USDA has implemented a new interim final rule updating the indemnity payments provided to poultry operations affected by avian influenza. Under the updated regulations, a commercial poultry farm affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that wants to restock, the premises will be required to pass a biosecurity audit. Farms that do not make the corrections recommended in that audit will not be eligible for indemnity payments. Out of the $1.1 billion in federal indemnity payments, $365 million has gone to 67 operations with multiple outbreaks.
