Exports are on pace to set another record in 2025. Chase Adams, assistant vice president for domestic policy at the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), says that’s an outstanding way to start a new year.
But he’s also quick to point out that NPPC has a lot to do for the pork industry in the year ahead.
“We’re going to be looking at tax. We’re going to be looking at labor. We’re going to have to get this farm bill done,” he told host Chip Flory on AgriTalk. “We’ve got a full boat. We’ve got a lot of new members on both the House and the Senate side, so we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think we’re up to the job.”
Adams says at the highest level of leadership, all the way up to the Speaker’s office, there’s a recognition of the need to get a farm bill passed.
“The potential to get it done here in the spring is there. I know Chairman Boozman has put out a framework, so they’ve got their concept in place,” Adams says. “The paperwork is done. We just need to get the time to move it.”
Adams shared four priorities on his mind right now:
1. Keeping disease out of the U.S.
Preparedness in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak is key for the U.S. pork industry. The National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank was fully funded in Chairman Thompson’s version of the farm bill. The recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany is a reminder of the importance of getting a farm bill across the line so that the industry can maintain these programs, Adams says.
“Currently, we’re maintaining it through the appropriations process, but we need to have higher authorizing dollars for animal health funding,” he says. “The only way we can really get that accomplished is through a good, strong, robust farm bill across the across the lines.”
2. Protecting producers’ right to make choices.
On June 28, USDA Agri-Marketing Service issued the proposed rule Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets, which sought to specify general practices that are unfair and in violation of section 202(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921. The proposed rule defined unfair conduct to encompass the spectrum of conduct that harms market participants and harms the market. On Jan. 14, AMS said it is withdrawing a notice of proposed rulemaking, the “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets” proposed rule.
“It’s a good thing for us. We don’t want USDA to tell the pork industry, the chicken industry, the beef industry, how they have to market,” Adams says. “We know that producers have a lot of options when they are marketing their livestock. There’s a lot of different models out there – different things work for different producers.”
Discussions will still take place with the incoming administration, on rolling these rules back as best as possible and looking at lawsuits and litigation efforts, Adams says.
“If USDA can tell one segment of the industry how they can or cannot market, our concern is that sets the precedent that now you can tell everyone how they market,” he adds.
3. Putting a stop to patchwork regulations.
A study shows that California Proposition 12 is going to cost consumers $40 billion extra over 15 years.
“This is a concern of ours. It’s not just California,” he says.
As state legislatures get back in and as we see more ballot initiatives, the potential remains for a 50-state patchwork of different regulations that producers have to try to comply with in order to sell pork, Adams says.
“It’s just insane,” he says. “We’re going to continue that push in every effort. The Farm Bill is the most natural point. We really appreciate Chairman Thompson and now Chairman Boozman’s support for finding a solution to this. The next target could easily be any one of our other livestock friends.”
4. Finalizing a permanent New Swine Inspection System.
Without the USDA’s Food Safety and inspection Service’s New Swine Inspection System, Adams says pig farmers could lose about $10 per head.
“With the pork industry being a just-in-time industry, if this line speed program were to go away, we’d have a lot of pigs in the in the pipeline that we would have to find some capacity to move through. And it just doesn’t exist,” Adams says.
NPPC was happy FSIS decided to extend the NSIS increased line speed trials through May 15. They are also glad USDA released the results of a worker study, he points out.
“We’re happy with the results of the study, and USDA has now extended that line speed enhanced program through May 15,” Adams says. “We’re going to continue working with the new administration to finalize those rules and regulations, and hopefully get this program permanent so producers, packers and processors have that stability.”
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