ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — Minnesota turkey growers are sitting in a better position this summer than a year ago thanks to research, funding and strategic actions focused on poultry health.
One indicator that growers are able to gain some relief from it is that it’s been five months since the last report of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Minnesota. The other major threat facing the turkey industry, avian metapneumovirus, has also been met head-on with the approval of a vaccine to be used in the U.S.
In December 2023, avian metapneumovirus, a highly contagious respiratory disease in poultry, made its way to the coasts of the U.S. Once turkey industry leaders heard about this virus, they started a surveillance project due to the potential for significant economic losses once the disease hits a flock. Every turkey or flock that went to market was monitored for the disease.
In April 2024, the disease arrived in Minnesota and started to impact the state’s birds. According to Ashley Kohls, executive director for the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, the virus had impacted 100% of the flocks that were going to market in just a 90-day period. Turkey growers have been looking for ways to prevent the spread of aMPV as it can look like other diseases but devastate flocks in different ways.
“They call avian metapneumovirus the great mimicker. It looks a lot like, you know, either high path avian influenza or some other diseases that poultry can get,” Kohls said.
However, this is not the first time some sort of disease has spread in the region. A different strain of the same type of virus made its way around Minnesota in the late '90s and early 2000s.
“We're seeing some similar tendencies of that with this go-round of avian metapneumovirus,” Kohls said. “We've actually also worked with USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics, us and our folks that are in Washington, D.C., to import some vaccines, because there are vaccines used around the world that are effective against avian metapneumovirus.”
Vaccines for the virus are currently being used in the U.S., but it is going to take time for a full vaccine rollout.
“So it's promising, but there's still a long road ahead for our growers who continue to feel the impact of avian metapneumovirus,” Kohls said.
And turkey producers are feeling a big impact. The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association commissioned an economic impact study on the impact of avian metapneumovirus on the turkey industry in the state. The study looked at 2024 and the beginning of 2025 and found that there was an alarming economic impact on Minnesota’s turkey industry, from the grower level to the processor level. The study looked at things like loss of turkeys, death and economics. The results found that aMPV’s economic impact affected the state’s turkey industry by about $112 million.
Jake Vlaminck, Minnesota Turkey Growers Association president, produces 240,000 tom turkeys a year near Willmar, Minnesota, at Fahlun Farms. He said he feels as if he can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and he’s hopeful that there’s no train coming.
He noted that highly pathogenic avian influenza has had most of the headlines in recent years — rightfully so, as the disease has led to the loss of as many as 175 million birds across the country since 2022. But the aMPV virus was also quickly adding losses, with about 2.2 million turkeys lost in Minnesota since the start of 2024. The vaccine is giving producers hope.
“We just got approval to start this new vaccine that we imported from Europe. We’re hoping to start making it domestically, but that takes a while,” Vlaminck said.
They just began using it in June and results are promising so far.
“It’s still pretty early and we’re still going to have some losses from the birds when they do get vaccinated,” Vlaminck said. “They are going to get the virus, they are going to get sick, but hopefully they are going to build up immunity to it.”
Brighter future
In the last week of June, the only highly pathogenic avian influenza infections reported in the U.S. was in Maricopa County in Arizona. The last quarantine in Minnesota ended in April 2025 and in May 2025 for South Dakota and North Dakota.
“So we haven’t had an outbreak in Minnesota since late January. And so I’m hoping we can keep heading in that direction,” Vlaminck said.
Loren “Butch” Brey, president of Minnesota Turkey Promotion and Research Council, said the two viruses have combined to create the “most trying times we’ve ever seen.” That says a lot considering he’s been raising turkeys for nearly 35 years. His farm near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, was struck by avian influenza in 2023.
Seeing a stop in the number of outbreaks is promising, but Brey said it’s not time to take the foot off the gas. Members feel they are taking the right precautions, and they are learning to do so by working more closely together. That’s clear in the association's annual report, which shows membership is nearly double that of 2023 levels, with close to 700 memberships today. There were just over 300 in 2020.
“The last two years have been challenging for everyone in the poultry industry,” Brey said. “I think growers are just striving and begging for information, and I’m hopeful that’s going to continue,” Brey said. “I think they are looking for information, and I believe that’s part of the reason why we are drawing in more people.”
Legislative work
Growers want to be prepared for whatever arises, and they are in a better position to fight it now. Kohls highlighted legislative actions in the state that better position growers to respond to threats like highly pathogenic avian influenza and mAPV in the years to come while attending the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association Summit on June 19 in Alexandria.
One major boost came from increased funding for HPAI prevention grants. The Legislature secured $400,000 for fiscal years 2026 through 2027. Growers can use grants, with a 20% match, to purchase tools like lasers, decoys, noise makers and other items meant to deter wild birds from visiting the barns. Kohls said about 100 lasers have been installed on barns in the last 18 months in the state.
Also inside the agriculture funding package was a one-time $1.5 million boost to the Agriculture Emergency Response account. This boosts rapid response for HPAI, aMPV and other disease events. A 6.6% increase to the Board of Animal Health’s budget is meant to enhance their staff’s ability to sustain surveillance, tracing and biosecurity measures. Up to $750,000 can be redirected for rapid avian influenza testing in poultry, milk and wastewater. Also, up to $1 million per year can be used from the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension and Technology Transfer fund for studying HPAI, salmonella, and turkey-related disease prevention.
Even with these important funds, economic uncertainty remains for growers and the industry that supports them. Unlike HPAI, aMPV is not a reportable disease, meaning farmers are left without financial safeguards to recoup these losses.