(KNSI) – The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is lifting the state’s poultry exhibition ban on Friday, July 1st. The decision comes after the state has gone over three weeks without a bird flu case. The last instance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was on May 31st in Becker County.
Experts had said after the initial outbreak in the spring that they anticipated it would wane once warmer weather settled in. Hot and humid conditions tend to halt the spread of most respiratory viruses.
The change in policy is welcome news for area 4-H and FFA organizations. In Stearns County, there was a policy in place to do a virtual poultry showing if needed, similar to how competitions were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sherburne County has its fair on July 14-17, with Stearns following at the end of July, and Benton wrapping up area action on August 2-7.
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