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The 2008 Farm Bill contains a number of NPPC-supported provisions beneficial to the U.S. pork industry, including ones that will:
Change the Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling law to include four new label categories for meat, including one to address Canadian feeder pigs by allowing flexibility in labeling so that producers and packers can reduce sorting costs. The law also was changed to ease recordkeeping for verifying an animal’s country of origin by allowing the use of existing records, such as normal business records, animal health papers and import or customs documents.
Require a study that looks at the costs and impacts on pork producers and consumers of requiring packers to report wholesale pork cut prices and volumes.
Authorize a voluntary national trichinae certification program, which will certify that exported pork is trichinae-free thus further increasing export opportunities.
Authorize the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, which coordinates research, teaching and extension for the pork industry.
Authorize research grants for mapping the swine genome.
Authorize research and education grants for the study of antibiotic resistant bacteria, including the movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria into ground and surface water, and for the study of judicious use of antibiotics in veterinary and human medicine.
Increase funds for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and make it easier for pork producers to qualify for the cost-share conservation program.
Give producers the right to cancel production contracts within three days of signing.
Increase funds for the Conservation Security Program to allow more acres to be enrolled and restructure the program to provide conservation stewardship payments that encourage producers to implement additional conservation practices.
Allow the use of manure and manure biogas for advanced biofuels and renewable biomass.
Allow producers, at the time of signing a contract, to opt out of using arbitration – and instead use the courts – to settle contract disputes.
Provide incentives for expanding production of advanced biofuels made from agricultural and forestry crops and associated waste materials, including animal manure and livestock and food processing waste.
Give producers the right to settle disputes involving production or marketing contracts in the federal court district in which production occurred.
Allow contracts between entities in different states to specify which state’s laws apply when disputes arise unless the laws in the state in which production occurs take precedent.
Increase funding for the export-promoting Market Access Program and for the Foreign Market Development program.
Direct the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to provide Congress an annual report on the number and resolution of livestock cases brought under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Allow interstate shipment of state inspected meat and poultry from packing plants that have state inspection programs that are identical to the federal program.
Another positive provision included is a “Sense of Congress” resolution on the need to continue the pseudorabies eradication program, on the threat of feral swine to the domestic swine population and on continued support for the swine surveillance system.
Among detrimental provisions NPPC opposed and was able to keep out of the legislation were ones that would have:
Banned packers from owning livestock.
Included various costly and unnecessary definitions and rulemakings that would have greatly expanded the current livestock laws and regulations and dictated what could and could not be in a swine contract.
Established an Office of Special Counsel within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate livestock competition matters, replacing the U.S. Department of Justice’s role in enforcing competition and antitrust matters.
Allowed for the hiring of private attorneys to investigate and prosecute livestock competition cases rather than the U.S. government.
Eliminated as a defense against lawsuits over alleged unfair competition “justifiable business practice” for pork producers who make rational business decisions based on cost, quality and efficiency.
Dictated onerous on-farm food animal handling and production practices.
While the bill lowers the ethanol blender’s credit from 51 cents per gallon to 45 cents, it extends the import tariff on ethanol to Dec. 31, 2010, from Dec. 31, 2009. NPPC, which first raised concerns about the rapid rise of corn-based ethanol production in September 2006, said extending the 54-cent import tariff will further inflate the high feed costs currently affecting pork producers.
Agriculture and Industry Press Releases
Agriculture and Industry Testimony & Comments
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