Fundraiser for Crescent Duck Farm workers at North Fork Brewing Company hopes to save a Long Island tradition

Sipping a pint of ale at North Fork Brewing Company in Riverhead Saturday, Jerry Allen, of Calverton, reminisced on a time when potato farms flourished, bay scallops were plentiful and there were more duck farms than he could count.

“A lot of the jobs were on duck farms back then, because there were so many of them,” said Allen, 66, whose father and grandmother both worked in the industry. “It’s definitely changed.”

It’s a fate Allen and many others hope to stave off for Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, the last remaining commercial duck farm on Long Island that’s taking steps to rebuild after an outbreak of bird flu last month forced the euthanasia of the entire flock of about 99,000 birds and more than half its employees to be laid off.

Allen was among hundreds of people to attend the community fundraiser at the Second Street brewery to signal support for the farm, which has been in operation since 1908.

Brewery owner Peter Barraud said the brewery contributed $1 from every pint and pack of beer sold and 20% of sales from a food truck on site, plus 100% of money from a raffle that featured prizes from dozens of area businesses. As of Saturday night, Barraud said they had already raised $20,000 and were still counting.

“The nice thing about beer is it brings people together,” Barraud said in an interview. “It happened so suddenly that it’s a shock for all the employees.”

Barraud said he hopes the employees feel supported. “Everybody’s got your back, the community has support for you and we’re always willing to help any way we can,” he said.

The money will be distributed this week to 48 employees laid off from the farm’s processing facility in the form of grocery store gift cards, Barraud said. Farm owner Doug Corwin was “adamant” that assistance go directly to the employees and said he’s been touched by the outpouring of support since avian influenza, or H5N1, was detected there on Jan. 17.

Corwin, 66, said it was “gut-wrenching” to lay off employees, many of whom had worked for the farm for decades.

“It’s family,” he said. “You go to their funerals, you go to their weddings, you’re part of their lives and all of a sudden, it disappears.”

The future of the flock

The avian flu has affected more than 147.25 million birds among 682 commercial flocks and 789 backyard flocks since February 2022, according to the USDA. None of the 67 confirmed human cases are in New York State.

Fred and Lauren Pignataro came all the way from East Northport to support the effort.

“I pray that they recover from it,” said Fred, 64. “We’ve got to have some Long Island heritage left.”

At its height, there were about 90 duck farms in Suffolk County, according to a county planning report. The industry peaked in the 1960s, producing 7.5 million ducks a year, the report said.

In the ’70s, the industry began to dwindle amid rising costs, development pressure and stricter environmental regulations.

Corwin remains hopeful about the farm’s future, with plans to hatch and raise a new flock of ducklings, but the road ahead remains uncertain.

An extensive sanitation effort to remove all traces of the virus from the farm remains ongoing.

The future of the farm rests in some 10,000 quarantined eggs off-site, Corwin said. Should those successfully hatch, Corwin said a second laying cycle would give him enough to go back into business — but that may not happen until October 2026.

“It’s going to be a real challenge. I think I can do it,” Corwin said Saturday. “But let’s let the eggs hatch out first and see what we have.”