Capital Update – For the Week Ending Jan. 31, 2025

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In the National Pork Producers Council’s (NPPC) weekly recap: NPPC comments on U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan; NPPC’s Stevermer, other ag leaders confer on policy, trade issues; Zeldin confirmed as EPA Administrator; RFK Jr. has confirmation hearings to be HHS secretary; Trump names nominees to fill key USDA positions; and NPPC hires Schaunaman to manage competition, labor, tax issues. Take a deeper dive below.

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NPPC Comments on U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan

What happened: NPPC submitted comments on codifying the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (US SHIP) as a federal regulatory program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). US SHIP is a national industry-driven voluntary program to establish health certifications for foreign animal diseases (FADs) including African swine fever (ASF) and Classical swine fever (CSF).

US SHIP would allow U.S. pork operations to obtain certification that they are free from FADs. As is the case for the similar National Poultry Improvement Plan, these certifications could be referenced for interstate commerce and international trade. The plan’s components include traceability of animals, feed biosafety, farm biosecurity, feral swine mitigation, disease surveillance, and transportation sanitation.

While administered by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), US SHIP is designed to be an industry, state, and federal partnership. APHIS would be advised on swine health and disease management matters by a committee of pork producers and other industry and state animal health participants.

NPPC’s take: NPPC strongly supports the development of US SHIP, the appropriation of funds for it, and the transition of the program to APHIS. NPPC pointed out in its comments that without US SHIP, an FAD outbreak in the United States could stop pork exports for more than 10 years at a cost of $50 billion. Even if the FAD were controlled and pork exports resumed within two years, losses are estimated to be $15 billion.

Why it matters: US SHIP can serve as a platform for safeguarding, improving, and certifying the status of swine health. It will be an important tool for demonstrating that pork operations are free of disease, which can expedite the resumption of trade following an FAD outbreak.

NPPC’s Stevermer, Other Ag Leaders Confer on Policy, Trade Issues

What happened: NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minnesota, met in Washington, DC, with her counterparts in other agricultural organizations to confer on policy and trade issues of mutual interest.

Stevermer and producer leaders from the U.S. Peanut Federation, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, and National Sorghum Producers discussed getting a new Farm Bill approved, extending beneficial tax provisions that are set to expire at the end of 2025, addressing regulatory challenges, and promoting agricultural exports.

With a new administration in the White House and a new Congress, U.S. agriculture is hopeful of getting many of its agenda items approved, including, for NPPC, a fix for the problems caused by California Proposition 12, which bans in that state the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised anywhere in housing that does not meet California’s arbitrary standards.

NPPC’s Stevermer, Other Ag Leaders Confer on Policy, Trade Issues

NPPC’s Stevermer (third from left) meets with ag leaders in Washington, DC.

Zeldin Confirmed as EPA Administrator

What happened: Lee Zeldin was confirmed by the Senate as President Trump’s administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Zeldin, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives from New York, most recently was chair of the America First Policy Institute’s China policy initiative.

A lawyer, Zeldin served in the New York State Senate before being elected to Congress in 2014. Choosing not to run for reelection in 2022, he instead ran for governor of New York – and lost – against Democrat Kathleen Hochul.

NPPC’s take: NPPC pledged to work with the new EPA administrator to ensure environmental regulations are effectual, cost-effective, and not burdensome to pork producers.

“Pork producers appreciate and need the freedom to farm without overregulation, while at the same time respecting our environment and natural resources,” said NPPC President-Elect Duane Stateler, a pork producer from McComb, Ohio. “As leaders in sustainability, pork producers have continually done more with less. In fact, over the past 50 years, while doubling pork production from 12 billion to 24 billion pounds, our industry has reduced land use by 76 percent, water use by 25 percent, and energy use by 7 percent.”

“In his Senate testimony, Mr. Zeldin defined success as, ‘leaving this world better than we found it.’ Pork producers live by that same philosophy, and we look forward to working with Mr. Zeldin as he leads the EPA.”

