BioSec Bob here on Monday, June 15, 2026 — let’s get right into it.
Rhode Island’s dealing with a fresh avian flu case this morning. The Providence Journal is reporting that 445 birds were euthanized at a poultry market in Providence after testing positive for the virus. State officials moved quickly to contain the outbreak at the live bird market, which is a known pinch point for disease spread in the Northeast.
Across a wider swath of the country, bird flu’s now confirmed in twelve states, and that’s putting real pressure on egg prices in Texas. According to Yahoo, the Dallas-Fort Worth market could see another spike at the retail counter as flock losses mount and supply tightens. Producers in that region have already absorbed one round of price volatility from earlier outbreaks, and another round would hit feed costs and consumer demand simultaneously.
On the international trade front, poultry litter exports are still hung up. Farming Life reports that McCrossan — a political representative focused on agricultural issues — is calling for urgent action to clear the suspension that’s blocking poultry litter shipments. That export market matters to integrated operations that rely on litter sales to offset bedding costs, and the longer the hold stays in place, the tighter storage and cash flow become.
The scale of bird flu’s reach globally is sobering. Khabarhub reports that around 700,000 fowl have been culled across ten districts in what appears to be a major outbreak outside the US. That kind of volume affects global supply chains and can shift import demand toward American producers, though it also signals how serious this season’s pressure really is.
Moving to the swine side — West Virginia’s hog production jumped significantly in the first quarter of 2026. Panay News is reporting strong output gains for the state’s operations, a bright spot as producers elsewhere wrestle with feed costs and market uncertainty.
On the technology front, a young innovator has developed a drone system specifically designed to assist poultry farmers with monitoring and farm management tasks. Sowetan reports on the innovation, which could help operations spot health issues or operational problems faster than traditional methods.
Keep your biosecurity protocols locked down tight — this flu season’s far from over.