Stearns County Farm to Become 2nd in Minnesota to Restock

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says one of the first farms in Stearns County to be hit by the Midwest bird flu outbreak is set to restock with turkeys in the coming days.

It'll be the second Minnesota poultry farm to resume production. The board says a Pope County turkey farm that was the first in the region to record a confirmed case of H5N2 avian influenza was restocked on Sunday.

The board says Minnesota has had new cases since Friday. But its updated tally Wednesday puts the losses to Minnesota turkey and chicken producers at just over 9 million birds on 108 farms.

Fourteen of the affected farms have completed the cleaning and disinfection process and could get clearance to restock in the coming weeks.