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Minnesota’s leadership in science-based turkey health has again been recognized at the national level! The Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council (MTRPC) has been selected as a recipient of USDA’s Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge grant, earning more than $1.17 million to lead one of the nation’s most comprehensive, real-world research efforts aimed at reducing the impact of HPAI on commercial poultry.
The awarded project, “Transitioning to Sustainable HPAI Control Strategies in Poultry Populations” will be conducted entirely on Minnesota turkey farms between 2026 and 2028. The project’s purpose is simple but ambitious, use real outbreak events to generate data-driven, practical strategies that prevent barn-to-barn spread and shorten the time it takes farms to safely return to business.
Few states are positioned to take on this level of work. Minnesota’s geographically dense turkey industry, strong veterinary community, and long history of influenza research uniquely position the state to lead national advancements in HPAI management.
Why does this research and funding matter? Minnesota has endured more turkey cases than any other U.S. state during the ongoing HPAI outbreaks, accounting for 62% of all Minnesota poultry detections since 2022.Turkeys are inherently more susceptible to infection from waterfowl and Minnesota’s landscape attracts high levels of migrating ducks, geese, and other waterfowl during the spring and fall. Combined with the scale of production, Minnesota farms repeatedly sit at the center of national response efforts.
While biosecurity and response systems have improved, producers still face two critical gaps
Current national policies, including mandatory depopulation strategies and the 28-day composting requirement, are based on limited field data. Minnesota’s project aims to fill that gap by collecting rigorous, daily, on-farm measurements during actual HPAI cases.
The project is structured around two major objectives, each backed by extensive sampling, modeling, and real-world implementation.
Objective 1: Stopping Barn-to-Barn Spread on Infected Sites
Today, flock losses can still occur after a virus introduction, when HPAI spreads from one barn to the next on the same farm. This project will generate the nation’s most detailed real-time dataset on how that happens.
Each year, MTRPC will pre-enroll farms that meet strict criteria: 1. adequate staffing to maintain separation between barns, 2. strong management systems, 3. ability to transport daily samples to the nearest NAHLN lab, 4. federal and state approval to participate.
If an enrolled farm detects HPAI in a single barn, it becomes eligible for full study enrollment. From day one through day seven post-detection, farms will undergo a rigorous, standardized sampling protocol. This specific and robust sampling creates a spatial map of viral presence across the entire premises.
The project’s goal is to pinpoint the exact pathways that allow barn-to-barn spread (airflow, insects, staff movement, dust, equipment, or wildlife), which mitigation strategies are most effective, how quickly and under what circumstances barns transition from negative to positive, and whether enhanced protocols can successfully contain infection to a single barn.
If successful, this research could fundamentally reshape depopulation strategies, reducing the total number of birds affected and limiting supply chain and indemnity costs.
Objective 2: Reducing the 28-Day Composting & Site-Release Requirement
The current national composting timeline is based on incomplete data. This project will conduct evaluation of viral decay in compost via two complementary approaches.
1. Small-Scale Surrogate Virus Compost Trials: At three Minnesota farms, researchers will build compost piles scaled to two-thirds of the standard HPAI windrow size. Carcasses will be inoculated with a safe surrogate virus to mimic heavily contaminated mortality. Researchers will then use nylon teabags filled with gauze to collect dozens of time-sequenced samples, track moisture and temperature with HOBO sensors, and conduct viability PCR and virus isolation every 48 hours for 14 days.
2. Full-Scale Compost Studies on HPAI-Positive Farms: Using the same teabag sampling method, the team will evaluate compost piles following actual HPAI depopulation events. For this approach, 10 compost monitors will be placed at two depths across each pile. Sampling will continue every 48 hours through both the heating phase and the turning phase of composting.
MTRPC’s research team hopes to generate a scientifically validated curve demonstrating how long HPAI remains viable at varying temperatures and moisture levels, how early detection events(with lower viral load) influence decay times, and whether the 28-dayrequirement is overly conservative.
The team will also build logistic regression models to predict virus elimination based solely on environmental readings, allowing farms and regulators to adopt evidence-based compost release standards.
MTRPC’s project is powered by one of the nation’s strongest turkey health teams - Dr. Carrie Cremers, Dr. Jill Nezworski, Dr. Marissa Studniski, and Dr. Carol Cardona. The project will be managed by MTGA Executive Director, Ashley Kohls, with support from the rest of MTGA’s staff. The project also covers the cost of a project service technician, who will be responsible for sampling, logistics, supplies, and on-farm coordination
The project will also include robust cooperation with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, USDA APHIS, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory, and multiple Minnesota turkey farms!
This project affirms Minnesota’s position as the national leader of HPAI innovation, answering the practical, on-farm questions and delivering solutions that will shape national HPAI policy and future outbreak response.
Regular updates on this project will be shared via Gobbles, WingTips, producer meetings, and national poultry-health conferences throughout the duration of the project.
