Organizers of next week’s Delaware Ag Week canceled all poultry-related events due to the risk of avian influenza.
Two flocks have tested positive for the virus in the First State. Avian influenza – which is typically found in wild birds – can result in increased mortality within a flock and can, in rare cases, be passed to humans.
Three poultry sessions were cancelled due to the risk of spreading avian influenza. Delaware Ag Week will still run from Jan. 13-16 at the Delaware State Fairgrounds.
John Clendaniel is the ag program leader for the Delaware State University Cooperative Extension. He said widespread avian influenza would be devastating for Delaware’s largest industry.
“Basically, that would lead to a complete shutdown of the poultry industry for processing any birds. All of them would be euthanized,” Clendaniel said. “So, it would stop the flow of product. None of those would be harvested; none of those would be processed; none of those would be shipped across the world.”
That would also result in problems – or even standstills – for farms, poultry plant workers, hatcheries and feed companies.
Broilers – or chickens – are Delaware’s most valuable agricultural product and support more than 13 thousand jobs, according to NASDA. Sussex County produces more than 200 million birds each year.
Clendaniel added avian influenza has the power to disproportionately affect smaller farms and operations.
“Even though it would be devastating on any large-scale commercial farms and large-scale integrators, any of the small farms… they're not moving as many birds. But then being able to move no birds would become – that element of their farm would be taken off the table.”
About 90% of farms in Delaware are sole or family proprietorships or family-owned corporations, according to the Delaware Department of Agriculture.
Flocks that test positive have to be euthanized and properly disposed of. Free-range birds are especially difficult to protect because they have access to the outdoors and are more likely to come in contact with wild birds, which typically pass on avian influenza.
Clendaniel said the best protocol is to isolate infected flocks, which includes keeping poultry farmers and workers isolated from one another.
Delaware Ag Week is still on next week, though poultry and beef sessions have been canceled.
For those who don’t have birds or livestock, there are still sessions on woodland management, grain marketing, soil health and FSA emergency loans.
