Washington, D.C. –– Amid a national bird flu outbreak, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is urging swift action to protect egg producers and families buying groceries in Georgia.
Sen. Ossoff joined a bipartisan effort calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to strengthen resources for and work with Georgia’s egg producers to combat the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), better known as bird flu.
“The United States is now entering the fourth year of an outbreak of HPAI that has devastated farms, required the depopulation of more than 136 million birds on commercial poultry operations, and infected a small but growing number of farm workers,” Sen. Ossoff and the group wrote. “A new urgency is required from the USDA to address the evolving situation.”
According to a 2022 report by USDA, Georgia is the country’s leading poultry producer, with 3 out of 4 Georgia counties involved in poultry. The industry employs more than 88,000 Georgians and contributes an overall annual average of over $28 billion to the state’s economy.
According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, positive bird flu cases have been confirmed for the first time in two of Elbert County’s commercial poultry facilities by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the USDA since the beginning of 2025.
Sen. Ossoff continues to champion Georgia’s farmers and agricultural industry.
This week, Sen. Ossoff urged the Trump Administration to swiftly distribute Federal disaster assistance for Georgia farmers that Congress secured after Hurricane Helene.
Last December, Sen. Ossoff successfully fought to pass a bipartisan disaster relief package that included $21 billion in agricultural disaster funding to help Georgia farmers recovering from the disastrous impacts of Hurricane Helene and farmers nationwide impacted by natural disasters. It also includes $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers who have struggled in recent years with difficult market conditions, cheap imports, and rising costs, for which Sen. Ossoff has also fought.
Click here to read the bipartisan inquiry with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.
# # #
