Biosecurity Plan Audits for Poultry Producers due by September 20, 2020

Reprinted at the request:

Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory and

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, Veterinary Services (USDA-APHIS-VS) is giving poultry producers until September 20, 2020 to have a written biosecurity plan in place, audited and rated satisfactory. This is a requirement of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). The Minnesota Board of Animal Health (Board) is responsible for the biosecurity auditing process in Minnesota.

If you would like to have a biosecurity plan audit conducted and have not been contacted by the Board: 

Please call their office at 320-231-5170 or email them at poultry@state.mn.us so they can provide you the necessary information, details and timeline. The biosecurity plan audits are paper audits, no site visits are required.

Why poultry producers should complete an audit by September 20, 2020:

Producers without an audit will not be eligible for USDA-APHIS-VS indemnity or compensation funds in the event Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is detected in poultry on any of your facilities. The Board, with the support of the Emergency Disease Management Committee, is incorporating the same policy into the Minnesota Initial State Response and Containment Plan (Minnesota Plan) if an introduction of H5/H7 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) is identified in poultry on any of your facilities.

Facilities exempt from the auditing requirement:

While all commercial operations are encouraged to participate regardless of how many birds are raised, the USDA-APHIS-VS exempted producers from the auditing requirement if their facilities fall into one of the following categories:

• Commercial table-egg laying premises with less than 75,000 birds.
• Commercial broiler premises that raise less than 100,000 broilers annually.
• Commercial meat-type turkey premises that raise less than 30,000 turkeys annually.
• Raised for release upland game bird/waterfowl premises that raise less than 25,000 birds annually.

Auditing Materials and Resources:

To view auditing materials and additional resources, visit our website at: https://www.bah.state.mn.us/npip-biosecurity-principles/

Additional assistance for writing your biosecurity plan, is available through University of Minnesota Extension, or contact Abby Schuft. 

For Further Information:

Contact the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory
Office number: 320-231-5170
Office email: poultry@state.mn.us