15 December 2022

2 minute read

By: Allan Bentley

North America

My hunting and fishing buddies have been telling me the number of dead snow geese they are seeing. Here is some of what I have found regarding the bird flu. The last time we had an outbreak of the bird flu in North America, only 99 cases were among wild birds. At last, count that I can find 3,600 birds in North America had been affected this time. 

The government is saying because of a lack of funding they are only able to select which birds get tested, so the number of positive cases will be much larger than what they report. As I understand some of these wild birds are becoming somewhat immune to it but are carriers. There was a case last week in South Dakota in a commercial flock. Iowa infections are increasing almost by the day! 

What does this all mean? No doubt we will have less competing chicken. But always remember after you clean out the dead birds it only takes 6 weeks to get a chicken to the market. I was told that is why no one really works on a flu vaccine for the bird flu. They aren't alive long enough to be worth vaccinating them, just hope you are in between the breaks.

5% less beef next year. $7 corn is keeping expansion at bay. PRRS events are keeping productivity from increasing. China is bound and determined to get pork from anywhere but North America. Good luck with that. I don't see anywhere else for them to turn. I have a good friend that I know who reads my commentary. So I am going to leave with this thought. I would not be trading next summer hogs from the short side!