Nearly 6 million laying hens in Sioux County have been affected by bird flu outbreaks over the past four days as wild birds that carry the virus migrate across Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture said Monday that a Sioux County commercial egg-laying operation with 1.6 million birds was infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza. It’s the second outbreak in Sioux County since Friday, when the infection was detected in a 4.3 million-bird flock.

The state reported Sunday that a Palo Alto County turkey operation with 31,000 birds tested also positive. The three detections followed a period since June when there were none.

All the birds are destroyed to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus, which is deadly to poultry. The outbreak that began in 2022 has affected 29.2 million birds in Iowa, the nation’s leading egg producer, according to state and U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Nationwide, 115.3 million birds have been affected.

Gov. Kim Reynolds already had declared a disaster for Sioux County and extended it to Palo Alto County. The declaration allows the use of state resources to combat the spread of the disease.

It is believed to be spread by wild birds, which may show no apparent symptoms, and has been especially prevalent in Iowa during periods of migration. This fall’s above-normal temperatures may have delayed migration, with outbreaks recently reported in Minnesota, North and South Dakota and other Midwestern states.

The uptick in infections comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to implement a national testing program for bird flu in milk after outbreaks of the virus, HN51, in dairy cattle in states including Iowa. Thirteen cases of H5N1 have been detected in dairy cattle in Sioux, O’Brien and Plymouth counties, though there have been none since June.

The first round of milk testing under the USDA order is set to begin Dec. 16.

While most infected dairy cattle experience mild symptoms from bird flu, there is concern among epidemiologists that it could be spread to humans through unpasteurized milk.

So far, no human cases of bird flu have been reported in Iowa.

Infected products do not enter the food supply and it remains safe to consumer poultry and eggs, as well as milk that has been pasteurized, a process that kills the virus, the Iowa Department of Agriculture has said.

The outbreak reported Monday was sixth in Iowa poultry this year.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.

With his window for playing time quickly closing, JJ Kohl has decided to take his talents elsewhere and leave the Iowa State football program.

Kohl announced that he is entering the transfer portal on Monday, just two days after not seeing the field in the Big 12 Conference title game despite starting quarterback Rocco Becht going out with an injury.

Instead of Kohl, a redshirt freshman entering in place of Becht, true freshman Connor Moberly came on for a handful of snaps. Becht would return, and is just a redshirt sophomore himself, leaving Kohl likely without much of a chance to play.

“Thank you to my coaches, teammates, and Cyclone Nation for all your support,” he posted on X. “I have entered the portal with 3 years left of eligibility. God bless you all.”

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound Kohl saw action in three games last year, completing 9 of 11 passes for 23 yards. He also showed his athleticism, running six times for 32 yards. 

A four-star recruit by all four major services coming out of high school, Kohl was expected to challenge for playing time immediately. Instead, Becht took the offense over and never looked back. 

His father, Jamie Kohl, was a kicker for Iowa State from 1995-98. Kohl held offers from Iowa, Auburn and Penn State among others. 

Kohl’s depature leaves the Cyclones with Becht, Moberly, redshirt junior Tanner Hughes, freshman Major Cantrell and redshirt freshman Wyatt Bohm at the quarterback position ahead of the Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. Miami later this month.

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The Iowa Hawkeyes have a major issue at quarterback right now. Everyone knows this. It’s no secret.

The problem is that this is not new for Iowa, which has struggled to find a competent player under center for years now.

Three of the Hawkeyes quarterbacks from 2024 have already entered the transfer portal, leaving just two signal-callers currently on the roster: Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton.

Neither of those two players exactly inspires much confidence moving forward, so a whole lot is riding on Iowa finding a quarterback via the transfer portal or in recruiting this offseason.

Landing a signal-caller via the former strategy is not exactly easy, and Hawkeyes general manager Tyler Barnes has provided a rather bizarre comparison on the task, calling it “speed dating on steroids,” via Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.

While it may sound like a pretty strange take, it actually does make some sense.

Teams don’t exactly have a long window to make these decisions, and sometimes, they come back to bite you. See: Cade McNamara.

Barnes seems to prefer the more old-fashioned method of recruiting.

“If we have to go to the portal, we will. But if we can hit on some of our guys and develop them, that’s the way to go,” he said.

The Hawkeyes went 8-4 during the regular season in spite of their constant shuffle at quarterback and will face the Missouri Tigers in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.

It would certainly be nice for Iowa to forge some stability at the all-important position, but it has clearly been very difficult for the Hawkeyes to make that happen.