February 24, 2026 - Lancaster, PA
Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Russell Redding joined Pennsylvania farmers, poultry producers, key agricultural industry leaders, and state legislators for a roundtable discussion on the Shapiro Administration's aggressive, expanded response to a surge in Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) infections.As the Commonwealth experiences a loss of more than 7.6 million birds since the start of this year, Governor Shapiro listened to the concerns of those closest to the HPAI surge, and last week, directed his Administration to mobilize additional personnel, expand testing capacity, and coordinate closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and industry partners.Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation with a dedicated HPAI Recovery Fund, designed to help poultry producers stabilize and recover from devastating losses. Since 2022, $75 million has been committed to the fund, with $59.4 million currently in reserve. To date, 302 poultry businesses have received $15.6 million in grants to offset losses, sustain operations, and strengthen biosecurity protections - 150 of those receiving farms have implemented enhanced disease-prevention improvements."Pennsylvania's farmers are the backbone of our communities and I know many are worried about the recent rise in HPAI cases," said Governor Shapiro. "My Administration is working around the clock to expand our rapid response efforts and mitigate this surge. We are deploying more personnel, expanding our testing ability, and coordinating closely with the federal government and our industry partners to ensure we have our poultry farmers' backs every step of the way."Speaker List:Governor Josh ShapiroSecretary Russell Redding, PA Department of AgricultureDr. Alex Hamberg, State VeterinarianChris Herr, Vice President, Penn Ag Industries ExecutiveSenator Judith Schwank, Senate Democratic Ag Chair, PA's 11th Senatorial DistrictSenator Scott Martin, PA's 13th Senatorial DistrictSenator James Malone, PA's 36th Senatorial DistrictRepresentative Mindy Fee, PA's 37th House DistrictRepresentative Brett Miller, PA's 41st House DistrictRepresentative Keith Greiner, PA's 43rd House DistrictRepresentative Dan Moul, House Republican Ag Chair, PA's 91st House DistrictRepresentative Nikki Rivera, PA's 96th House DistrictRepresentative Steven Mentzer, PA's 97th House DistrictRepresentative Eddie Day Pashinski, House Democratic Ag Chair, PA's 121st House District
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