Latest news with #CrescentDuckFarm
Washington Post
19-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Ducks return to a Long Island farm that lost its entire flock to the bird flu
AQUEBOGUE, N.Y. — Doug Corwin knew there was a problem at his family's commercial duck farm in Long Island when he spotted scores of dead or lethargic birds during a barn inspection in January. Within days, Crescent Duck Farm became a casualty of the global avian flu outbreak , one of many farms around the U.S. that had to cull their entire flock, sending the prices of eggs and other agricultural commodities soaring.
The Independent
19-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Bird flu devastated this duck farm — now it's making a comeback
The discovery of scores of dead and lethargic birds during a barn inspection in January signalled a devastating blow for Doug Corwin and his family's commercial duck farm on Long Island. Within days, Crescent Duck Farm, a century-old institution and the last duck farm remaining in a New York region once synonymous with the culinary delicacy, became a casualty of the global avian flu outbreak. The farm was forced to cull its entire flock, a fate shared by numerous other farms across the US, contributing to a significant surge in the prices of eggs and other agricultural commodities. For Corwin, a 66-year-old fourth-generation farmer, the immediate aftermath was a stark reminder of the fragility of his family's legacy. Now, with ducks hatched from eggs spared from the initial slaughter, Crescent Duck Farm is cautiously embarking on the arduous task of rebuilding. Corwin's ambition extends beyond merely restoring the farm to its 100,000-bird capacity. He is determined to preserve the unique lineage of fowl that has allowed his family's enterprise to thrive for over a century, even as other Long Island duck farms fell by the wayside. Yet, the shadow of another potential outbreak looms large. Corwin lives with the constant worry that a second wave of avian flu could finally spell the end for his family's enduring legacy. "All I know is I don't want to be hit again," Corwin said. "If I go through this twice, I'm done as a duck farmer." For months, Corwin and his reduced staff have been thoroughly sanitising the farm's dozens of barns, clearing out hay and debris, and replacing feeders, ventilation systems, wooden and metal structures and more. At the end of May, the first wave of roughly 900 young ducks arrived from a nearby farm where they had been carefully raised in quarantine these last few months. Another batch of 900 arrived last week and some 900 more will soon make their way to the roughly 140-acre (55-hectare) farm in Aquebogue, which is tucked among the vineyards and agricultural lands of Long Island's North Fork, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Manhattan. By the end of next summer, Corwin hopes the first ducks will be ready to be processed and brought to market. But he says he won't rush the reopening. It will be many more months — if ever — before the operation, which processed about 1 million ducks for consumption annually, returns to full capacity, he said. 'I keep telling people I'm running a high hurdle race,' Corwin said. 'I've got a lot a lot of steps to get back to where we were.' Since 2022, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in all 50 states, leading to more than 1,700 recorded outbreaks affecting nearly 175 million birds, according to the most recent tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak at Corwin's farm shows how this strain has inflicted more damage on a wider range of species than past variants, said Dr. Gavin Hitchener, director of Cornell University's Duck Research Laboratory, located a short drive away in Eastport. Ducks have generally been less prone to serious illness and death than chickens and turkeys, he said. H5N1 is also vexing American cattle farmers after the virus jumped from fowl to cattle last year. 'Something has changed in the virus' makeup that has made it more virulent,' Hitchener said. With no end to the bird flu pandemic in sight, Corwin worries he won't be able to weather another outbreak. The farm received federal compensation for its euthanised ducks, but it wasn't nearly close to the market value of the birds — never mind the expense of rebuilding in a high cost region that also includes the Hamptons, he said. Corwin hopes the federal government will, at long last, require poultry operators to vaccinate their livestock against bird flu. It's an uphill climb, given the Trump administration's deep skepticism of vaccines and the long-standing opposition of far larger, industrial poultry operations, he acknowledged. 'I would sleep an awful lot better at night. But right now I'm very nervous,' Corwin said. 'We're just playing with deck chairs on the Titanic.' The ducks newly arrived on the farm are crucial to its revival. Fully grown and approaching breeding age, the cohort of white Pekin ducks were all that survived from the more than 15,000 eggs state officials allowed the farm to spare from the winter culling after they tested negative for bird flu. That means they and their progeny carry on the unique genetic makeup the farm has honed over generations of selective breeding to build its reputation. Established in 1908 by Corwin's great-grandfather, Crescent Duck Farms has been the island's lone commercial duck operation for the better part of a decade. But in the early 1960s, Long Island boasted more than 100 farms producing about two-thirds of the nation's duck output. 'I feel I owe it to the ancestors of farmers who've been here all these years and have come this far to just make a go of it,' Corwin said. 'I want to make Long Island proud.'
