A federal district court ruling striking down faster harvest facility inspection speeds allowed by the USDA’s New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) will go into effect on June 30. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is urging the Biden administration to appeal this damaging ruling – which will quickly lead to increased pork industry concentration and packer market power – and seeks waivers for the impacted plants until a longer-term solution, acceptable to all industry stakeholders, is realized, NPPC said in a release.
“While we are disappointed the Biden administration has not appealed the court ruling, there is still time for the government to act by appealing the decision and providing waivers that allow the six impacted plants to continue operating at NSIS line speeds until a new rule can be developed,” NPPC President Jen Sorenson, communications director for Iowa Select Farms in West Des Moines, Iowa, said in a release. “NPPC continues to urge the administration to appeal before the ruling inflicts irreversible damage to small hog farmers and seismic changes to our entire sector.”
The Biden administration has until the end of August to file an appeal.
The ruling eliminates 2.5% of pork packing plant capacity nationwide and will result in $80 million in reduced income for small U.S. hog farmers this year alone, according to an analysis by Iowa State University Economist Dermot Hayes. Last week, more than 70 lawmakers sent letters asking Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Acting Solicitor General Prelogar to appeal the court decision.
“The impact of this ruling will be devastating to the country’s small and mid-sized hog producers – especially in southern Minnesota,” Congressman Jim Hagedorn (MN-01) said in a release. “For two decades, six pork processing facilities have been able to operate at higher line speeds, including one in Austin, Minn., with little evidence of worker safety concerns. The NSIS rule would allow more facilities to increase their line speeds and overall processing capacity.”
NSIS, initiated during the Clinton administration and evaluated at five pilot plants over 20 years, was approved for industry-wide adoption in 2019.
“NSIS modernized an inspection system that had remained unchanged for more than 50 years,” NPPC said in a release. “Ironically, at a time when the United States is seeking to increase much-needed pork harvest capacity, the court order will reduce plant capacity at six plants running at NSIS line speeds by as much as 25% and prevent other plants from increasing harvest capacity. The five original plants, which had been running at NSIS inspection line speeds over the life of the program, have been safely operating for more than 20 years.”
The slowing of line speeds will result in less processing capacity, more consolidation in the pork industry, and higher consumer costs, Hagedorn explained in the letter.
Read More:
Lawmakers Plea with Biden Administration to Help Pig Farmers
Court Ruling Weakens U.S. Pork Industry Competition, NPPC Says
Misguided Ruling Could Upend the Lives of Many Hog Farmers, Sorenson Says
Judge Denies Seaboard’s Motion to Delay Line Speed Limits
U.S. Pork Processor Seeks to Delay Court Decision Limiting Slaughter Speeds
Federal Court Removes Swine Slaughter Line Speed Provision
Union Representing Pork Processing Plant Workers Sues USDA
Industry Groups File Brief in Support of New Swine Inspection System
