Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential chickens will return to the New York State Fair this year. State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced Tue., May 31, the end of the ban on all live fowl competitions and exhibits at the state fair and all county fairs statewide. The department issued the ban in May 2015 to prevent the spread of the avian flu, which killed millions of birds across the country in 2014 and 2015, the worst outbreak of the virus in U.S. history. Ball said in a statement, “Thanks to the cooperation of farmers, suppliers, distributors, and live bird markets, as well as the hard work of the department’s Division of Animal Industry, the outbreak did not affect any birds in the state and we look forward to their return at fairs this summer.” In the year before the ban, approximately 1,200 poultry and pigeons were brought to the fair for various competitions and exhibits. The ban has also been lifted for all chartered county fairs and youth fairs. The Greene County Youth Fair this year will be held Jul. 28 through 31, at Angelo Canna Town Park in Cairo, and the Columbia County Fair will be held Aug. 31 through Sept. 5, at the Chatham Fair Grounds. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.