HARRINGTON, Del.- Farmers voiced their concerns around Avian flu at this year's Delaware Farm Bureau Safety Conference. President of the Bureau Richard Wilkins says poultry farmers did not come out to this year's conference out of fears of spreading Avian flu.
"Certainly because of biosecurity measures, we're seeing that many of our commercial poultry farmers are not coming out to the meetings, coming out to the educational sessions," said Wilkins. "So over the last several weeks, the heightened bio security measures and surely one of those measures for those folks that are commercial poultry producers, to restrict their off farm movement".
Avian influenza is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure. The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers. This virus affects poultry, like chickens, ducks, and turkeys, along with some wild bird species such as ducks, geese, shorebirds, and raptors.
Luther Coe is a grain producer, but says even his facility is at risk of contamination.
"A lot of the farmers that aren't dealers have poultry farms themselves. So keeping the spread, for those farmers when they come to dump corn at our facilities, dipping their feet in the foot pans, when they get in and out of their trucks and really keeping the spread to a minimum," said Coe.
Sussex County Farm Bureau President Steve Breeding is a sheep producer, but says the conversations of Avian flu in birds has everyone thinking about security.
"As a sheep producer, we like to limit the amount of people who come to our farm not that we have anything to hide or a closed door policy, but with bio security the foot traffic we are trying to limit that," said Breeding. "I think as a livestock producer, with avian influenza and the biosecurity issue, we have to be very cognizant of keeping biosecurity on our farms and different techniques of doing that".
Wilkins says the learning material from the conference can be found online, useful for those poultry farmers who stayed home to stay safe.
