The Senate and House agriculture committees released their respective frameworks for the next farm bill, with the House measure including a provision to fix the problems caused by California Proposition 12.
The House Agriculture Committee is expected to consider its legislation toward the end of this month. The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee has not yet set a date to begin work.
Provisions of the House 2024 Farm Bill plan of most interest to pork producers include ones that would:
• Clarify that state and local governments cannot impose a condition or standard on the production of covered livestock unless the livestock is physically located within their state or locality.
• Reauthorize and fund the Feral Swine Eradication Program.
• Substantially increase funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) export promotion programs.
• Provide guidance documents and other resources for small and very small meat and poultry processing facilities.
• Address trade barriers and infrastructure deficiencies.
• Require the Agriculture Secretary to conduct regular assessments to identify risks and security vulnerabilities in the food and agriculture critical infrastructure sectors.
• Allow livestock auction owners to invest in packing facilities, subject to head-per-day capacity limitations.
Much of the Senate plan focuses on conservation, farm loans, nutrition programs, and rural development. But it includes several sections of interest to pork producers, including provisions that would:
• Establish the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Detector Dog Training Center to train dogs used at U.S. ports of entry to detect agricultural contraband.
• Extend annual mandatory funding for export promotion programs through fiscal 2029, including $200 million for MAP and $34.5 million for the FMD Program.
• Increase mandatory funding to $35 million for fiscal 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter and extend authorization of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.
• Establish a program to make grants to small meat processing establishments, processing establishments subject to state meat and poultry inspection programs, and custom processing operations.
• Extend through fiscal 2029 programs related to agricultural research, extension, and education.
• Requirement for producers with confined livestock feeding operations to submit a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan to be eligible to receive payments under the EQIP program.
Both frameworks call on the Agriculture Secretary to work with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to negotiate animal disease regionalization agreements with U.S. trading partners. This would allow exports from such regions to continue during a disease outbreak in other regions.
NPPC’s Take
NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minnesota, said of the plans: “The Biden Administration and Congressional Republicans agree that Congress must correct the market chaos caused by California Proposition 12. This misguided initiative burdens American consumers with higher pork prices and jeopardizes the livelihoods of our nation’s pork producers. NPPC calls on Congress to pass a robust farm bill that protects producers and consumers from this dangerous law and appreciates Chairman Thompson’s work to do just that.”
NPPC opposes Senate provisions to establish an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters to investigate and prosecute violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act and create standards for voluntary U.S. origin labeling claims for USDA Food Safety Inspection Service products.
Why It Matters
The five-year farm bill sets farm, conservation, forestry, and nutrition policy and authorizes various agricultural programs, including ones related to foreign animal disease preparation and prevention and export promotion.
