Bird flu that hit Minnesota farms this spring caused egg production to drop 14 percent in May compared with the previous month.
The average number of layer hens in the state was also down 14 percent in May compared with April, and down 7 percent from May 2014, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"It's not unexpected given the number of facilities that have been hit in Minnesota," said Steve Olson, executive director of trade groups for Minnesota's egg farmers and turkey growers. "We would expect to see a drop in production both in hen numbers and in eggs produced."
Minnesota has the nation's eighth-largest egg-laying industry. Four Minnesota egg farms were wiped out by the flu between late April and mid-May, and about 3.6 million hens were euthanized.
Olson said no "hard dollar figure" has been attached to the losses.
"We expect that it will take a year and a half to two years for those operations to be back to full production again," he said.
Contaminated farms need to go through the process of depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, and environmental testing before flocks can be restocked.
Olson said it takes longer to restock egg farms than turkey barns. Unlike turkeys raised for meat, chicken populations are staggered so that all hens are not the same age, he said.
