EAST EARL, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro, along with Pennsylvania State Senator Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) spent Wednesday morning at Silver Valley Farm in East Earl Township, Lancaster County, meeting with farmers and pledging bipartisan support to continue fighting the avian flu in Pennsylvania.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Tuesday marked the twelfth consecutive day the state reported zero new cases of avian flu.
But both farmers and state officials say it’s not time to let down their guard.
"We're seeing it hit the farmers, hit consumers and that's why we're so focused on this," said Governor Shapiro.
It’s a nationwide issue that’s hitting the Commonwealth hard.
Since the first case was confirmed last April, more than 4.6 million birds have been lost statewide.
It’s translated into a serious risk for Pennsylvania’s seven-billion-dollar poultry industry.
“A lot of people are watching here because we are such a huge player in the food supply chain for a good portion of this country and in some places, around the world," said Sen. Martin.
The outbreaks are also impacting the Commonwealth’s ability to do business with other states. "Three states have shut off commerce with our poultry farmers," said Gov. Shapiro. "My administration is working to try to ease some of those restrictions.”
Jim Shirk, owner of Silver Valley Farm, says a poultry vaccination campaign is being discussed on a global platform, but isn’t an option at this point.
“There are tools that out there, we’re aware of them, we have resources to talk about them but until there’s more of a geopolitical solution to implement some of these tools, we just need to stay cautious at this point," Shirk explained.
Governor Shapiro has pledged an additional $25 million as part of his state budget to help combat the avian flu and improve testing.
That's on top of the $25 million fund that’s already been established in Pennsylvania to help fill the gaps in covering losses from the avian flu.
As far as easing those commerce restrictions with other states, Gov. Shapiro says he hopes to have more on that in the coming days.
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