Poultry industry calls for increased National Poultry Improvement Plan resources

The National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and USA Poultry and Egg Export Council have said they strongly encourage moving past maintaining present levels of funding and support for the National Poultry Improvement Plan, and would like to secure increased resources in both staffing and funding.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the organizations said that the National Poultry Improvement Plan has historically been, and remains, a crucial program for ensuring the continued viability of U.S. poultry and egg production for both the domestic and export markets. "We believe it is important to not only fund the [plan], but to ensure it receives an appropriate level of support from the USDA," they said.
“Every year, [the plan] faces tremendous challenges posed by limited staffing and funding,” said the groups.  “On a state level, [the National Poultry Improvement Plan] operates with significant industry support, but the office located in Conyers, Georgia requires, and should receive, adequate federal funding to maintain efficiencies and the ability to deal directly with state, federal and global constituents. As programs grow in importance, it is imperative that said growth be matched by federal support.”