The Senate Ag Committee will be holding a hearing on avian influenza on July 7. It’s a response to the request from Iowa Senator’s Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. Ernst says they’ll focus in part on the short and long term economic impact of the virus in Iowa and other states, plus additional assistance.

The hearing will also cover the federal response. Ernst says many poultry producers have been frustrated at the slow pace of the process, especially the clean-up of dead birds and the clearance of operations for repopulation. She says getting those producers back in business is a high priority.

She says they’ll also be conducting after action review to see what can be done in the future to help the agencies better respond to this type of emergency.