In brief: 2 million more chickens to be destroyed due to flu

MINNEAPOLIS – One of the nation’s largest egg producers said it will destroy 2 million egg-laying hens in Minnesota due to a deadly bird flu virus.

The development at the south-central Minnesota chicken farm brings the total of affected birds to 35 million in 15 states, with Minnesota and Iowa poultry flocks hit the hardest.

The chickens will be destroyed in the next four weeks at Rembrandt Enterprises farm in Renville, the Star Tribune reported Saturday.

The company’s vice president of marketing, Jonathan Spurway, said one barn holding around 200,000 birds was infected, but the entire flock will be killed as a precaution.

Chickens at the farm have tested “presumptive positive” for the disease “despite the herculean efforts of Rembrandt’s employees to keep our facilities virus-fee,” Spurway said.

Rembrandt Enterprises suffered an outbreak in its Rembrandt, Iowa, facility May 1, contaminating one barn housing about 250,000 hens. A third plant in Thompson, Iowa hasn’t been affected.

“We’re doing everything we possibly can (to protect flocks), and we don’t know of anyone who’s doing anything we’re not already doing,” Spurway said. “The industry is lost for words.”

Before Saturday’s announcement, 88 Minnesota turkey and chicken farms had been affected by confirmed or presumed outbreaks of the H5N2 avian influenza virus, which had cost the state’s producers around 5.8 million birds.

U.S. gas prices up 22 cents per gallon

CAMARILLO, Calif. – The average national price of a regular gallon of gasoline has jumped 22 cents in the past three weeks to $2.80.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that higher crude prices caused by a weaker U.S. dollar and strong gasoline demand drove the increase.

However, she said the price was 93 cents lower than a year ago.

The average national price for midgrade was $3.00 and premium was $3.16. Diesel was $2.97.

In a survey of cities in the Lower 48 states, Los Angeles had the highest-priced gasoline at $3.95 a gallon. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had the lowest at $2.32.

The average price in California was up 53 cents to $3.76 a gallon.

Lundberg said gasoline price hikes will likely slow or stop because of an expected increase in supplies.