Bird flu has killed millions of birds and disrupted milk and poultry production. To avert future outbreaks of avian influenza from infecting livestock, Pitesky recommends reducing the overlap of waterfowl habitat with farms that raise animals. Farmers and agricultural agency personnel can use it to assess the risk wild birds pose to farms. This might entail, for example, flooding fields that would provide waterfowl habitat in an area at a greater distance from farm animals. "One thing we need to consider in the medium- to long-term is the concept of waterfowl habitat shifting away from food animal production," Pitesky said.