The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) today urged congressional lawmakers and the Obama administration to prioritize the management of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. “Improving preparedness for an FMD outbreak through development of an adequate vaccine bank must be a priority,” testified NPPC immediate past president Dr. Howard Hill, a veterinarian and pork producer from Cambridge, Iowa, before a subcommittee … Read More
Smashing Stereotypes About Women In Farming
While an abundance of stereotypes have painted agriculture as a male-dominated industry in the public’s eye, livestock producers know that on a farm, it is your work ethic, not your gender, that makes you a valuable farmer, and four female pig farmers have stood up the smash the “boys game” stereotypes in a new video circulating the internet. The video, … Read More
South Africa Lifts Ban On U.S. Pork & Beef
South Africa will open its market to U.S. pork and beef, a move welcomed by the National Pork Producers Council and National Cattlemen’s Association. “NPPC applauds President Obama and our trade officials for bringing home the bacon for U.S. pork producers,” said NPPC President Dr. Ron Prestage, a veterinarian and pork producer from Camden, S.C. “We have been on the … Read More
Animal Ag Reacts to Omnibus Bill
Late last week Congress passed the $1.15 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which funds much of the government through fiscal year 2016. The bill repeals mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) which has been one of the hottest issues in animal agriculture as we wrap up 2015. “USDA will be amending the COOL regulations as expeditiously as possible to reflect the repeal of … Read More
COOL Retaliation – WTO Sets $1.01B in Tariffs
We anticipated this and now it’s here. The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced $1.01 billion retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods authorized in the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) with Canada and Mexico. The WTO has upheld multiple times our neighboring country’s claim that the label creates an unfair advantage to U.S. products. U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee … Read More
NPPC Discusses WOTUS At #NAFB15
The nation’s pork producers used Trade Talk at the 2015 National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) Convention as an opportunity to discuss the impact of several major US policy and trade decisions that recently went into effect, and highlighted ways the pork industry is getting involved. John Weber, President-Elect for the National Pork Producers Council(NPPC), sat down with AgWired, giving … Read More
Pork Industry Expresses Support for TPP
National Pork Producers Council President-elect John Weber referred to the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) as “the biggest commercial opportunity ever for U.S. pork producers,” during a press conference this week on the recently concluded free trade deal. “America’s pork producers strongly and unequivocally support the TPP, and we urge Congress to quickly pass it,” said Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa. … Read More
White House Pulls South Africa’s AGOA Benefits
The White House has announced that beginning Jan. 1 South Africa will lose its privilege to ship to the United States agricultural products through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at a zero-tariff rate. The National Pork Producers Council supports this and has been urging the administration to withdraw or limit trade benefits for South Africa because of that … Read More
Pork Strongly Supports TPP
After reviewing the text of the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the National Pork Producers Council have expressed unequivocal support for the TPP deal and called on the U.S. Congress to expeditiously pass the agreement. Initiated in late 2008, TPP is a regional trade deal that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New … Read More
Science Doesn't Support IARC Opinion on Meat & Cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was assigned to review all of the available evidence on red meat and cancer risk, yet were divided on their opinion whether to label red meat a “probable” cause of cancer, according to the Beef Checkoff nutrition scientist and registered dietitian who observed the controversial process. After seven days of deliberation in … Read More