Gov. Cox encouraged by new Agriculture secretary’s message

Earlier this month, Trump’s new Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote state, territory and local government partners emphasizing she was committed to upholding their trust “each and every day by working closely with you and your team to address the pressing challenges,” facing rural communities.

She said she intends to “open a new chapter of prosperity in rural America,” adding the effort requires “close collaboration.”

Rollins went on to add the leaders in these areas know their states better than anyone in Washington — “you know the difficulties farmers and ranchers face and the complexities around many of these issues.”

In a social media posting on X, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praised the message and pledged to work with Rollins.

Rollins cited these discouraging facts about the condition of agriculture in the United States:

• The agricultural trade deficit is $32 billion and is set to hit a record $45.5 billion this year.
• Between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms in the United States declined by 141,753 or 7%.
• In 2024, the cost of production was up 30% over pre-pandemic levels.
• Since October of 2024, more than 40 million layers and pullets have been “depopulated” due to the avian flu.
• The average age of an American farmer is 58.

Rollins said she is dedicated to hitting these challenges head on, stressing the importance of more outreach.

“Furthermore, I am inviting every state, territory and tribal leader in the nation to participate in our ‘Laboratories of Innovation’ initiative to serve as public policy incubators and bring greater efficiency to government programs,” she wrote. “We encourage you to propose bold ideas to address challenges that have long plagued our nation.”

She stressed those innovative solutions must include ways to combat avian flu and make food prices more affordable.

“I know some of the best ideas come from the states and we will be as responsive as possible,” she wrote.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 15,000 people were being monitored in 2024 and 64 cases of infected people were confirmed. Louisiana confirmed the first human fatality due to the H5 bird flu.

Outbreaks in wild birds were confirmed in all states.

The Scientific American reported that so far this month, more than nine million domesticated birds have been infected by the virus or culled in attempt to stop its spread. Last December saw more than 18 million dead birds in such flocks, and the number this past January was more than 23 million. Ohio has been particularly hard-hit, with 51 commercial flocks affected in the past 30 days.

It added: “Within the past 10 days, three different states in the U.S. have reported new known and likely bird flu infections in humans: The first two are a confirmed case in a dairy worker in Nevada and a probable one in a farm worker in Ohio who had handled dead poultry. The third is a confirmed infection in an older woman from Wyoming who has been hospitalized in Colorado. The Wyoming Department of Health department has reported this person has underlying medical conditions and likely caught the virus from backyard chickens.”

These new reports, the publication said, bring the tally of human infections in the U.S. since 2024 to 68 confirmed cases and eight probable ones.

Earlier this month, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reported bird flu outbreaks in wild bird populations in three new counties: Box Elder, Emery and San Juan.

As of Feb. 10, 122 wild birds, one mountain lion, some skunks and three red foxes in Utah have tested positive for avian flu since 2022, the division said.

Overall, egg prices have jumped an average of 53% in just one year due to the highly pathogenic bird flu.

Utah and other states also continue to battle inflationary prices affecting other sources of protein such as red meat, lamb, chicken and pork.