Why it matters: The EPA administrator enforces the nation’s environmental laws and implements regulations related to air, land, and water such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act’s Waters of the United States rule.

RFK Jr. has Confirmation Hearings to be HHS Secretary

What happened: President Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had confirmation hearings before the Senate committees on Finance and on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Kennedy’s mantra of “Make America Healthy Again” has been adopted by Trump and could benefit U.S. livestock agriculture if the administration embraces Kennedy’s call for food producers to use more animal fats rather than seed oils. Kennedy faced questions about his experience as a plaintiff tort trial lawyer and the ability to influence outcomes that will extend far beyond the period of his government service, should he be confirmed.

In response to several exchanges on agriculture topics, Kennedy testified that his intention is not to harm American agriculture. “I don’t want, under my watch, a single farmer to have to leave his farm for economic reasons or for regulatory, bureaucratic reasons while I serve… Even more important, President Trump has a very, very strong commitment to farmers. President Trump is probably, historically in modern history, the best farm President in our history.”

Kennedy added: “Farm country is Trump country. Farmers across the country supported him during the election. He has specifically instructed me, and he wants farmers involved in every policy, and he wants me to work with (USDA Secretary nominee) Brooke Rollins at USDA to make sure that we preserve American farmers, that all of our policies support them.”

However, there has been significant unease across agriculture and food production about Kennedy’s approach, and according to polling from PORK magazine, farmers are worried about positions held by Kennedy, including his views on livestock agriculture – he helped found the Waterkeeper Alliance, which supports restrictions on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations – and his stance on the use of pesticides, GMOs, and gene editing technology. (The Food and Drug Administration, part of HHS, regulates gene editing.)

NPPC’s take: Pork producers are proud to provide nutritious, affordable, and beloved products that are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. NPPC looks forward to working with the Trump Administration’s HHS agencies, as necessary, to advance the pork industry and ensure there is support for U.S. farming and agriculture.

Why it matters: HHS plays important roles in gene editing – through FDA – and, along with USDA, the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines, an updated version of which are set to come out this year, inform all federal nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch, and provide dietary recommendations used by health professionals. Other HHS agencies can have impacts on animal health, research studies and funding, and crop protection technologies.

Trump Names Nominees to Fill Key USDA Positions

What happened: President Trump has made several picks to fill key roles in USDA, including Stephen Vaden to be deputy secretary of Agriculture. Vaden was USDA’s general counsel in the first Trump administration. He currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Here are the four – of eight – USDA undersecretaries recently named by Trump:

  • Michael Boren as undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment, which principally includes the U.S. Forest Service. A businessman, Boren served as a volunteer fireman for Sawtooth Valley (Idaho) Rural Fire Department and a board member of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
  • Richard Fordyce as under secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, which includes the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Risk Management Agency. A Missouri farmer and former director of the state’s agriculture department, Fordyce was administrator of the Farm Service Agency during the first Trump administration.
  • Dudley Hoskins as undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Hoskins currently is counsel on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and previously was chief of staff for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and senior adviser to then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in the first Trump administration.
  • Luke Lindberg as undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs. Lindberg currently serves as South Dakota Trade president and CEO and was chief of staff and chief strategy officer at the U.S. Export-Import Bank during Trump’s first term.

All the nominees, including Vaden, must be confirmed by the Senate.

Why it matters: The Agriculture undersecretaries oversee USDA’s various departments, including ones related to farm programs, food safety, marketing and regulatory issues, natural resources, nutrition policy, research, rural development, and trade. They also will implement programs included in the new five-year Farm Bill.

NPPC Hires Schaunaman to Manage Competition, Labor, Tax Issues

What happened: NPPC has hired Kelcy Schaunaman as the new manager of Competition, Labor, and Tax in its Washington, DC, public-policy office. She will report to Chase Adams, NPPC’s assistant vice president of domestic policy.

A native of northeastern South Dakota who received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from South Dakota State University and a law degree from the University of South Dakota, Schaunaman most recently was a senior policy adviser for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Prior to that, she was associate counsel and legislative assistant for the House Agriculture Committee.

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