DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa egg production in July rose slightly from the previous month but remained 44 percent below year-ago levels, the lasting impact of the bird flu which decimated the state’s hen flocks.

Iowa lost nearly 25 million egg layers in the bird flu outbreak that lasted from mid-April to mid-June.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in a weekly report Friday says Iowa produced 775 million eggs in July up 2 percent from June. That’s the lowest monthly production since February 2002.

The average number layers on hand in July was 33.6 million down 43 percent from a year ago. It’s the lowest inventory since October of 2001.

United States egg production totaled 7.67 billion during July, down 10 percent from last year. That included 6.53 billion table eggs.

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