Pennsylvania Opens $25 Million Poultry Bird Flu Grant

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for reimbursement of losses from highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Birds

Pennsylvania Opens $25 Million Poultry Bird Flu Grant

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Should government use public money to help farms recover from disease outbreaks?

Pennsylvania has made a $25 million HPAI Recovery Reimbursement Grant Program available to poultry farmers and integrators affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza. The bird flu infection led to the loss of more than 4.2 million birds on 17 poultry farms in Lancaster and Berks counties.

Why it matters

The outbreak caused significant losses for poultry producers across Pennsylvania, a state whose poultry industry contributes $7.1 billion to the economy and supports 26,600 jobs. The grant program offers financial relief to farms that proved demonstrable losses from being placed inside a control or quarantine zone.

The grant covers losses up to $100,000 at 100% and larger losses on a percentage basis. Round one is limited to 91 farms in 3-kilometer infected zones, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has not yet detailed round two.

The players

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

The state agency administering the HPAI Recovery Reimbursement Grant Program and publishing updates on round two at agriculture.pa.gov.

The details

Round one is open only to poultry farmers and integrators located in 3-kilometer infected zones defined by the General Quarantine Order, and the 91 identified farms will receive a direct mailing of the application. All Control Areas around infected farms were lifted as of July 27, and the round one application deadline is Sept. 10.

July 27: All Control Areas around infected farms were lifted.
Sept. 10: Round one grant application deadline.

Culture Shift

The Pennsylvania grant program is structured around a 3-kilometer infected-zone boundary and a $100,000 full-reimbursement threshold, setting specific eligibility rules for the state's poultry sector. Round two details will be published at agriculture.pa.gov as the program continues.

Poultry farmers and integrators in the 3-kilometer infected zones should watch for the direct mailing of the round one application before the Sept. 10 deadline. Losses up to $100,000 are reimbursed in full, which can ease the financial strain on affected operations.

The takeaway

Farms that lost birds to avian influenza should review eligibility rules now, since round one applications close Sept. 10 and the reimbursement structure rewards documented losses up to $100,000 in full.

What happens next

Round one grant applications are due Sept. 10, and additional information about round two will be shared when it becomes available on agriculture.pa.gov.