Chicken farmers must pass a biosecurity audit to get paid for future bird flu losses

The US Department of Agriculture is changing the rules for how chicken farmers get paid if their birds die from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Now, if a commercial farm has an HPAI outbreak, it must pass a biosecurity audit before restocking to be eligible for future payments.

For years, the government paid farmers for bird flu losses without requiring them to prove they were taking steps to prevent future outbreaks. This rule change means that getting paid for dead birds now depends on demonstrating better farm hygiene. It shifts some of the responsibility for preventing disease spread back to the farmers themselves, rather than just having taxpayers cover the costs.