By Blake Jackson
Pennsylvania has distributed $12 million to help farmers and agribusinesses recover from recent avian influenza outbreaks. The funding is part of a $25 million reimbursement fund created by the state last year.
The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Recovery Reimbursement Grant has helped farms and businesses affected by an outbreak cover mortgages, rent, utilities, payroll, and lost income. In addition to infected farms, nearby operations that could not restock while they were in a quarantine zone were eligible for support.
Compensation requests were funded dollar for dollar up to $100,000, and at 50% after that with a cap of $1 million. Some requests came in with stated losses of $20 million to $50 million.
Pennsylvania has had 67 sites test positive for avian influenza, at a cost of 4.6 million birds. The last infection in domestic birds was in March, and the state returned to avian influenza-free status in August.
The fifth round of recovery funding, open through Dec. 4, offers $2 million to reimburse farms, integrators, and related businesses to implement biosecurity enhancements. Reimbursement is capped at $25,000 per site.
The state built on the recovery fund in this year's state budget, providing $31 million to help farmers pay for avian influenza testing and get reimbursed for losses to their flocks.
While the recovery fund has helped Pennsylvania's poultry industry recover, officials should also look to boost compensation for state animal health staff, said Chris Herr, executive vice president of PennAg Industries Association.
As of Tuesday, the U.S. had lost 12 farms and 12 backyard flocks totaling almost 62 million birds to avian influenza in November. Tennessee and Alabama are the only states east of the Mississippi River to report outbreaks so far this month.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-branex
Categories: Pennsylvania, Livestock, Poultry