The Humane Farming Association is once again attempting to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop payments to livestock farmers when their animals are unsheltered and die as a result of bad weather. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the group has sent a petition to Sonny Perdue ahead of his confirmation as Ag Secretary. Severe storms and heat have hit poultry and livestock hard in recent years. As an example, winter storm Goliath killed roughly 40,000 dairy cows in Texas and New Mexico in 2015 and 2016. The Livestock Indemnity Program paid out more than $134 million to cover the deaths of 2.5 million poultry and 200,000 livestock from 2013-2015. The group thinks the USDA is giving out the money to compensate producers without requiring them to provide shelter and shade for their animals. The HFA says in its petition, “It’s a disincentive to farmers and ranchers to take necessary steps to provide their livestock with adequate means of protection from bad weather.” The group filed a similar petition in May of last year that didn’t get the response they were hoping for.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
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