Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the cost of high path bird flu is adding up quickly. USDA has already released about $15 million in CCC funds for indemnity payments to farmers for losses and cleanup as a total of 8 million birds have been infected with the H5N2 virus and depopulated.

However, Vilsack may have to request more funding in the coming weeks as the virus continues to spread.

He says the other budget challenge will be for bird flu research. Vilsack is not ready to call the outbreak an epidemic, but acknowledges the spread of the virus is a concern, especially with the ability for it to mutate.