The work describes the impact of HPAI to production parameters and its cost to the dairy industry. Even if they recover, that’s going to cost a dairy farmer $367 on average in milk losses.”Outbreaks of avian flu in dairy herds won’t necessarily raise the price of milk for consumers, MacLachlan said. But an outbreak, as our study shows, causes a substantial cost to dairy producers. “Our work on dairy cows intensified after March 2024, when we detected spillover of avian flu from wild birds to dairy cows. He said that about 20% of the herd was clinically affected, and that for these cows, milk production never fully came back.