Arkansas Senators John Boozman (R) and Tom Cotton (R), along with eight other senators from other poultry producing states, signed a letter recently urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to protect U.S. poultry growers against the threat of possible avian influenza outbreaks.
The senators requested protection for poultry producers in case of emergency as USDA implements its fall 2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan. The Senators signed the letter shortly after a delegation from the Arkansas Farm Bureau traveled to Washington to meet with Senators Boozman and Cotton. The letter is available here.
The letter presses for the equitable distribution of indemnities in the event of an emergency situation. “It is our understanding that USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is drafting an interim rule to allow the use of split owner/grower indemnity distribution for HPAI. This would align with current regulations for other types of avian influenza. We are encouraged by the actions APHIS is taking, and we request that you allocate any future indemnities equitably so that producers and maintain access to financing in the short-term and the future,” the letter to Secretary Vilsack said.
In the event of an AI outbreak, the letter also requested policies that address HPAI-caused supply chain disruptions, such as hatcheries, pointing out that the current assistance program would cover only birds that must be destroyed.
Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said indemnity payments are split between growers and owners for losses caused by low pathogenic viruses, or viruses that cause only mild disease. Veach and other farmers are requesting that the same standards be applied for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
As weather cools and birds start to migrate south, Bruce Holland, director of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, said that the Livestock and Poultry Commission is continuing to reach out to contract growers to educate them on the best biosecurity practices. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Extension Service works with backyard growers.
Tyson Foods said in a statement that the company does what it can to help contract farmers. “Farmers who grow chickens for our company are critical to our success and we do everything we can to work with them during times of hardship,” Tyson Foods said.
