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Newcastle Indemnity
Rate Is Increased
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has announced an
immediate increase of up to 25
percent in the rate of indemnities
to be paid poultrymen whose egg
laying flocks may have to be
destroyed in the future because of
exotic Newcastle disease.
This increase in the indemnity
rate is being made to reflect the
increasing value of laying hens,
as a result of a jump in egg prices
in recent weeks, according to Dr.
R.E. Omohundro, Director of the
State-Federal Newcastle
Eradication Task Force
headquartered at Riverside,
Calif.
“We are instructing Task
Force appraisers to immediately
begin applying the higher in
demnity rate in their valuations
of egg laying flocks that must be
destroyed,” Dr. Omohundro said.
“As has been done since the start
of the program, the actual in
demnity per bird will be based
largely upon its age at the time of
destruction. The higher in
demnification rate will not be
applied retroactively.”
Officials of USDA’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) explained that the
current drive to eradicate exotic
Newcastle—a virus infection
which affects poultry and other
birds—has been underway since
last March. They emphasized
that the infection cannot be
transmitted to humans through
eggs or other poultry products.
When poultry flocks or other
birds become exposed or in
fected, it is necessary to destroy
them in order to stop the spread
and eventually eradicate the
disease. Owners of destroyed
'' 'LanfcAsler i Far'rt)ing l 3aturday;Ortobef T4,1972-^-
birds are paid an indemnity
based upon the fair market value
of each bird. To date, the in-
demnity rate for laying hens has
averaged about $1.54 per bird
since July 1.
APHIS officials noted that egg
prices began to increase
noticeably in early September,
and are expected to stay above
current levels for several
months. This increase in current
egg prices, coupled with an
improved economic outlook in the
egg industry over the next
several months, necessitates an
increase in the indemnity fate to
reflect the added value of laying
hens, they explained.
USDA emphasized that market
conditions will continue to be
monitored so that adjustments
can be made in the indemnity
rate in light of significant
economic trends in the egg in
dustry.
Dr. Omohundro said that
current efforts to eradicate
exotic Newcastle will continue,
including the detection of in
fected flocks by the placement of
“sentinel birds”—ones which are
raised free of specfic diseases
and therefore highly susceptible
to them. He noted that use of
these sentinel birds has been
recommended by USDA’s
scientific advisory group, which
met recently and commended
USDA for the progress being
made to eradicate the disease.
He emphasized that the in
cidence of the disease has
dropped dramatically since the
State-Federal quarantine was
imposed upon eight southern
California counties in March.
Task Force officials are in-
creasingly optimistic about
eradicating the disease.
“This is a program which
required the full cooperation of a
large number of affected
people,” Dr. Omohundro said.
“We have had excellent support,
not only from the Southern
California poultry industry, but
from many others who have been
directly or indirectly affected by
the quarantine program. It is an
unfortunate fact that many of
these people suffer severe losses
when a disease such as this hits,
and quarantines and eradication
efforts become necessary. This
action is an effort to reduce those
losses as much as possible.”
USDA to Study
Low-income Coops
i South Carolina State College at
Orangeburg County, South
Carolina was granted $100,639 by
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Cooperative State
Research Service.
Funds will be used for research
on the economic feasibility of
organizing marketing and supply
cooperatives by low-income
farmers. Specific objectives of
the 5-year study will include
analysis of membership,
patronage, and performance of
existing cooperatives of low
income farmers, and charac
teristics and attitudes of the
farmers. Researchers will also
attempt to gage the potential for
organizing such cooperatives in
South Carolina.
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