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Long Island's last duck farm is quacking again after losing its entire flock to the bird flu
AQUEBOGUE, N.Y. (AP) — Doug Corwin knew there was a problem at his family's commercial duck farm in Long Island when he spotted scores of dead or lethargic birds during a barn inspection in January. Within days, Crescent Duck Farm became a casualty of the global avian flu outbreak, one of many farms around the U.S. that had to cull their entire flock, sending the prices of eggs and other agricultural commodities soaring. Now the more than century-old farm — the last duck farm remaining in a New York region once synonymous with the culinary delicacy — is cautiously rebuilding. But for Corwin, a 66-year-old fourth-generation farmer, it's not enough to bring the farm back to its 100,000-bird capacity. With ducks hatched from eggs spared from slaughter, he's working to preserve the unique lineage of fowl that's allowed his family's farm to thrive even as others on Long Island fell by the wayside — all while worrying that another flu outbreak would finally wipe him out. 'All I know is I don't want to be hit again,' Corwin said. 'If I go through this twice, I'm done as a duck farmer.' Make way for ducklings For months, Corwin and his reduced staff have been thoroughly sanitizing the farm's dozens of barns, clearing out hay and debris, and replacing feeders, ventilation systems, wooden and metal structures and more. At the end of May, the first wave of roughly 900 young ducks arrived from a nearby farm where they had been carefully raised in quarantine these last few months. Another batch of 900 arrived last week and some 900 more will soon make their way to the roughly 140-acre (55-hectare) farm in Aquebogue, which is tucked among the vineyards and agricultural lands of Long Island's North Fork, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Manhattan. By the end of next summer, Corwin hopes the first ducks will be ready to be processed and brought to market. But he says he won't rush the reopening. It will be many more months — if ever — before the operation, which processed about 1 million ducks for consumption annually, returns to full capacity, he said. 'I keep telling people I'm running a high hurdle race,' Corwin said. 'I've got a lot a lot of steps to get back to where we were.' Bird flu pandemic still looms Since 2022, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in all 50 states, leading to more than 1,700 recorded outbreaks affecting nearly 175 million birds, according to the most recent tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak at Corwin's farm shows how this strain has inflicted more damage on a wider range of species than past variants, said Dr. Gavin Hitchener, director of Cornell University's Duck Research Laboratory, located a short drive away in Eastport. Ducks have generally been less prone to serious illness and death than chickens and turkeys, he said. H5N1 is also vexing American cattle farmers after the virus jumped from fowl to cattle last year. 'Something has changed in the virus' makeup that has made it more virulent,' Hitchener said. With no end to the bird flu pandemic in sight, Corwin worries he won't be able to weather another outbreak. The farm received federal compensation for its euthanized ducks, but it wasn't nearly close to the market value of the birds — never mind the expense of rebuilding in a high cost region that also includes the Hamptons, he said. Corwin hopes the federal government will, at long last, require poultry operators to vaccinate their livestock against bird flu. It's an uphill climb, given the Trump administration's deep skepticism of vaccines and the long-standing opposition of far larger, industrial poultry operations, he acknowledged. 'I would sleep an awful lot better at night. But right now I'm very nervous,' Corwin said. 'We're just playing with deck chairs on the Titanic.' Carrying on local heritage The ducks newly arrived to the farm are crucial to its revival. Fully grown and approaching breeding age, the cohort of white Pekin ducks were all that survived from the more than 15,000 eggs state officials allowed the farm to spare from the winter culling after they tested negative for bird flu. That means they and their progeny carry on the unique genetic makeup the farm has honed over generations of selective breeding to build its reputation. Established in 1908 by Corwin's great-grandfather, Crescent Duck Farms has been the island's lone commercial duck operation for the better part of a decade. But in the early 1960s, Long Island boasted more than 100 farms producing about two-thirds of the nation's duck output. 'I feel I owe it to the ancestors of farmers who've been here all these years and have come this far to just make a go of it,' Corwin said. 'I want to make Long Island proud.' ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at
