Iowa Governor Terry Branstad recently declared Iowa a state of emergency following the outbreak of Avian Influenza.

House District 47 Representative Chip Baltimore says he is very concerned with the pandemic and the legislature is investing ways to stop the Bird Flu before it gets worse.  He says Iowa has already seen several negative impacts for the country’s largest egg producing state.  Due to 15 million chickens being euthanized, projections are that the state will lose 25 percent of its total egg laying hens.  Crop prices are already falling in northwest Iowa (where most of the Bird Flu is concentrated), by $.25 per bushel, because there are 15 million fewer chickens eating corn feed.

Baltimore believes that those negative impacts will have a trickle down effect.  Farmers will pay less in taxes if they don’t generate as much revenue as before and the state government will need to pay for it as well.

“Not to mention the amount of money that the state is going to have to spend to try to identify the cause of the Bird Flu (and) try to control it.  All of that is going to cost state tax dollars and it’s tax dollars that we probably hadn’t plan on needing to spend.”

Baltimore points out that one positive is that humans can’t be harmed by the disease.