In testimony before the House Agriculture Livestock Subcommittee last Tuesday (21 March), Mr Wittenburg, a North Dakota turkey farmer, warned that the recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) among chickens illustrates the risk that must be addressed.

“As partners in the Animal Ag Coalition, which represents all facets of animal ag production,” said Mr Wittenburg. “We hope to build upon the concept that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ mantra and focus federal dollars on targeted efforts that

“We hope to build upon the concept that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ mantra and focus federal dollars on targeted efforts that reduces foreign diseases’ ability to gain a foothold here in the first place.

"As an industry, we learned many lessons from the outbreak, and the way we quickly contained a similar case of HPAI in Indiana last year indicates the industry is applying those lessons to reduce the chances of a future outbreak.

"However, the road ahead remains long and as an industry we will need continued support from Congress to assist USDA/Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to reduce the long-term impacts."

Mr Wittenburg outlined four key areas of focus:

1. Support for the Animal Pest and Disease Disaster Prevention Programme
2. Establish a long-needed Foot and Mouth Vaccine Bank strategy
3. Develop block grants for states and other key players for strategic targeting areas of concern
4. Support and collaboration for funding the science generated by the science programmes of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Mr Wittenburg recounted the cost of billions of dollars in production losses and response costs in recent years. According to USDA’s APHIS, the 2015 avian influenza outbreak cost taxpayers $1 billion in response, clean-up, and indemnity costs. That doesn’t include lost export markets, temporary shortages, or price increases for certain poultry products.