Associated Press
19-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Long Island's last duck farm is quacking again after losing its entire flock to the bird flu
AQUEBOGUE, N.Y. (AP) — Doug Corwin knew there was a problem at his family's commercial duck farm in Long Island when he spotted scores of dead or lethargic birds during a barn inspection in January. Within days, Crescent Duck Farm became a casualty of the global avian flu outbreak, one of many farms around the U.S. that had to cull their entire flock, sending the prices of eggs and other agricultural commodities soaring. Now the more than century-old farm — the last duck farm remaining in a New York region once synonymous with the culinary delicacy — is cautiously rebuilding. But for Corwin, a 66-year-old fourth-generation farmer, it's not enough to bring the farm back to its 100,000-bird capacity. With ducks hatched from eggs spared from slaughter, he's working to preserve the unique lineage of fowl that's allowed his family's farm to thrive even as others on Long Island fell by the wayside — all while worrying that another flu outbreak would finally wipe him out. 'All I know is I don't want to be hit again,' Corwin said. 'If I go through this twice, I'm done as a duck farmer.' Make way for ducklings For months, Corwin and his reduced staff have been thoroughly sanitizing the farm's dozens of barns, clearing out hay and debris, and replacing feeders, ventilation systems, wooden and metal structures and more. At the end of May, the first wave of roughly 900 young ducks arrived from a nearby farm where they had been carefully raised in quarantine these last few months. Another batch of 900 arrived last week and some 900 more will soon make their way to the roughly 140-acre (55-hectare) farm in Aquebogue, which is tucked among the vineyards and agricultural lands of Long Island's North Fork, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Manhattan. By the end of next summer, Corwin hopes the first ducks will be ready to be processed and brought to market. But he says he won't rush the reopening. It will be many more months — if ever — before the operation, which processed about 1 million ducks for consumption annually, returns to full capacity, he said. 'I keep telling people I'm running a high hurdle race,' Corwin said. 'I've got a lot a lot of steps to get back to where we were.' Bird flu pandemic still looms Since 2022, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in all 50 states, leading to more than 1,700 recorded outbreaks affecting nearly 175 million birds, according to the most recent tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak at Corwin's farm shows how this strain has inflicted more damage on a wider range of species than past variants, said Dr. Gavin Hitchener, director of Cornell University's Duck Research Laboratory, located a short drive away in Eastport. Ducks have generally been less prone to serious illness and death than chickens and turkeys, he said. H5N1 is also vexing American cattle farmers after the virus jumped from fowl to cattle last year. 'Something has changed in the virus' makeup that has made it more virulent,' Hitchener said. With no end to the bird flu pandemic in sight, Corwin worries he won't be able to weather another outbreak. The farm received federal compensation for its euthanized ducks, but it wasn't nearly close to the market value of the birds — never mind the expense of rebuilding in a high cost region that also includes the Hamptons, he said. Corwin hopes the federal government will, at long last, require poultry operators to vaccinate their livestock against bird flu. It's an uphill climb, given the Trump administration's deep skepticism of vaccines and the long-standing opposition of far larger, industrial poultry operations, he acknowledged. 'I would sleep an awful lot better at night. But right now I'm very nervous,' Corwin said. 