Klobuchar: Consider Broader Compensation For Poultry Farmers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Senator Amy Klobuchar says the federal government should consider whether poultry producers struggling with bird flu should be compensated for every bird lost to the virus, not just those that are euthanized when it's found in a flock.

A federal program pays producers for those euthanized birds in part as an incentive to make sure they report a bird flu infection. But that doesn't cover the birds that fall ill with the virus and die - often thousands on a single farm.

More than 7 million chickens and turkeys have died or been destroyed since the outbreak began last month.

Klobuchar met Monday with poultry producers in central Minnesota. She said it was an emotional meeting, with several of them breaking down.