President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sonny Perdue as the next Secretary of Agriculture has been received a warm and positive response from the nation’s livestock industry groups. The veterinarian and former Georgia Governor has been praised for his political and agribusiness experience and his understanding of the nation’s diverse agriculture industry. “Governor Perdue has a strong record as two-term chief … Read More
Supreme Court To Hear WOTUS Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether jurisdiction rests with the federal district or appellate courts to hear a lawsuit brought by several agricultural organizations, businesses and municipalities against the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, a Clean Water Act rule that would give the government broad jurisdiction over land and water. “The WOTUS rule is vague, … Read More
Animal Ag Reacts To GIPSA Proposal
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a final rule for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) yesterday. USDA refers to the rule as common sense protections to restore fairness and reduce the burden for farmers seeking justice under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement joined by National Farmers Union president Roger Johnson … Read More
State of U.S. Pork Industry
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) once again brought key spokespeople to Kansas City for NAFB’s Trade Talk. Beyond the election, there is no doubt the hottest topic discussed this year was trade. NPPC President, John Weber, said they were optimistic about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and have invested a lot of time and resources into it. “We are … Read More
Groups Respond to USDA’s GIPSA Rules
Many livestock organizations have concerns with the regulations on the buying and selling of livestock and poultry after the USDA sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review three rules – the “Farmer Fair Practices Rules” – that would “help balance the relationships between livestock producers, swine production contract growers, and poultry growers and the … Read More
TPP Pork Producers’ No. 1 Priority During Fly-In
Pork producers from around the country spent the week in Washington D.C. for their biannual legislative fly-in of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Their top priority for the 130 producers from 20 states was easily the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. In addition, they urged their senators and representatives to include funding in the next Farm Bill for a Foot … Read More
NPPC, Farm Bureau Win FOIA Case Against EPA
A federal appeals court overruled a lower court decision to throw out a lawsuit brought by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation against the EPA over its release to environmental groups of personal information on tens of thousands of farmers. In late 2015, a U.S. district court dismissed the NPPC-Farm Bureau suit for lack of … Read More
USDA to Enhance Pork Cutout
According to the National Pork Producers Council, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is planning to enhance the pork cutout by placing additional product into the ham primal. The pork carcass cutout is an estimated value for a hog carcass based on current wholesale prices paid for sub-primal pork cuts. By adding individual muscles (insides, outsides and knuckles) to the … Read More
US & Singapore Discuss TPP
According to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), President Obama met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which includes the United States, Singapore and 10 other Pacific Rim countries. The president told Lee at a White House meeting that the administration is pushing Congress to vote on TPP during a “lame duck” … Read More
NPPC Opposes Proposed Welfare Policy Changes
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has released statements in response to two recently proposed policy changes related to animal welfare, and has called upon producers to take action against them, and in defense of the American farmers that could be seriously affected by the legislation. NPPC is encouraging pork producers to weigh in on the new organic animal welfare … Read More