A Farmer’s Perspective on the Avian Bird Flu

By Ron Eichner

Hey folks, April is a busy month and the first full month of spring. April 1 is April Fool’s Day, and Passover begins at sundown on April 12. Income taxes are due on April 15. Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday on April 13, followed by Holy Thursday on April 17, which commemorates the Last Supper. Good Friday, marking the crucifixion of Jesus, is on April 18, and Easter Sunday, celebrating His Resurrection, is on April 20.

The press releases from the media about the avian bird flu can pose many concerns. The current avian bird flu started in early 2022. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack was asked, “Will the poultry mortality in 2022 exceed the 2015 mortality count?” He responded, “The mortality count of poultry is lower to date, and when the warm summer weather comes, the bird flu will end.” His comment was valid, which is why the bird flu has been seasonal for 100-plus years.

Now, the first twist a year earlier, in April 2021, happened when in a USDA southeast poultry research laboratory in Athens, Georgia, along with the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the help of Chinese scientists, created a more substantial avian bird flu strain. The strain was induced into mallard ducks, and there was a laboratory leak. This is why the avian bird flu has gone unchecked for three-plus years instead of being a three- or four-month seasonal bird flu for 100-plus years. This process is called “gain of function.”

The avian bird flu was a concern on our farm for generations. My dad and I felt the best way to help safeguard our chickens and seasonal turkeys was to support their immune system with a good balance of prebiotics, probiotics, and essential oils to support their immune systems.

  The USDA lab created a monster virus in 2021, and since 2022, the USDA has spent over $1.7 billion addressing the avian bird flu virus. This is like the fox guarding the hens. Where has the $1.7 billion been received, and by who?

So, buckle up for questionable behaviors and spending of our USDA, who are to help and protect farms and farmers, and the actions of our government and their spending of our dollars.

A USDA 22-year member. Phyllis Fong was fired in February for signing avian bird flu claims on poultry farms in five or six states in 2024, and there was no bird flu. Farmers have been threatened with millions of dollars in fines if they challenge the USDA claims and do not cull or kill the laying hens.

Many good doctors like Dr. Pete McCullough questioned the culling of the laying hens at all of the farms when herd immunity is the better path to battle the flu since the “Genie is out of the bottle.” The USDA has spent more than $2.1 billion dollars over the last four years to reimburse poultry and dairy farms for losses due to the avian bird flu. The USDA and other federal agencies have put over $300 million dollars into developing and stockpiling emergency avian bird flu vaccines for poultry and livestock.  

The European Union secured 40 million doses of the avian bird flu experimental vaccine for 15 European countries. In February, Zoetis ZTS approved an experimental avian flu vaccine for poultry, but it is currently off the table. 

Herd immunity is the best way to battle the avian bird flu virus instead of culling hundreds of millions of laying hens. To put the icing on the cake, I discovered that Dr. Clayton Baker and Dr. Eric Berg have a video titled "Egg Prices Are Not by Accident." It's about 12 minutes long, but it's worth the view.

Now, the DOJ is investigating the high egg prices, and the largest egg producer, Cal-Maine Food Inc. in the USA, with 62 million laying hens, is one of the DOJ targets. Our farm egg prices have been the same for four years, and the egg wholesale and retail prices doubled and tripled, but now they are coming down.

So, if anyone is looking for goodies for Easter, our farm market could be a destination. We offer super lean, fully cooked hams; you heat, serve, and eat. We sell high-energy eggs by the dozen. We also have a meat case full of pork, poultry, beef, 14–20-pound turkeys, homemade cookies, and candy. Our beef cows, lambs, and Kunekune pigs will be birthing the next generation of offspring, so if your kids or grandkids want to do a farm visit, check out the little livestock. We have a nice selection of Easter flowers for Easter week.

Our family farm wishes you a Blessed Easter holiday! We are nestled in a valley, and our farm market is open seven days a week. We welcome you to come and visit Eichner's Whole Farm and Greenhouses at 285 Richard Road, Wexford, to experience farm-fresh and discover "the rest of the story."