Pork producers are currently faced the possibility of regulations from the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule that could cost the industry $420 million annually or $4 per head. The Trump administration has delayed the pending rules that were to be put in place in the ending weeks of the Obama administration. As of now, it is set to take effect October 19.
These rules would force producers and packers to obey laws that far exceeded the expectations set by lawmakers in the 2008 Farm Bill. “These rules dictated terms of producer’s private contracts that had to do with how producers raised animals,” National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President-elect Jim Heimerl said.
NPPC wants rule to be dismissed
These same rules are again pending under government officials’ reviews. Although the new rules have yet to be set in stone for current producers, Heimerl and other NPPC members are urging those affiliated with the pork industry to speak out against the USDA’s potential call to action. NPPC plans to ask legislation to dismiss the regulation and use such wording in the next Farm Bill to stop the USDA from trying to implement similar regulations in the future.
Packers would have to adapt to being held to a higher accountability than they currently are through private contracts because rules would be mandated by government officials and that may lead to less opportunity for those running smaller operations.
“We are urging administration to withdraw this regulation which would lead to consolidation of the livestock industry, put farmers out of business and increase consumer price. Pork producers have already submitted almost 2,800 comments opposing the rules,” Heimerl said.
These rules would turn every contract dispute into a federal case. “It’s a lawyer’s dream come true and it needs to go away,” Heimerl said. NPPC is hopeful for a 2018 Farm Bill that will supports the U.S. pork industry’s competitive exports with various countries. It also hopes that Congress and the USDA will support, “a more robust vaccine bank and address the foot-and-mouth outbreak,” Heimerl said.
NPPC pushed for sending post cards to the USDA from the World Pork Expo, where NPPC expects at least 20,000 pork enthusiasts to visit.
