The National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) will amend regulations arising from deliberations and proposals at the 2018 Biennial Conference. The most significant changes of relevance to the commercial poultry industry will be establishing a Newcastle Disease Clean Program with compartment status. This will allow primary breeders to export stock in the event of a Newcastle disease outbreak in the U.S. The second item of interest to the commercial industry involves changes in compensation in the event of exposure to low-pathogenicity avian influenza. The proposed rule redefines cleaning and disinfection before restocking and addresses indemnity.
NPIP updated the regulations relating to game bird production. This segment of the poultry industry is widely distributed through the U.S. with considerable interstate movement of birds. Since many pathogens are common to both game birds and commercial chickens and turkeys, regulations to encourage participation in disease prevention programs will benefit commercial production.