Grady and Mike discuss the USDA’s Fall 2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan. The plan mandates a 24 hour depopulation requirement from the time the flock tests positive, and it authorizes ventilation shutdown as a way to suffocate and kill the surviving birds in the barn.

We then spend some time talking about Avian Influenza and its risks, which leads us to the ultimate questions. Is AI exposing the vulnerability of industrial chicken production? Forget sustainable. Is mass produced poultry production even stable enough to feed us?

At the end of the episode, Grady announces that his Texas state inspected facility (www.cobbcreekfarm.com) is ready for business, and he shares some great advice about pouring concrete to handle his waste water, which he collects for reuse. We’ll take up the rest of the conversation in episode 23.

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Visit Grady at gradyphelan.com and Mike at millsidefarm.com.