Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you to the leaders who have worked so hard on this bipartisan farm bill, especially Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Roberts. Senator Chambliss and I are grateful to have our amendment heard. Poultry is a critical industry in Delaware, in Georgia and many of our states. And between the recession and the volatile cost of chicken feed, there are a rising number of factors that can have a catastrophic impact on local economies that are well beyond the control of our farmers and integrators.
The two studies that we propose in this amendment would explore whether insurance programs might make sense as a tool for helping poultry farmers and integrators continue to thrive during uncertain economic times and would specifically study protection from catastrophic loss from disease outbreaks or bankruptcy of poultry integrators. This amendment is at no additional cost to taxpayers, and I urge my colleagues to join Senator Chambliss and me in supporting it.
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