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CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
How farmers and government are trying to reduce avian flu risk in B.C.'s Fraser Valley
There will be new defense measures in the Fraser Valley this fall to try and prevent flocks from getting infected with avian flu. There will be new defence measures in place in B.C.'s Fraser Valley this fall to try and prevent poultry flocks from getting infected with avian flu. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has announced a $2.5-million program to help egg and poultry producers in the region. Funding through the Novel Tools and Technologies Program will allow dozens of farmers to install protective equipment on their properties. 'There's about $30,000 for 75 egg and poultry producers to add things into their barns like HEPA filters, to install ultra-violet light systems, before we get to the point of having avian influenza coming to the province in September,' said Agriculture Minister Lana Popham, in an interview with CTV News. 'It's a really difficult disease to fight because it's like having an invisible enemy,' Popham said. In a statement, Kevin Klippenstein, chair of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board and B.C. Poultry Emergency Operations Centre, said farmers, researchers and government worked together to find 'practical, science-based solutions to a complex disease challenge.' 'By investing in tools and technology that reduce the risk of avian influenza, we're helping ensure British Columbians can continue to count on a safe, sustainable supply of chicken, turkey and eggs, while also supporting the well-being of farmers who have been on the front lines of this battle for years,' he said. The virus has resulted in about 9 million birds being killed in B.C. since 2022. 'The anxiety about avian influenza is real and it does weigh on producers. Nobody wants to have to go through that,' said farmer Ray Nickel, who is also part of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board. He lost 9,000 turkeys last year when his barn was infected with avian flu. It was the second time the virus had shown up at one of his farms, despite strict biosecurity measures. Brad Driediger of Windberry Farms in Abbotsford lost 60,000 birds after an avian flu infection last winter. 'Once it happens on your own farm, to go through that process is very difficult,' he said. He said through research and collaboration with the province, farmers and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, work has been done to try and lessen the impact of avian flu. Driediger said the group worked together to try and find solutions that could be implemented before this fall's migratory period. 'It was a priority of this working group to determine what could effectively be installed quickly,' said Driediger. His own farm has made changes to the ventilation system, using 'heat exchangers in conjunction with air filtration,' Driediger explained. 'We're evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of those technologies as they're implemented,' he added. 'To see if it's making a difference.' Driediger said he's 'very hopeful' the changes will do just that. Meanwhile, Nickel is using cooling pads in the barn as a means to filter air. 'I have filtration systems in those systems and so I can at least reduce the amount of dust and feathers that might come in through… the air intake,' he said. Dr. Martin Appelt of the CFIA said, 'The key element is really trying to avoid anything that creates a bridge between wild birds, their droppings and domestic poultry.' He said the CFIA had been working in the Fraser Valley, monitoring farms that suffered multiple outbreaks. The goal was to come up with a ranking of risks. He also said the CFIA is considering vaccination of birds. 'CFIA is working with the poultry industry at this point to start setting up a confined field trial to test some of the licensed vaccines in the Canadian context and to see how this could work for us,' Appelt explained.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
B.C. to fund upgrades to reduce avian flu risk for Fraser Valley poultry farms
ABBOTSFORD — British Columbia says it will be providing $2.5 million in funding that will allow about 75 poultry farms in the Fraser Valley to upgrade their barns to reduce the risk of avian flu. The Agriculture Ministry says in a news release that the flu can enter barns through airflow, water sources and other means and, despite increased measures, there have been about 200 outbreaks in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland since 2022. It says the Novel Tools and Technologies Program will help egg and poultry producers equip their barns with tools such as air filters and ultraviolet light systems. The ministry says the program will provide as much as $30,000 per farm for future projects or those that began after Jan. 1, 2025. It says most projects should be complete by the fall, which is when the disease is at the highest risk of spreading to poultry on farms or backyard flocks due to migration. About 9 million birds have been culled in B.C. since 2022 and the ministry says the last reported case of avian flu in a commercial flock happened in January, at the end of the last fall migration. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says farmers in the region have been battling against avian influenza since the first outbreak in 2004. "Despite the personal stress and losses caused by the virus, producers still rise every morning to care for their birds and build our food supply," she says in the release. "This program will help them do that by adding extra defence measures against the virus to their barns." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025. The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
20-06-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Exclusive: USDA develops potential plan to vaccinate poultry for bird flu
CHICAGO, June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a potential plan to vaccinate poultry against bird flu for the first time that includes evaluating how it would affect exports, the agency told Reuters this week. The actions advance the government's assessment of a vaccine after the USDA received proposals on usage from associations representing egg and turkey producers whose farms have been devastated by the virus. Nearly 175 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been culled in attempts to contain outbreaks since 2022 in the nation's worst animal-health emergency. Losses of egg-laying chickens drove egg prices to records this year, prompting grocers to ration supplies, restaurants to hike prices, and food manufacturers to increase imports from countries including Turkey, Brazil and South Korea. The USDA pledged to spend up to $100 million on research into vaccines and other therapies to combat bird flu after prices spiked. Now, USDA and industry officials are pursuing a more solid, written plan to potentially show importers to gauge whether vaccinations would limit trading. Industry members expect the agency to complete the plan in July. The USDA said this week that it is working with federal, state and industry officials to develop its potential plan and is engaging with trading partners. "You need a more complete strategy and plan for them to consider," said Dr. John Clifford, a former USDA chief veterinary officer who advises the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. Debates over potential vaccinations have pitted poultry producers against each other since widespread outbreaks in 2015. Many egg and turkey farmers said they need vaccines to help protect flocks. But government officials and companies that produce chicken meat have worried that inoculations risk all types of U.S. poultry exports, if countries impose broad bans over concerns that a vaccine might mask the presence of the virus in flocks. It would be devastating to chicken meat producers if importers halted trading, Clifford said. Such producers rely more heavily on exports than egg and turkey farmers, and they have not been hit as hard by the virus. The USDA has spent more than $1 billion, opens new tab compensating farmers for culled flocks, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, increasing costs for the epidemic. "We can't continue to operate the way we are today," said Dr. Craig Rowles, a vice president at egg company Versova. Major losses of egg-laying hens prompted the United Egg Producers industry group to begin work on its own proposal in January, representatives said. It asked four longtime veterinarians, including Clifford and Rowles, to work on a plan it submitted to the USDA. Their plan suggested an initial vaccination for baby chicks, followed by a booster shot and then testing of flocks every few weeks, Rowles said. Vaccinations would make chickens less susceptible to infections, while routine testing would increase monitoring for outbreaks, he said. Flocks that test positive would still be culled under the proposal, Rowles said, adding that such cullings would likely be important to importers seeking to avoid the virus. The National Chicken Council, which represents chicken meat companies, said it does not object to the USDA moving ahead with a vaccine if producers can maintain exports. The council had warned, opens new tab in February that vaccinations of any poultry birds, such as laying hens, would jeopardize exports of all U.S. poultry products. Glenn Hickman, president of egg producer Hickman's Family Farms, blamed the chicken meat industry for opposing vaccinations that could help save his flocks. The virus has decimated about 6 million of his birds since May, or 95% of his production in Arizona. "Let me protect my chickens," Hickman said.
