Poultry producer's willingness to invest in on-farm carcass disposal

Abstract

Foreign animal diseases (FAD) can cause substantial economic losses in production, consumption, and the supply chain. These diseases are typically highly pathogenic and lead to disruptions in normal business practices and to demands for higher investment in biosecurity practices. For poultry producers this can lead to changes in bird pick-ups, chick placements, and length of out time on farms as well as changes in day-to-day operations. When an FAD is reported, poultry producers that rely on off-premises carcass disposal (e.g., renderers or landfills) may be required to develop on-farm disposal capacity (e.g., incinerators or burial) rapidly if their operation falls within movement restriction zones. While preemptive planning is suggested, not all producers have an environmentally approved plan given disruptions in business continuity. This study estimated poultry producers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for on-farm carcass disposal methods for routine, non-catastrophic mortality during an FAD outbreak to understand what factors contribute to the investment decision. Poultry producers were surveyed about their operations’ characteristics, their disease perceptions, and were presented with a hypothetical disease scenario. The estimated mean WTP for additional disposal capacity was $15,651. Besides indicating that a market for on-farm carcass disposal exists, our findings also provide information that can be used when creating policy to simultaneously incentivize farm-level biosecurity and carcass disposal protocols while continuing to encourage disease reporting, which together, improves overall livestock disease management in the United States.