EAST LANSING, Mich. – Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Michigan and a fire at a processing facility in Illinois were factors in a drop in the layer populations in the states over the past year, according to officials in both states.

Kentucky saw a small loss in layer numbers, while Indiana and Ohio posted gains, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) said in its Aug. 23 Chickens and Eggs report. Nationwide, the number of layers was 369 million on Aug. 1, down 3 percent from a year ago. Egg production dropped 2 percent to 9.1 billion in July.

Michigan has lost 6.8 million chickens due to HPAI during the current outbreak, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said. The outbreak began in Indiana in February 2022. Ten commercial flocks have been impacted in Michigan, as have 26 backyard flocks, APHIS said. The state’s last reported case was May 10, 2024.

Michigan had 10.4 million layers in July, a drop of 35 percent from a year ago, NASS said. The state’s egg production dropped 38 percent from a year ago to 255 million, the agency noted.

“The decline (in layers in Michigan) is primarily the result of HPAI,” Jack Hiegel, survey statistician for the NASS Great Lakes Region, explained to Farm World. “There were reports of HPAI at multiple commercial layer facilities in Michigan in April, which affected several million chickens. California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas have also seen layer flocks depopulated this year due to the disease.

“We knew we would be seeing large declines in the impacted states when we started collecting the data. However, visualizing (through our data) how those declines impact state and national inventories does put things into perspective.”

Nancy Barr, DVM, executive director of Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, told Farm World nearly 6.5 million laying hens have been destroyed in Michigan since early April of this year due to the HPAI strain associated with dairy cattle.

“These farms are in the process of returning to business, but that takes time,” she said. “We anticipate that full production will not be reached until late spring 2025. The loss of the birds was a devastating event for our producers and was emotionally, physically and financially challenging.

“As birds are placed back into the barns, our farmers are maintaining the highest levels of biosecurity. The situation of HPAI in cattle is still a threat, so our farmers will continue to be extremely vigilant to protect the health of their poultry flocks.”

HPAI has been found in 28 dairy cattle herds in the state, with the last reported detection Aug. 26, according to APHIS.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)’s response to HPAI continues in concert with state and federal animal and human health partners to limit further impacts not just to poultry and dairy farms, but broader human health as well, said Tim Boring, the agency’s director.

“Monthly NASS report figures for Michigan egg production and layer population show a reduction from previous year numbers starting in April of this year, coinciding with the detection of HPAI in poultry flocks in the state,” he told Farm World. “MDARD has been working closely with producers impacted by HPAI as they implement USDA procedures to eradicate the virus from facilities and repopulate, returning to production. USDA provides indemnity assistance to growers, while the state has closely tracked employment impacts and ensured worker assistance.”

Hiegel said Michigan’s layer numbers have started to increase over the past couple months; there were 9.7 million in May. “There have been no confirmed cases in commercial or backyard flocks in the state since May, so that has provided an opportunity for flock restocking. NASS will release its next Chickens and Eggs report Sept. 23, so that should provide an update as to where things stand.”

Mark Schleusener, Illinois state statistician for NASS, said he believes a May 29 fire at a chicken eggs production facility was the reason for the decline in the state’s laying hens population. The fire at the Wabash Valley production plant in Farina killed more than 1 million chickens, according to media reports.

Illinois had 5.7 million layers in July, down from 6.6 million a year ago. The state’s egg production dipped from 157 million last year to 147 million this year.

Kentucky’s layer population fell from 5.4 million in July 2023 to 5.3 million a year later, NASS said. Egg production declined from 117.9 million last year to 117.6 million this year.

Indiana had 36.7 million layers in July, up 5 percent from a year ago. Egg production rose from 873 million last year to 926 million this year. Ohio had 42.4 million layers, up 6 percent from July 2023. The state produced 1.1 billion eggs this year, up 10 percent from last year.

Indiana and Ohio saw increases, Hiegel said, because so far in 2024, neither state has experienced an outbreak of HPAI at commercial layer operations.

“Ohio had a number of cases at the end of last year that reduced the state inventory considerably, but there has been a reprieve from the disease to allow for flock restocking,” he said. “As for Indiana, last summer saw the state layer inventory hit a low patch (an average of 34.903 million last July), so it is coming up from that.”

To view the APHIS HPAI dashboard, visit www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/commercial-backyard-flocks.