Relief Fund Launched In Sonoma County Where Avian Flu 'Has Spread Like Wildfire'

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County has established the Poultry Farms & Employee Relief Fund in response to the urgent avian influenza crisis affecting local poultry farms, the Sonoma County Farm Bureau announced Thursday.

The effort is geared toward providing vital support to family farms, employees and their families as avian influenza — bird flu— spreads like wildfire through the local poultry industry, impacting the livelihoods of local farmers and their employees, the Farm Bureau said in a news release.

When the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency Dec. 5 because of the outbreak, some 250,000 birds from two farms in southern Sonoma County had been euthanized at the time. The very next day — Dec. 6-7 — the bird flu was detected in two Sonoma County flocks, one with 232,000 birds and another with 4,900 birds.

The Sonoma County cases are part of a nationwide outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza —HPAI — that began in February 2022. Recent detections have been the Eurasian H5 strain of HPAI. Nationwide, more than 77 million birds have been affected and HPAI has been found in 1,044 flocks in 47 states.

This week, state and federal officials confirmed HPAI was detected in another 540,300 birds from three more Sonoma County flocks: 3,600 commercial duck meat birds, 497,700 birds at a commercial table egg layer and 39,000 birds from a poultry farm.

To date, over 1 million birds have been affected in Sonoma County, marking it the most significant outbreak in the county's history, the farm bureau said.

The economic ramifications are staggering, according to the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which is why it is calling on the community to join hands and support those who have been hit hardest.

"This outbreak is a serious threat to the well-being of our local poultry industry, and we need to come together as a community to support those affected," said Dayna Ghirardelli, executive director at the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.

Ghirardelli told Patch Thursday she has not been able to capture the number of impacted employees in Sonoma County but she has confirmed there are currently seven separate farm facilities impacted in the county, along with two processing facilities.

The Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County is a nonprofit organization with a mission of providing education, training and services for the benefit of the agricultural industry, agricultural youth activities and the community.

The foundation's Poultry Farms & Employee Relief Fund is committed to recovery and support for farms and families impacted by the outbreak. With the fund, the foundation aims to provide immediate assistance to those affected by this crisis, Ghirardelli said.

Donations can be made online at https://bit.ly/poultryrelief or by mailing a check to: Farm Bureau Foundation of Sonoma County at 3589 Westwind Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Be sure to reference the relief fund in the memo line of the check.

"Your donation is crucial in supporting the employees of these family farms and encouraging the rebuilding of Sonoma County's poultry industry," Ghirardelli said.