Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday said President Trump is launching a five-part plan to prevent bird flu in poultry flocks and bring down egg prices.

Ms. Rollins said her agency will help farmers secure their barns so wild fowl with avian influenza don’t infect egg-laying chickens.

In the short term, the administration wants to import 70 million to 100 million eggs in the next month from three or four countries.

She also said the Agriculture Department will find additional ways to repopulate the 160 million birds killed amid the crisis.

Ms. Rollins detailed the plan as Americans fret over a flu-driven shortage of eggs and soaring prices. A dozen Grade A eggs reached an average price of $4.95 in January, though a carton can cost $10 or more in some places.

“The president has made it one of his priorities,” Ms. Rollins told reporters at the White House. “It’s more than just the avian flu, but certainly that has been a driver.”

Prices are expected to rise through Easter due to rising demand. The crisis also has a political aspect, since Mr. Trump relies on farmers and ranchers as a key bloc of political support.

“He has continually said, ’Please assure our farmers and our ranchers that I have their backs,’” Ms. Rollins said.

She said one plank of the new plan will focus on deregulation efforts that would reduce costs for farmers and bring down egg prices over the long term.

She also said the administration is putting more money into poultry vaccines and therapeutics to prevent flu.

“It isn’t a proven vaccine yet,” she said, adding she wants to see more research before the U.S. starts “sticking our chickens.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.