Bill Would Let Egg Farm Buy Public Land Amid Bird Flu Crisis
Republicans say the land sale could protect the egg supply; critics call it a giveaway.
Eggs. Pixabay License.
A Republican bill would allow the sale of public lands near a commercial egg farm as one of the country’s largest egg producers in Wisconsin has been forced to cull millions of birds due to avian flu.
Critics argue the proposal jeopardizes protection of public lands to serve private interests. But lawmakers said it aims to ensure affordability and security of the state’s food supply chain. The state Senate’s agriculture committee held a public hearing on the measure Tuesday that was broadcast on Wisconsin Eye.
State Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, and State Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Town of Delafield, introduced the bill. The legislation would allow the policymaking board for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to sell land next to or within 1 mile of a commercial egg farm to prevent the spread of avian flu.
The bill comes as Daybreak Foods in Palmyra has contended with recent outbreaks that have forced its Cold Spring Egg Farm to cull more than 4 million birds. The DNR had acquired around 1,800 acres to expand waterfowl habitat at nearby Prince’s Point Wildlife Area long before Daybreak bought the farm last year.
“The proximity of a wild bird habitat to a large commercial poultry operation presents significant biosecurity risks and highlights the need for more compatible land use planning,” Testin said.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, or the H5N1 virus, has been circulating among both wild and domestic birds since it was first detected in Wisconsin in 2022. Bird flu has been detected among nearly 400 wild birds and 48 commercial and backyard flocks across the state, according to the DNR.
In 2023, the DNR purchased property near the egg farm with federal and state funding, including from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service also paid more than $14.4 million for a conservation easement, which the agency said would have to be removed prior to any change in ownership.
The DNR opposes the bill. Staff said there’s no significant correlation between avian flu detections in wild birds and outbreaks at commercial or backyard flocks statewide. Jasmine Batten, the DNR’s wildlife health section supervisor, said the sale of lands under the bill offers no “sound demonstration that these actions will meaningfully mitigate the risks of introduction onto farms.”
“Apparently, they also don’t seem to understand that wild birds fly. There is no fence that can keep birds out of that land no matter who owns it,” said Jennifer Lazewski, former executive director of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.
Even so, Bill Rehm, president and CEO of Daybreak Foods, told the committee that the farm has spent millions of dollars on developing proper biosecurity protocols to prevent the spread of bird flu, blaming wild birds.
He said the bill would provide a path for Daybreak to buy the property from the DNR to prevent the spread of avian flu by planting grasses across the roughly 1,800-acre site to reduce the number of waterfowl nearby.
“If we own the property, (USDA) Wildlife Services would have our permission to go in and create a disincentive for waterfowl to be close to us,” Rehm said. “I’m a conservationist. I love to hunt … but it’s in the wrong spot.”
In the last 30 days, USDA data shows outbreaks have been confirmed at 72 poultry flocks affecting almost 14 million birds, including 4.3 million in Wisconsin.
Duchow said Palmyra residents are distraught due to odors from composting millions of birds and alluded to the fact that avian flu outbreaks have previously been a driver of record-high egg prices for Americans.
“We need to work together to solve this problem,” Duchow said. “I can tell you none of us want to pay $8 for eggs, and they can’t keep going through this cycle.”
State Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said he doesn’t see how the bill solves the problem.
“I’m not entirely sure what the point is of giving an agency the permissive ability to do a thing they just sat here and told us they don’t intend or want to do,” Spreitzer said.
The bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote, but it’s yet to be taken up by the Senate. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers referred to the DNR’s testimony when asked to comment on the bill.
GOP lawmakers want to allow sale of public lands near egg farm amid bird flu outbreaks was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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