-filed extension requests must be made by April 15. Between April 15 and May 1, the request can only be filed on paper. To learn how, visit IRS.gov/extensions.
In addition, California wildfire victims have until Oct. 15, 2025, to file and pay. Likewise, taxpayers throughoutKentucky have until Nov. 3, 2025, to file and pay. No extension beyond these dates is available.
Paying online is safe, fast and easy
IRS Online Account allows individual taxpayers to make same-day payments from a checking or savings account. Taxpayers can also see their payment history, balance and payment plan information, and digital copies of many notices sent from the IRS.
Alternatively, taxpayers can use IRS Direct Pay to make or schedule a payment from their bank account with no registration or login required. Those who need to pay business taxes through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) can also choose to use this system to make their individual income tax payments.
For more information about these and other payment options, visit IRS.gov/payments.
Forms and publications to use
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With egg prices predicted to soar, state ag commissioners welcome USDA bird flu dollars
BY: NADA HASSANEIN - FEBRUARY 28, 2025 12:16 PM
State departments of agriculture say they welcome an expected federal infusion of up to $1 billion to fight bird flu, including millions of dollars for biosecurity measures on farms, and repayments to farmers who’ve had to cull their poultry flocks.
Some state health officials have been worried about the vast layoffs of scientists across the federal government in recent weeks under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency task force, known as DOGE.
Officials told Stateline they also worried that by scrubbing some public health data from government websites, the Trump administration may undermine efforts to track the outbreak, and that staff and funding cuts will affect federal labs testing samples for bird flu.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rushed to rehire workers who were involved in responding to the outbreak and had been fired amid the federal workforce cuts.
Then this week, the USDA announced it will deploy 20 epidemiologists as part of its biosecurity audits and wildlife assessments. Those scientists will advise egg producers on how to reduce bird flu risks at their facilities.
That deployment is part of the USDA’s plans to spend up to $1 billion to reduce the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as HPAI, in poultry, with the goal of reducing egg prices.
The USDA predicts egg prices will rise 41% in 2025.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, said it makes sense to increase research and biosecurity while protecting industry flocks from mass culling.
“While some depopulations may still be necessary in severe cases, this new strategy offers a more sustainable and effective path forward,” Miller wrote in a statement this week. “Reducing our reliance on mass culling is critical to protecting both our nation’s food supply and economy.”
Egg prices have soared amid emergency culling of flocks affected by the H5N1 strain, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the plan aims to reduce those egg prices and support poultry farmers who have losses.
More than 166 million birds across all 50 states have been infected nationwide since 2022, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over the past month, the virus has been confirmed in 139 flocks, both commercial and backyard.
Last year, the virus began infecting dairy cow herds, and it has been found in more than 200 mostly wild or feral mammals, according to the CDC. The agency reports that 70 people, mostly farmworkers, have been infected.
Now, the USDA says, it has a new five-point plan: increasing biosecurity measures to lessen poultry exposure to wild birds, which are behind much of the spread, as well as audits at infected farms; offering funding aid to farmers to help them repopulate flocks; relaxing regulations on the chicken and egg industry; allocating funds toward vaccine and therapeutic research; and exploring whether to temporarily import eggs for consumers.
Mike Naig, Iowa’s secretary of agriculture, said he supports a new vaccination strategy and payments to farmers who’ve lost their birds.
“I encourage USDA to work closely with state animal health officials, farmers and industry to formulate an implementation strategy, incorporate valuable lessons learned, and minimize potential negative trade impacts,” Naig, a Republican, said in a statement.
The federal agency plans to pay up to 75% of costs to fix biosecurity vulnerabilities at egg-laying chicken facilities. Rollins also announced up to $400 million in financial relief for farmers whose flocks have been affected by the disease, and up to $100 million toward vaccine and treatment research into the virus.
She spoke Wednesday with members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; the organization praised the plan and said states are eager to be involved.
“NASDA stands ready to collaborate with USDA and federal agencies to ensure the United States’ collective response to HPAI is coordinated, efficient and effective at all levels,” Ted McKinney, the organization’s CEO, said in a statement.
Like the SC Daily Gazette, Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.
Nada Hassanein is a health care reporter for Stateline covering state policy decisions with a focus on inequities. Throughout her journalism career, Nada has sought to shed light on underreported issues affecting diverse communities. Previously, she was USA Today's national environmental and health inequities reporter. Her in-depth reporting included coverage of rural and maternal health inequities, systemic racism and health, environmental and climate justice, and disparities in health outcomes and health care access. Prior, she was a social issues reporter at the Tallahassee Democrat, writing features on immigration, health and domestic violence.
