The chair of the National Turkey Federation says several obstacles stand in the way of utilizing a high-path avian influenza vaccine.
John Zimmerman, a turkey grower from Northfield, Minnesota, tells Brownfield the primary hurdle is trade.
“This is a foreign animal disease, and any time we vaccinate it effects our trade relationships with some of our trading partners. We have agreements in place that if we begin to vaccinate, they may ban importation of our turkey products, and also other poultry products too.”
He says proper trade agreements need to be in place to make sure exports are not impacted.