New NPPC President Sets Out with Ambitious Goals and A Big Story to Share
Jen_Sorenson_NPPC_Priorities
A pork producer, a professional, a mom, a storyteller, a champion for the pork industry. Jen Sorenson, newly elected president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) from West Des Moines, Iowa, has a diverse background and plans to bring broad experience into one of the most influential roles in the U.S. pork industry. She is not shy about hitting the ground running with passion and enthusiasm for the pork industry.
“Last year at this time, we were about to step into an unprecedented crisis,” Sorenson said during a media briefing following NPPC’s annual meeting during the virtual Pork Industry Forum. “Our hog farmers once again demonstrated their commitment as workers essential to the nation's food supply and food security. It says so much that while navigating the COVID-19 crisis, pork producers and pork associations donated more than 20 million pounds – 80 million servings of pork – in 2020.”
That’s just one of many reasons Sorenson says she is proud to be a part of the pork industry. Here is a short list of NPPC’s near-term priorities that she is looking forward to helping tackle in the year ahead.
1. Proposition 12
NPPC, along with the American Farm Bureau Federation, sued the state of California over Proposition 12, which prohibits the sale of pork raised through production methods that don't meet its arbitrary criteria, she explained. Their case is currently with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments scheduled for April 14.
“We will continue to work to stem the tide of tide of anti-meat activist extremist groups intent on offending the nation's central pork production system,” Sorenson said. “We expect this to be a long legal battle. In the meantime, NPPC is working in California to influence the pending regulation to minimize negative impact to producers.”
2. Worker Safety Mandates
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is considering a potential temporary emergency standard that would mandate six feet of separation in meat and poultry facilities. However, new worker safety practices, procedures, $1.5 billion in investments and a better understanding of the novel coronavirus have resulted in significantly reduced COVID-19 cases at meat and poultry plants.
“We must be careful not to unnecessarily disrupt the food supply chain with mandates designed to achieve worker safety outcomes already achieved,” Sorenson said. “The only material impact of such a temporary emergency standard would be increased food prices, potential meat shortages and additional staggering losses for farmers from the lost value of livestock, again backed up on farms. NPPC is working closely with the administration on the issue.
3. Compensation for Euthanized Hogs
NPPC is working with the USDA to implement relief provided by legislation passed by Congress in December in the form of compensation to pork producers for the lost value of hogs. “We hope to see this much needed relief extend to producers as soon as possible,” she said.
4. Labor Shortage
The labor shortage throughout agriculture is a critical priority for NPPC. Existing visa programs are designed for seasonal agriculture, Sorenson pointed out, and that is not a good fit for the U.S. pork sector where the work is full time, year-round. NPPC seeks visa system reform that establishes a legal and productive workforce without placing an undue burden on employers.
“Restricting foreign workers hurts U.S. agriculture as these jobs will simply not be filled by U.S. citizens due to declines in populations in rural areas where most farms and packing plants are located,” she added.
5. Trade
As always, the expansion of export markets is a top priority. Sorenson said rejoining CPTPP is a major opportunity under the Biden administration. But given the near-term focus on the pandemic and economic recovery, NPPC doesn’t believe this will be a top priority for the administration in 2021.
6. Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness and Prevention
NPPC will seek to continue bolstering defenses against and preparedness for African swine fever and other foreign animal diseases. NPPC is also working to ensure establishment of a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank, as provided for in the 2018 Farm Bill. In 2020, USDA announced its first significant vaccine purchase and NPPC is looking forward to establishing a bank fully capable of effectively addressing an FMD outbreak, Sorenson said.
7. Climate
Policies addressing climate change and other environmental issues are top priorities for the new administration. NPPC launched a campaign at the start of the year highlighting the innovative environmental stewardship practices the U.S. pork industry has adopted. NPPC is eager to be part of the solution and part of his policy discussion, she said.
“We're really proud of the progress the pork industry has made in terms of reducing our environmental footprint. We get to see a lot of that with our sustainability story and our proximity to the land, to the grain source, to the mills, to the livestock farms and to the packing plants,” Sorenson said. “We continue to keep getting better and better.”
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