Shapiro Administration’s Targeted Investments in Prevention, Response, Recovery Are Making a Difference for Pennsylvania’s $7.1 Billion Poultry Industry as Avian Flu Threat Persists
February 05, 2026
Nation’s first dedicated Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Recovery Fund, together with aggressive response and targeted investments to expand response capacity, are aiding disease recovery across Pennsylvania ag industry.
Harrisburg, PA –Today,Agriculture
Secretary Russell Redding highlighted support
Governor Josh Shapiro’s Administration is providing to businesses across Pennsylvania’s $7.1 billion poultry industry in theongoing battle against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Targeted interventions to protect the poultry industry include establishing strong biosecurity protocols and providing education and support to Pennsylvania’s poultry industry to prevent infection and keep flocks safe, dedicating personnel and resources to ensure swift, coordinated response when infections hit, expanding Pennsylvania’s capacity for disease testing and monitoring, and creating the nation’s only
HPAI Recovery Fund to help impacted farmers recover their losses and get back to business.
“Government and industry working together in a crisis makes the critical difference between failing and getting back to business,” said
Sec. Redding. “This avian influenza outbreak has been the biggest animal health crisis in American history. And Pennsylvania is getting back to business because our skilled response team has been unwavering in their dedication through bitter cold and brutal heat, working under extreme pressure alongside farmers and other industry professionals whose livelihoods are at stake. Their teamwork has been the hallmark of this response from the beginning. At the same time, the
Shapiro Administration’s unwavering support for Pennsylvania farmers is bringing the right people, the right funding, and the right resources to bear on getting poultry businesses back up and running quickly and safely.”
Redding reminded poultry producers that in the event their flocks become infected, or their operations are temporarily paused due to nearby infections, they can apply for
HPAI Recovery Grants, the nation’s first fund dedicated to helping poultry businesses get back on their feet after devastating losses from avian influenza.
Pennsylvania’s HPAI Recovery Fund, which funds the grants, received a total of $75 million in state funding from 2022 to 2024. The fund has $59.45 million in reserve.
“I’ve seen firsthand how meaningful these recovery grants can be to family farms,” said
Heritage Poultry Management Services President Chris Pierce, “This is a life-impacting investment that gives farmers hope during a time when their sole source of income has been paused. The grant gets them through to the other side, when they can refill their barns and get back in business.”
Pierce’s partner-farmers are among the
300 Pennsylvania poultry business owners who have received a total of $15.9 million in grants through the program to help them recover losses and protect their operations with biosecurity improvements.
“Biosecurity — the preventative steps farmers take every day to help keep viruses from spreading on their farms — should be at the top of every farm management team’s operational plan,” said
Pennsylvania State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg. When everyone who sets foot on a farm follows the procedures in a biosecurity plan tailored to that farm, disease risks decrease.”
Among the grant recipients are 150 farmers whose operations are better protected against disease risks with the support from the investment.
Expanding Capacity to Meet Critical Industry Needs
Testing to monitor and detect HPAI is an indispensable tool to minimize damage and speed recovery. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s
Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory is one of three labs that make up the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System, along with Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’
Animal Diagnostic Laboratory in University Park, and the
New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Kennett Square.
Together, the labs tested 672,342 samples for HPAI from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, including more than 200,000 poultry samples and more than 29,000 cattle samples. Testing is a critical measure to ensure safe domestic poultry sales and exports, to detect disease and to minimize its spread.
Governor Josh Shapiro secured
$6 million in his bipartisan
2024-25 budget to expand the system to include a fourth lab on Penn State’s Beaver Campus.
Earlier this week, Governor Shapiro proposed
$11 million in his 2026-27 budget for Agricultural Preparedness and Response, including an
increased investment of $2 million to support operations in the new lab at Penn State Beaver. The new lab will increase Pennsylvania’s capacity to respond to animal disease outbreaks, ultimately speeding diagnoses, lowering business costs, and helping protect farms in the western part of the state.
In addition, the
first piece of legislation Governor Shapiro signed in 2025 updated Pennsyvlania’s animal health laws to help meet poultry industry needs by expanding the types of samples Certified Poultry Technicians may draw to include those needed to test for HPAI.
The amendment also expanded eligibility to include those who are legally eligible to work in the U.S., rather than limiting certification to citizens only. Translating training materials into Spanish, increasing training, and making the legal guest workers who make up the workforce on many Pennsylvania farms eligible to become technicians has resulted in
211 new workers to meet critical demand to fight the disease threat.
The
Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Servicescontinually works to target preventative measures where the risks to the industry are greatest.
HPAI Status
HPAI continues to pose tremendous risk to Pennsylvania’s poultry industry, one of the top three sectors in Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry. Since February 2022, when the current outbreak began, Pennsylvania has lost more than 9.5 million birds in 44 commercial flocks and 67 backyard flocks in 23 counties.
In the past 30 days, there have been confirmed infections in two commercial flocks and seven backyard flocks, with a total loss of 2,294,640 birds. The most recent infections were confirmed in two Lancaster County flocks on February 3; a commercial table egg layer flock of 722,100 birds and a second flock of 58,100 birds.
While there is no risk to the general public, and poultry products and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly, HPAI is highly infectious and is generally fatal to domestic birds.
There have been human infections of HPAI in other states, mainly in workers in close contact with infected poultry and dairy cattle. But according to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avian influenza presents very low risk to human health. Those who work closely with birds should wear appropriate personal protective gear as part of their farm’s biosecurity efforts.
Wild birds carry the HPAI virus, and the risks heighten as migration picks up again in coming months. Anyone who encounters a sick or dead wild bird is asked to report it to the
PA Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453. Producers can also take advantage of free
Wildlife Biosecurity Assessments from the USDA to help them identify and reduce risks on their farms.
Farmers should closely monitor bird health and report unexplained illnesses and deaths in a flock to 717-772-2852. Find more information about
avian influenza and protecting your flock at
agriculture.pa.gov.
Governor Josh Shapiro understands that Pennsylvania’s economic success depends on our rural communities and farms. Pennsylvania agriculture supports over 48,800 farms, nearly 600,000 jobs, and contributes $132.5 billion annually to the Commonwealth’s economy.
Agriculture is one of the cornerstones of Governor Shapiro’s Economic Development Strategy, and the Shapiro Administration is committed to investing in its growth. In its first year, the
Agricultural Innovation Grant Program — the first of its kind in the nation — received an overwhelming response with more than $68 million in funding requests. Funded projects include technologies that improve on-farm and processing efficiency, generate renewable energy while reducing nutrient waste, and support crops and practices that store carbon or replace non-renewable resources.
Due to overwhelming response and success, the Governor’s 2026-27 proposed budget includes a
$9 million increase for the
Agricultural Innovation program,
including $7 million in base grant funding and $2 million for a county biodigester pilot project.
Read more about investments to keep Pennsylvania agriculture competitive and thriving
in Governor Shapiro’s 2026-‘27 budget proposal and continued support for Pennsylvania farmers at
pa.gov/governor.
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/new...tments-in-prevention--response--recovery-maki
