The entire Iowa delegation is urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow poultry producers whose birds have been struck by avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) to be eligible for indemnity payments.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Acting Administrator Kimberly Graham, both of Iowa’s U.S. senators, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, and all four of its representatives, Zach Nunn, Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson explained how devastating aMPV has been to producers in Iowa and beyond. The letter was dated March 4.
On that same day, during a hearing hosted by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, Nunn held up the letter and addressed the problem of aMPV. Present at the hearing as a witness was John Zimmerman, immediate past president of the National Turkey Federation. Zimmerman also testified at a similar hearing hosted by the U.S. Senate Committee for Agriculture, Nutrition on Forestry. During the Senate hearing, Zimmerman made the case for the very matter Nunn and his colleagues are advocating.
Nunn, at the House hearing, rhetorically asked Zimmerman if the USDA had any sort of program that would help farmers mitigate losses from aMPV. Zimmerman said there weren’t.
After Zimmerman replied, Nunn reiterated that message.
“Not a single federal program exists that help our turkey producers recover from aMPV, and that’s more than a million birds lost in Iowa. Across the country, we’re talking about true tragedy,” Nunn said.
Nunn asked that the letter be submitted to the committee for the record, which it was.
In the letter, the six federal lawmakers wrote: “Iowa’s sharp decline in turkey production is reflective of the national turkey industry at large. Despite devastating financial shortfalls and supply chain disruptions caused by aMPV, there are currently no federal assistance programs available to offset these devastating losses, leaving many family-owned operations at risk of closure. Without immediate support, the viability of these farms—and the stability of the U.S. turkey industry — is in jeopardy.”
“To mitigate these losses and prevent future outbreaks, we urge the USDA Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) to consider determining aMPV as an eligible adverse event under the Livestock Indemnity Program so that our farmers can access much-needed financial relief to affected producers.”
Feenstra was also present at the hearing as a committee member.
In a press release, Feenstra said the Livestock Indemnity Program offers financial compensation to producers who suffer significant animal losses beyond normal mortality rates, and that aMPV-affected producers should fit that description.
“Avian metapneumovirus is hurting Iowa’s turkey farmers and leaving turkey operations less profitable and more volatile. As the seventh largest turkey-producing state in the nation, we need to help our turkey farmers combat this devastating disease and get the relief that they need to keep family traditions alive and survive this downturn in production,” Feenstra stated.
All six members of Iowa’s delegation are Republicans.
