“There are enormous complications in ag related to these new technologies. The general notion on any vaccine is that it could raise complications on exports of meats in foreign countries.”

Amid ongoing worries about avian influenza that has led to the culling of more than 13 million chickens and turkeys in Iowa in the past year, a priority among agricultural groups for the next federal farm bill is vaccine funding.

Avian flu, the pesky culprit behind skyrocketing egg prices and holiday turkey shortages, hit the Hutterite near Lake Andes in southern South Dakota twice last year, causing them to cull 120,000 birds.