The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) supports the 2024 Farm Bill framework introduced by U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR).
“On behalf of America’s 60,000+ pork producers, we thank Ranking Member Boozman for a farm bill framework that listens to and answers producers’ calls for foreign animal disease prevention resources, market access expansion, relief from burdensome multi-state regulations, and more,” said NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “After a successful markup of the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill, we urge swift action by Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman to protect producers from a patchwork of regulations across 50 states and provide certainty to the food supply chain.”
All NPPC priorities were addressed in Ranking Member Boozman’s Farm Bill framework including:
- A legislative solution to the host of problems triggered by California’s Proposition 12.
- A 2018 California ballot initiative, Proposition 12, prohibits the sale of uncooked whole pork meat not produced according to the state’s arbitrary housing dimensions. Recent data from USDA economists indicate price spikes as high as 41% for pork in California.
- Strengthening of necessary resources to protect the nation’s food supply through foreign animal disease (FAD) prevention, including:
- National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank
- National Animal Health Laboratory Network
- National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program
- National Veterinary Stockpile
- Increase in market access program funding for U.S. pork.
- The Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) build export markets for U.S. agricultural products through generic marketing and promotion and the reduction of foreign import constraints. For every $1 spent on MAP and FMD programs, U.S. agriculture saw $24.50 in export gains and contributed to the creation of 225,800 full-and part-time jobs across the U.S. economy.
- Boost in resources for feral swine eradication to protect the health of our herds.
- Established in the 2018 Farm Bill, the hugely successful Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program helps address the threat feral swine pose to agriculture, ecosystems, and human and animal health, especially through FADs like African swine fever.
- Authorization of the National Detector Dog Training Center.
- The center is the primary training facility for the “Beagle Brigade,” which serves as the first line of defense for early detection at the nation’s ports of entry and is critical in keeping foreign animal diseases, like African swine fever, out of the United States.
- Secures the ability of processors to run at safe and efficient line speeds.
- Pork processors are facing regulatory uncertainty related to the speeds at which harvest plants can operate. Making the line speed program permanent is critical for all producers. Failure to secure the current line speed program could cost producers approximately $10 per head.
In May, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee passed its Farm Bill, which included 100% of NPPC’s priorities. NPPC encourages leadership to provide the Farm Bill with Floor time for consideration by the full House.
