Bird flu outbreak on Long Island could wipe out last duck farm – NBC New York

New York's Long Island was once synonymous with “duck” in the culinary world. Now we may lose our last commercial farm.

This week, an outbreak of bird flu that killed millions of birds at U.S. poultry farms and sent egg prices soaring hit Crescent Duck Farms, prompting federal officials to order the entire flock to be culled.

Doug Corwin, whose family has owned a farm of about 140 acres since the 1640s, announced Friday that he had completed a multi-day culling of about 100,000 birds at his currently isolated Akborg barn.

Remaining staff will thoroughly disinfect the facility, a process that could take months.

“We're just stunned right now,” Corwin, 66, said by phone Friday. “This is a very, very sad time. We are doing everything we can to get through this one step at a time.”

He said his family needs to consider the future of the fourth-generation business, founded in 1908 and nestled among vineyards and farmland on Long Island's North Fork, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of Manhattan. He said there is.

Mr Corwin said the farm's income had plummeted, forcing him to lay off 47 of the farm's 75 staff. Some of them had worked there for decades.

“If duck farming isn't an option, I don't know what to do,” he says. “We're not really prepared for anything else.”

Long Island was once the duck production capital of the United States due to its abundant freshwater streams, mild climate, and proximity to major cities on the East Coast.

At its heyday in the early 1960s, the region had more than 100 farms producing up to 7.5 million ducks a year, or about two-thirds of the nation's duck production.

Crescent Duck Farm has been the only remaining operation on the island for the better part of a decade, as rising operating costs, increased regulation and increased suburban sprawl took their toll.

The farm currently supplies nearly 4 percent of all ducks sold in the country, Corwin said, supplying restaurants in the Northeast and other areas, including many high-end establishments in New York City. Ta.

He said the secret to longevity is the quality of the duck, which has a thick, meaty breast and enough skin fat to stay tender and moist during cooking.

“The only way we can survive on Long Island is to make ducks that are different than our competitors,” Corwin said.

After the outbreak, farms will be allowed to keep thousands of duck eggs, which he hopes will help rebuild the flock and preserve the unique genetics honed over many generations. I want it.

Isolated eggs are first disinfected, hatched off-site and regularly tested for signs of the virus.

But Corwin said he is reluctant to resume vaccinating poultry without federal approval. Large industrial farms oppose it because of the impact on international sales.

He said without vaccination, small businesses will continue to be at risk of complete ruin.

Corwin said he still doesn't know how the virus got into the tightly controlled facility after noticing signs of changes in some of the birds last week.

He said the farm has put in place strict protocols to prevent infection, as avian influenza has wreaked havoc on poultry operations around the world.

This strain of avian influenza rarely infects humans. There have been 67 confirmed cases and one death reported in the United States, federal health officials said. Cattle outbreaks have been reported in several states. However, infections in commercial herds are becoming more common. According to the Department of Agriculture, at least 13 million birds have been infected in the past 30 days alone, with fewer farms affected each day.

“We were identifying weaknesses and strengthening everything,” Corwin lamented. “I don't think it was enough.”

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Follow Phillip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.