Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced today that Pennsylvania’s dairy industry has reached a critical “stage four” milestone granting HPAI-free status in the USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy, making Pennsylvania the first major U.S. dairy-producing state to achieve this status. The designation indicates that Pennsylvania’s milk supply has been tested adequately to rule out the presence of the virus in the state’s dairy cattle.
This achievement is the result of months of collaboration among the Department of Agriculture and federal, industry, and academic partners. While Pennsylvania is the first major U.S. dairy-producing state to achieve this status, the department will continue testing of bulk milk, due to the lingering disease threats in other states.
Since Pennsylvania began to require testing of bulk milk samples in late November, 2024, Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System (PADLS) labs have tested more than 22,000 samples, representing nearly 100% of the state’s 4,784 dairy farms. In addition to initiating testing requirements and restrictions for transporting dairy cattle into Pennsylvania following the first detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle in Texas in March 2024, Pennsylvania was also one of the first states to implement a voluntary program for testing lactating dairy cattle.
These measures, bolstered by strong, bipartisan support for two years of critical, commonsense budget investments are helping to cushion poultry industry losses and protect Pennsylvania’s dairy industry. Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposed 2025-26 budget builds on the past two years’ progress, investing strategically to keep Pennsylvania’s poultry and dairy industries thriving national leaders.
“Pennsylvania’s food supply is safe and secure, due to a unified, aggressive, and effective response strategy,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “We are not out of the woods yet, and the threat demands that we keep our guard up. But strategic, commonsense investments by the Shapiro Administration, combined with critical partnerships among our state and federal interagency team and every level of our dairy and poultry industries have made a very real difference in minimizing the impact of the most devastating agriculture emergency in U.S. history.
“Governor Shapiro and the General Assembly’s support through quick, responsive funding for virus elimination and testing, and grants to cushion losses to the industry have kept Pennsylvania poultry thriving amid immense, unprecedented challenges. It is our hope that bipartisan support for Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 proposed investments will continue to provide practical solutions to the agriculture industry in meeting these unprecedented challenges.”
No infections in dairy cattle or humans have been detected in Pennsylvania to date.
While there have been human infections of HPAI in other states, mainly in workers in close contact with infected poultry and dairy cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avian influenza presents very low risk to human health.
Milk that has been pasteurized is safe to drink. Poultry products and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly.
HPAI is highly infectious ?and is generally fatal to domestic birds. Cattle are not sickened to the degree that birds are, but the virus can be spread from cattle to poultry. Infections continue to be detected in dairy cattle in other states. The recent detection of a new strain of H5N1 in Nevada dairy cattle reinforces the importance of continued monitoring.
In poultry, since February 2022, the beginning of this outbreak of HPAI, 157.77 million birds have been lost from 1,554 flocks in every state and Puerto Rico. In that time, 37 commercial flocks, 44 backyard flocks, and 6,991,620 birds have been affected in Pennsylvania.
In 2025, in Pennsylvania domestic birds, there have been six affected commercial flocks, six affected backyard flocks, and 2,292,600 birds lost.
Pennsylvania’s interagency response team — Department of Agriculture staff, partners in the PA Veterinary Diagnostic Lab System, the USDA, and Penn State Extension, in coordination with PA Departments of Environmental Protection, Health, PA State Police, and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and poultry industry leaders — are actively responding to presumed infections in counties in the Lehigh Valley and Southcentral Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania remains under a general quarantine to protect the poultry industry from the spread of the virus, and all poultry producers are encouraged to review their biosecurity plans and heighten their biosecurity practices.
The national status of HPAI, state-by-state details, including Pennsylvania domestic poultry and backyard bird locations that have been confirmed to have HPAI in a USDA veterinary diagnostic lab are listed on the USDA’s website.
Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget builds on Pennsylvania’s legacy as a national leader and recognizes that the industry is key to our future. The 2025-26 budget proposes:
- An additional $13 million in the Ag Innovation Fund to help build the future of American agriculture right here in Pennsylvania. In its first open application period, the Ag Innovation Fund received 159 applications for nearly $70 million worth of innovation projects.
- Investing $2 million to keep Pennsylvania’s new animal testing laboratory in the western part of the state operational, providing critical testing services for farmers to ensure their livestock remain healthy and viable for continued farming operations.
- Continued support for the Center for Livestock and Poultry Excellence at PennAg Industries, and the Center for Dairy Excellence, critical partners in providing equipment, personnel, training, and research funding for Pennsylvania’s response to the virus outbreak.
Poultry producers should continue to implement strict biosecurity practices at all times, monitor bird health, and report any unexplained illnesses and deaths in a flock to 717-772-2852. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Anyone who encounters a sick or dead wild bird is asked to report it to the PA Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453).
If you have had contact with sick or dead birds and are not feeling well, please contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
Source : pa.gov