The CEO of Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, Greg Herbruck, explains how his business was affected by the bird flu.
The prices of eggs continue to increase, reaching unructed levels since inflation reached a 9% summit in 2022, hitting consumers’ wallets as well as American farmers.
Epidemics of highly pathogenic avian flu,, Or the bird flu, are mainly to blame. Whole commercial herds, made up of more than 1,000 chickens, were destroyed as a result of the virus.
Greg Herbruck, a third -generation and CEO of the Michigan egg production company, Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch told Fox Business that the virus had wreaked through the three farms of the company, located about five kilometers of each other, forcing him to shoot his full supply.
The industry is fighting the flipper since the epidemics began in 2022. For Herbruck, it was the day before Easter 2024 when the chickens of the company contracted the bird flu – an era of which it remembers very well.
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“It is as if someone brings a bullet to your instinct,” said Herbruck, who wanted civil servants to approve and follow a vaccine that farmers can use to protect their herds. “I’m just an egg farmer here trying to say:” Hey, please, we need help to fight this battle. “”
Herbruck said that he had been sleepy weeks and that at the time of the third farm was infected, one of the business leaders was crying in his office.
“It was just horrible … just the nightmare of so many dead chickens,” he said.
Greg Herbruck, a third -generation farmer and CEO of the Michigan egg production company, Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch told Fox Business that the virus had wreaked through the three farms of the company. (Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch)
This marks the fourth year that the virus paralyzed farmers, epidemics continuing to emerge in early 2025. Once the virus is detected, farms are invited to kill their entire herds to eradicate the disease, which considerably disrupts the Supply and increases the cost of eggs in the American food system.
American eggs production decreases as prices continue to increase with cases of bird flu
The process of reconstruction of the operation is not easy, because it takes several months to reach a point where a farm can start again to produce large eggs.
After obtaining the authorization of the Agriculture Department, Herbruck said that a girl was needed about five months to reach maturity and start to lay a good number of large eggs.
Herbruck poultry rack eggs. The largest egg producer in Michigan, specializing in organic eggs and without cage. (Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch)
To speed up the process, farms buy mature chickens to start laying eggs while simultaneously raising younger chicks. He can take up to two years for a farm to return to full production. In June 2024, Herbruck said that the company had started to reintroduce birds on its farms, but still operated only 70% of their pre-shrew capacity.
Meanwhile, his workers have taken additional precautions. For example, they are transported in a distant area where they can change clothes. Some workers are even required to change twice to minimize the risk of contamination.
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Herbruck has expressed growing concerns because the virus has now demonstrated that mammals infect mammals. In March 2024, the virus was detected for the first time in cows and has since infected 968 dairy herds in 16 states, according to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last month, the agency reported 66 confirmed human cases in the United States in the United States since 2024, including a death.
Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, the largest Michigan egg producer, specializes in organic and cage eggs. (Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch)
Humans can contract the influenza of birds by contact with the body fluids of an infected animal, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The infection can also occur by inhaling small particles of dust of animal habitats or by touching the body fluids, then by making them enter the eyes, nose or mouth.
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However, Herbruck is more concerned with the disease, which has not yet been determined.
“It is not even possible to filter this virus or to disinfect air. These barns which can have 150,000 birds, we generally change the air every 30 to 40 seconds … so the idea that we could Being sort of disinfecting this air is not even reasonable, “he said.
In addition to the protocols that farms are already taking, Herbruck has said that the tool that was still missing is a vaccine. Although it is not perfect, “it’s something that can help us,” he said.
