CALIFORNIA – The poultry industry in California has become a shell of what it was just a few months ago.
California once boasted 25 million hens as of 1998 and the number has been dropping steadily over time. The USDA’s poultry report shows the number of egg layers dropped from 13 million in December 2022 to 11.5 million in December 2023. That number was cut by more than half this month when USDA reported just 7.5 million hens left in the state following the devastation of the recent avian flu outbreak. This December’s numbers also do not include the current month’s losses, which could mean January’s report may leave just a few million egg layers left standing.
On Dec. 24, USDA announced three more California egg ranches had to destroy their flocks after chickens were infected with bird flu. The latest count includes two very large egg ranches in the state including a 1.1 million bird ranch in Riverside and one in San Joaquin County with 627,000 hens. USDA says a third ranch has not yet reported numbers. That’s bad news for a state which has lost the most poultry flocks due to avian influenza in this outbreak. USDA estimates the state has lost 8 million egg layers since September.
California Poultry Federation President Bill Mattos says the dairy industry and poultry industry need to work together. He says that tracing studies of the virus at poultry operations suggest that 70% of the infections are coming from the diaries.
“I’m not blaming them, but the two industries must work together to step up biosecurity,” Mattos said.
Mattos adds that the California egg industry would welcome a USDA sponsored vaccination plan for their birds, but that the US broiler industry, harvesting both chickens and turkeys, exports about 30% of their product and world export rules do not allow those animals to be vaccinated.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) reported 266 new bird flu infections at dairies in the state this month alone, according to a Dec. 19 report. Overall, more than 650 dairies have had cows infected with bird flu since September, although 56 of those are considered “fully recovered and released from quarantine.”
Another Raw milk recall
Raw milk produced and packaged by Valley Milk Simply Bottled in Stanislaus County is the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The recall order came following the detection of Influenza-A H5N1 (bird flu) virus in samples taken from a bulk tank at the dairy farm.
The order applies to all “Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Cow Milk” and “DESI Milk Raw Cow Milk” distributed in quart (32 oz), half-gallon (64 oz), and one-gallon (128 oz) plastic jugs with a code date marked on the container of “DEC 23 2024 through DEC 30 2024.”
The news comes less than a month after the CDFA issued a recall for raw milk bottled by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County due to the presence of bird flu virus in a sample of the milk.
Raw milk and raw milk products do not undergo pasteurization, the process that kills bacteria and viruses like bird flu. In its press release, CDPH said public health experts have long warned about the dangers associated with consuming raw milk and raw milk products. The consumption of these products has been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, Brucella, Campylobacter and other bacteria.
Bird flu can be transmitted in a variety of ways. A person who comes in contact with raw milk, either through contact with an infected cow or through contact with contaminated items or surfaces, can contract the virus if they do not wash their hands and touch their eyes, nose or mouth.
The virus can be transmitted if raw milk from an infected cow is ingested or splashed into the eyes, nose or mouth.
It’s the reason why most bird flu infections in humans are dairy workers, who come in contact with milk before it is pasteurized. As of Dec. 24, there have been 37 confirmed cases of humans with bird flu, 36 of which were due to contact with dairy cattle. Half of those cases occurred in Tulare County.
Dairy demand still high
Propelled by record cheese use and gains in butter, cottage cheese and yogurt, U.S. per capita dairy consumption returned to 1950s levels last year, according to USDA data released just before Thanksgiving.
At 661 pounds per person, the amount of milk Americans consume returned to the high level for the first time since 2021. Cheese is primarily driving the trend as it continues to climb while fluid milk per capita has continued to decline. Butter is also at its highest consumption rate since the 1960s and cottage cheese is at its highest in a decade.
An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the addition of a “dressing” to the curd grains, usually cream, which is mainly responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.
Cottage cheese can be low in calories compared to other types of cheese, such as yogurt, making it popular among dieters and some health devotees.
Apples to Pears
This year’s large Washington apple crop is depressing prices. Washington had what is believed to be its third largest apple crop ever in 2024-25, but that’s a mixed blessing as oversupply remains a problem.
If there are too many Pacific Northwest apples – turns out there are too few pears. Reports say fresh pears could be harder to find in grocery store aisles nationwide in the coming year. Bad winter weather and a record-setting freeze in January hit Washington and Oregon, damaging much of this year’s expected pear crop. It will be the smallest U.S. pear crop in 40 years, according to last week’s projection by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
Snow rise
In late December, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an update to the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for 2025. The allocation has increased to 15 percent of requested supplies, up from the initial allocation forecast of 5 percent announced earlier this month. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians.
Potent storms continue to pound Northern California bringing in 60 foot waves along the coast and partially collapsing the Santa Cruz pier. The storms are adding to the early snowpack totals that feed reservoir storage for the coming year. Forecasts call for 7 inches of precipitation from Dec. 27 to Jan. 1, 2025 at Shasta Dam.
UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in Tahoe reported Dec 27 the station set a new December record, expecting more than 200 inches of snow by Dec. 31. That would break the 50-year-old record of 179 inches set in 1970. Northern California snowpack is now 171% of normal for the date.
