New Legislation Prioritizes Emergency Preparedness to Help Farm Animals and Taxpayers

Jan 11, 2023

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Humane Farming Association commend today’s introduction of the Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act led by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN).

This legislation would enhance the welfare of America’s farm animals by ensuring that producers take appropriate measures to protect livestock from the harmful impacts of adverse weather events as a prerequisite for receiving taxpayer-backed aid. Each year, hundreds of thousands to millions of farm animals perish in the United States during extreme weather events and natural disasters.

In 2020, for example, more than 100,000 poultry in Louisiana reportedly died as a result of Hurricane Laura. In 2021, hundreds of thousands of farm animals perished during a deep freeze in Texas. One poultry company, Sanderson Farms, reported that 455,000 of its chickens froze to death during the winter storm, were crushed by barn roofs that collapsed due to heavy snow and ice, or otherwise died from lack of food or water. The company euthanized an additional 545,000 chicks due to plant closures from the storm.

“As extreme weather events become more frequent, it is essential that livestock operations develop viable disaster plans to protect vulnerable farm animals,” said Dena Jones, director of AWI’s farm animal program. “This bill has the potential to reduce suffering for countless animals in the United States and we are incredibly grateful to Congressman Cohen for his leadership.”

Producers are eligible to receive federal compensation for a range of farm animal losses that occur during adverse weather events through the US Department of Agriculture’s Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). According to federal data, more than $496 million was paid out to producers under the program from 2008 to 2021. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 removed the cap on individual payments issued under LIP, meaning there is no longer a limit on how much eligible producers can receive when seeking reimbursements through the program. According to records obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests reviewed by the Humane Farming Association, LIP compensated producers for nearly 6.7 million poultry deaths and more than 277,000 livestock deaths from 2013 to 2017.

The Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act aims to reduce losses while promoting fiscal responsibility by ensuring that recipients of payments under LIP and the USDA’s Emergency Loan Program have disaster preparedness plans in place.

“Millions of farm animals die each year during extreme weather events and natural disasters, costing taxpayers millions in indemnity payments to producers for their losses,” Cohen said. “Our bill simply requires producers to have plans in place to mitigate those disasters and the effects they have on their livestock. It is a prudent remedy to a solvable problem, and ultimately will save animal lives. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

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Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.