'We're just playing with deck chairs on the Titanic.' Carrying on local heritage The ducks newly arrived to the farm are crucial to its revival. Fully grown and approaching breeding age, the cohort of white Pekin ducks were all that survived from the more than 15,000 eggs state officials allowed the farm to spare from the winter culling after they tested negative for bird flu. That means they and their progeny carry on the unique genetic makeup the farm has honed over generations of selective breeding to build its reputation. Established in 1908 by Corwin's great-grandfather, Crescent Duck Farms has been the island's lone commercial duck operation for the better part of a decade. But in the early 1960s, Long Island boasted more than 100 farms producing about two-thirds of the nation's duck output. 'I feel I owe it to the ancestors of farmers who've been here all these years and have come this far to just make a go of it,' Corwin said. 'I want to make Long Island proud.' ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Taxpayers may have to quack up $1M for slaughtering 100K ducks at Long Island farm in virus scare: documents
Taxpayers may get their gooses cooked paying for a duck massacre. A Long Island duck farm is asking for the federal government to quack up $1 million after it euthanized 100,000 of its flocks over bird flu fears, documents show. Crescent Duck Farm, which supplies 4% of the nation's duck meat, has already received $150,000 from the USDA and is asking for more after it put down tens of thousands of birds — and now animal activists are slamming the cost and the carnage. The farm used carbon dioxide foam, then snapped the necks of surviving birds with a handheld scissor-like tool called the Koechner Euthanizing Device, according to USDA documents. 'If you see videos of it, it looks like a scene from a horror movie,' Ben Williamson, the executive director of Animal Outlook, told The Post of the foam. 'It doesn't knock them out, it doesn't stun them. They essentially will suffocate, and will be conscious while they're suffocating … and then the ones who survive have their necks rung by these devices.' But Crescent Duck Farm owner Doug Corwin told The Post the UDSA ended up using a different killing method, and the farm 'had nothing to do with whatever was decided upon.' 'This was a heartbreaking thing,' he added. 'We had no standing in that.' A request for comment from the USDA was not immediately returned. The 116-year-old farm on the North Fork estimated it was owed $811,635 from the government due to the mass culling after 700 Peking ducks died from the virus in January, records show. The requested funds were used for sanitization, disposal and replacement of roughly $166,365 in losses, the farm said. Corwin told The Post the USDA has reimbursed to date 'about 10%' of what the flock was worth,' or about $150,000, and is expecting more. Long Island animal activists weren't taken by the sob story — or use of government cash. 'New Yorkers don't go to work with the intention of spending our hard-earned money on a multimillion-dollar enterprise that kills a million 6-week-old ducklings a year while they're still peeping,' said John Di Leonardo, executive director of animal rights group Humane Long Island. Poultry farms and live markets are mandated to kill inventory when highly-contagious bird flu is detected, and dozens of outbreaks have torn through New York State in 2025, according to the USDA website. The first case of bird flu in the U.S. was detected in 2022 and has since resulted in the deaths of an estimated 166 million birds. Toxic carbon dioxide foam is used in culling about half of the time, per a USDA report, and require secondary measures to kill surviving ducks about 29% of the time. Despite the culling at Crescent, The Post reported in February that more than 3,700 new ducklings hatched at an off-site location. The ducks can return to the North Fork once barns are found to be free of any active avian flu DNA, Corwin said, adding the barns were last tested Monday. 'The ducks are nine weeks old and in good shape,' Corwin said. 'We're hoping to bring them home when we can – when its 100% safe to do so.' Williamson told The Post he will be presenting an offer to the farm on Thursday to help the business transition to crop production instead, which he deems more 'humane and sustainable' than duck farming. 'While we recognize Crescent Duck Farm's historical significance to Long Island, the documents we've obtained reveal not just the financial cost to taxpayers, but also the grim reality of how these birds met their end,' he said. Corwin, however, balked at the idea of scrapping his beloved ducks for farming lettuce and other vegetation. 'It's going to take me a year and a half to get any income off of this place [after the culling],' he said. 'I'd be better off to bulldoze every barn we have and put it up for sale, but I'm a farmer at heart.'
