Bird flu threat cancels fair poultry show

The poultry barn at the Franklin County Fairgrounds will remain empty this summer due to the ongoing threat of bird flu.
     The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship on Thursday cancelled all live bird exhibitions across the state in an effort to prevent the virus from spreading. Bird flu has affected more than 25 million birds at 63 Iowa poultry farms this spring alone, and those numbers are expected to rise in the months ahead.
     Franklin County Fair officials were disappointed in the news, but they weren’t necessarily surprised.
     “We kind of saw this coming,” said Casey Staley, fair board livestock chair. “There’s been some new cases in the smaller backyard flocks, and those are the birds kids bring to the fair to show.”
     Read the full article in the May 27 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.