Poultry show plans in holding pattern

The Iowa Department of Agriculture issued an order in late March suspending all poultry exhibitions until further notice, aiming to stop the spread of the “highly pathogenic avian influenza,” or HPAI. While the disease hasn’t reached Southeast Iowa yet, and the current strain hasn’t infected anyone in the U.S. according to the CDC, it’s still a concern for the area’s 4-H’ers, with county fairs hanging in the balance as case counts climb among animals.

"I’m very hopeful, the state 4-H program has not required us to make any changes yet for our county fairs that happen in July,“ said Amy Green, Washington County ISU Extension 4-H and youth coordinator. ”The way the mandate is worded, we still have time before we have to make any changes, so we’re just informing families who are looking into having poultry projects that this is a potential factor.“

Still, Green said that decision was on the minds of many.

“I think June 1 would kind of be the point where we have to make a decision,” she said. “If everything is still in current freeze mode as of that date, then we will have to revisit things, but a lot can happen between now and then.”

The order will be lifted when state goes 30 days without a new case of HPAI, according to a Department of Agriculture news release. At time of writing, the most recent case was reported April 5 in Buena Vista County, resetting the clock for the whole state.

“Protecting animal health and Iowa’s agriculture-based economy remain our top priorities,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in that news release. “As HPAI continues to impact poultry flocks across the state and nation, it is essential that we take every possible step to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.”

Green said there were likely some smaller shows already impacted by the state order.

"I’m sure that there are some forms of competition right now,“ she said. ”I don’t know how much our 4-H’ers are involved with those necessarily, but I do know there’s a lot of sales and swap meets and that type of thing … and those also fall under that current mandate, so that might effect some people.“

For now, Green said the best bet was to focus on biosecurity, minimizing contact between domestic flocks and wild birds among other best practices.

“Anyone with poultry are encouraged to report any sick birds or any unusual bird deaths, to call their vet right away, and then their vet can report that on to state and federal officials,” she said. “Coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, birds that seem kind of lethargic, changes in their egg production or feeding, that kind of thing would all be signs for families to watch for.”

Although the moment is tense, Henry County ISU Extension Youth Coordinator Erin Heaton said those involved were being patient.

“We’ve been through this before, it’s one of those things, the safety of our families’ backyard flocks is very important to us,” she said. “We don’t want to compromise that, and families realize that having an exhibition during an avian influenza outbreak could compromise their flocks … so they’re pretty understanding.”

It wouldn’t be the first time county fairs had to cancel their poultry events, as occurred in 2015 due to the disease. Still, 4-H groups have other options if such a call is made.

“It would be more like a static exhibit project … they would be able to still have their project, and they would just do a notebook or a binder and talk about how they raised their project, what they learned,” Heaton said. “More like a report than an actual poultry exhibition. It would probably be something we would bring a judge in for.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com