(Radio Iowa) – Iowa dairy producers who’ve been impacted by bird flu can now apply for federal emergency funding. The USDA expanded its Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised Fish Program to help cover lost profits from the virus. Dairy farmers are required to discard milk from sick cows to prevent the spread of pathogens.

Matt Russell, executive director of USDA-Iowa Farm Service Agency, says expanding the program supports dairy farmers and creates an incentive to get tested. Russell says, “Because if you are seeing some cows be sick and they happen to have H5N1, then this program kicks in and will provide some support for that loss of production.”

To be eligible for recovery assistance, Russell says producers need a positive test result from the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. “This is a support for farmers that are having decreased production because of H5N1,” he says, “but because it provides that support, it also creates that incentive for farmers to get tested.”

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Russell says farmers with a positive test should contact their local FSA office to file a Notice of Loss. Payments are based on milk production averages for specific months.