Chickens in one of our poultry barns tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, otherwise known as bird flu. We immediately called our local U.S. Department of Agriculture office, but we already knew what was inevitable.

The Agriculture Department on Wednesday said it will spend $1 billion to tackle the bird flu in a campaign to address soaring egg prices that appears, in a departure for the administration, to acknowledge the importance of imports to keep prices down.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig applauded the USDA’s updated response to bird flu, emphasizing that poultry producers in the state have been hit hard by the H5N1 virus. Over 11 million chickens and turkeys in Iowa were killed by the virus or culled to prevent its spread last year.

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins vows to 'make eggs affordable again' by pumping $1 billion into fighting bird flu, which has cut consumer supplies.

The plan includes biosecurity upgrades and purchasing millions of eggs from other countries, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.