The worst avian flu outbreak on record has a Senate Agriculture Committee looking to examine the effects of the disease on the U.S. poultry sector. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) has scheduled a hearing on July 7.
The outbreak began in December on the West Coast. Since then, more than 220 cases have been confirmed—mostly in commercial flocks in the central and upper Midwest. And more than 47 million chickens and turkeys have been depopulated, according to Agri-Pulse.
Avian flu has significantly affected turkey supplies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has dropped turkey meat estimates for 2015 to 5.604 billion pounds, down 6.3 percent from 5.979 billion forecast in May.