Klobuchar, Smith advocate for turkey farmers amid bird flu outbreak

With infected migratory birds soon to threaten springtime havoc for poultry producers, Minnesota Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar on Thursday called on federal bird flu strategy to include the turkey industry.

Speaking at a roundtable event at a western Minnesota farm, Senate agriculture committee members Smith and Klobuchar said the United States needs to look at further indemnity funding for turkey farmers whose barns are threatened by two viruses, H5N1 bird flu and avian metapneumovirus. The senate delegation also heard concerns from turkey farmers who said biosecurity audits of barns are too burdensome.

Thursday's roundtable discussion with farmers and veterinary health officials near Willmar comes as some state officials have raised concerns about the response of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to H5N1 under President Donald Trump, after the agriculture secretary unveiled a plan to address the virus largely focusing on eggs.

While the country might be better prepared to respond to viruses than it was 10 years ago, Smith said in an interview, "this on-again-off-again thing that's been happening with the USDA over the last two months with the Trump administration — and these firings and then re-hirings — is a level of chaos that we do not need in this moment as things are getting touchy."

The roundtable occurred near the heart of the Minnesota region hardest hit by bird flu, where drivers pass long barns filled with tens of thousands of birds. More than 6 million turkeys raised for their meat have died due to H5N1 outbreaks in Minnesota, the largest turkey producing state, since 2022.

Public health leaders are preparing for a jump in human cases of the virus as agriculture officials ramp up testing and farms use technology — like the same kind of lasers that keep birds off airport runways — to bolster biosecurity. "I did not know about the lasers," Klobuchar said after a farmer praised the devices' ability to scare away birds.

Last month, the Trump administration announced a new five-pronged plan to respond to bird flu.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a Wall Street Journal opinion article that does not explicitly mention turkeys that the strategy includes funds supporting biosecurity measures for egg-laying chicken farms, an additional $400 million of financial relief available to farmers with affected flocks, and funds for research and development of vaccines for egg-laying chickens.

Smith said former President Joe Biden's administration had a bird flu plan, which Trump's administration largely canceled. Now the new administration is tackling the virus similarly to the previous one, but turkey farmers are concerned the Trump administration plan "is primarily about egg production," she said.

Other officials have expressed concerns about the focus of the new plan. Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said in a recent interview that the federal response has largely focused on eggs and egg prices, "but we've been dealing with it for a long time here with turkeys." He said he reminds folks to include the turkey industry in federal programs.

Federal policy feels like it's changing "by the hour of the day," said Dr. Shauna Voss, who oversees poultry programs for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

Voss said she's been assured that all funding related to H5N1 response and testing remains available. "Communication has not been fabulous" from federal officials as policy has changed rapidly over the last month and a half, Voss said.

Turkey flocks are also facing another potentially fatal virus causing respiratory distress in birds called avian metapneumovirus. Farmers don't receive indemnity funding following losses due to the virus, unlike those affected by H5N1.

Klobuchar said she hopes vaccines give the industry some reprieve from this separate virus. She said officials need to look at indemnity funding, which compensates farmers when they have to put down infected bird flocks.

"There should be some kind of help for people who have been really heavily impacted," turkey farmer and Minnesota Turkey Growers Association President Jake Vlaminck said, "and I think we've looked at that a few times. But ... it's kind of a pushback because it's not a foreign animal disease," unlike H5N1.

Turkey farms with flocks infected by H5N1 must undergo biosecurity audits, which are used to prevent farms from experiencing subsequent outbreaks costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Vlaminck said conducting the audits, requiring measures such as visitor logs, "is just adding a lot of extra busy work."

Smith said officials need to ensure biosecurity requirements deliver additional value. Klobuchar said, "we got to make sure it's working right and it doesn't create more problems."