This bill amends the Animal Health Protection Act to compensate poultry growers and layers for income lost when they are prohibited from growing or laying flocks in a designated control area.
Roger Wicker
Senator
MS
The "Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025" amends the Animal Health Protection Act to provide compensation to poultry growers and layers in areas under federal control due to animal health concerns. It mandates payments based on lost income, ensuring producers are compensated for flocks they were unable to raise during the control period. The compensation is capped to avoid duplication of benefits from other sources and must be paid within 60 days of request. This act aims to support poultry farmers affected by disease control measures.
Poultry Farmers Get Paid in 'Control Areas': New Bill Sets Up Compensation System
The "Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025" aims to create a financial safety net for poultry farmers when the government steps in to control animal disease outbreaks. Here's the breakdown:
Cash for Chickens (and Turkeys, and Ducks...)
This bill amends the Animal Health Protection Act, focusing on what happens when the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) declares a "control area" to manage a disease. If your poultry farm is inside one of these zones, you could be eligible for compensation. The bill mandates that the government pay poultry growers and layers for lost income while the control area is in effect. Specifically, it looks at your average income from your five most recent flocks and multiplies that by the number of flocks you weren't able to raise because of the restrictions (Section 2(a)(1)(B)).
Show Me the Money... But Not Twice
There are a couple of key catches. First, this compensation is designed to fill the gap after any other payments you get, like state aid or insurance. You can't double-dip (Section 2(a)(1)(C)). Second, if you already got paid for destroyed birds under a different part of the law (subsection (d)), you won't get paid again for the same birds in the same control area during the same period. This is reasonable.
The 60-Day Dash
Another important detail: the government has to pay up within 60 days of your request (Section 2(a)(1)(D)). That's a relatively quick turnaround, which could be crucial for farmers facing immediate financial pressures. However, it may be a strain on the government to meet this deadline consistently.
Who Decides the 'Control Area'?
The bill gives the Administrator of APHIS the power to determine what constitutes a "control area" (Section 2(a)(1)(A)). This is a big deal. The size and scope of these zones directly impact how many farmers get paid and how much. While APHIS is staffed by experts, this concentration of authority is worth noting. It's like giving one person the map and the marker – they decide where the lines are drawn.
Real-World Impact
Imagine a turkey farmer in Arkansas who typically raises six flocks a year. If a control area shuts down their operation for four months, preventing them from raising two flocks, they'd be compensated based on their average income from the previous five flocks. This could be a lifeline, allowing them to cover feed costs, mortgage payments, and other expenses while their farm is under quarantine. But, if that same farmer had a particularly bad run with those previous five flocks, their compensation might not reflect their typical earnings.
Overall, the "Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025" provides a much-needed financial cushion for poultry farmers caught in disease control efforts. While the bill's intent is clear – to protect the poultry industry and the food supply – the details of how "control areas" are defined, and how "average income" is calculated, will be crucial to its success. The 60-day payment requirement is a plus for farmers, but a potential challenge for the government to consistently meet.