NPIP is a whole flock and property certificate. If you only have a few show birds, i would not go NPIP. You can have them T/P tested and still show them. I do not ever plan on going NPIP now, even though i have 3 show breeds. It costs too much and has strict rules concerning what you can and cannot do with your flock and property.
Easter Eggers, I am certainly not an expert but can provide some references. As groundpecker said, it is a property/flock certificate, which will come with some controversy. There are requirments for an annual inspection and record keeping. Disease monitoring varies by state. From what I am reading, the primary benefits to certify your farm are if you want sell birds or eggs for hatching. Some buyers may want to only purchase from farms that are NPIP certified as they are ensured the birds are free of the diseases that are monitored. There are a number of diseases that are not monitored. Here is a overview from the Heritage Poultry Breeders Assn. They provide links for your state. http://hpbaa.com/NPIP_Information.html This link is the the national American Poultry Improvemement Plan's brochure. The American Poultry Improvement Plan is ran by the US Dept of Agriculture. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publicati...ent/printable_version/npip_brochure_12-05.pdf I am curious to hear what other members have to say about certification. Pro? Con?
In New York there are no costs related to participating in the NPIP program. As to the "strict rules" the only rule I would consider prohibitive at all is that once certified any new stock must come from an NPIP certified source. The other rules, as implimented in NY, have to do with maintaining clean housing & incubators. I would assume people try to do that anyway. One point to emphasise: every state administers the program differently. Check with your stste's Department of Agriculture to find out what your participation would entail.
