Minn. turkey industry and Board of Animal Health press for funding as avian viruses spread; HF979 sent to Ways and Means

Chair Anderson, chair of the Minnesota House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, heard testimony on poultry disease risks and agency funding during the committee’s hearing that included presentations from the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

Minnesota Turkey Growers Association Executive Director Ashley Coles told the committee Minnesota leads U.S. turkey production, raising roughly 40,000,000 turkeys annually on about 600 farms and supporting thousands of jobs. She and turkey grower Erica Sawatzki described recent disease impacts and urged continued investment in animal-health response capacity. “A silent barn is not only sad, but it’s truly very eerie,” Sawatzki said, describing arriving at a barn that later tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza and the subsequent depopulation and composting of the flock.

The presentation drew into sharper focus testimony from Dr. Brian Hayes, the state veterinarian and executive director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. Hayes said the state is facing multiple, evolving threats: highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), cases in dairy cattle during 2024, and a more recently circulating poultry strain (D1.1) linked to migratory waterfowl. “We can no…