NPPC Board Officers Meet with Ag Secretary Rollins | NPPC President to House Ag Committee: Fix Prop. 12, Keep Trade Flowing | U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Goods from Canada, China, Mexico | Groups Urge Senate to Approve Vaden as Deputy Ag Secretary

NPPC Board Officers Meet with Ag Secretary Rollins

What happened: NPPC board officers President Lori Stevermer, President-elect Duane Stateler, and Vice President Rob Brenneman on Tuesday met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to discuss pork industry issues and priorities, shortly before Rollins joined President Trump and other cabinet members in his address to Congress.

The pork producers, who hail respectively from Easton, Minnesota; McComb, Ohio; and Washington, Iowa; stressed the importance to producers of exports, pointing out that they add the equivalent of more than $66 in average value to each hog marketed, support more than 140,000 American jobs, and contribute nearly $16 billion to the U.S. economy.

They urged the secretary to press Congress to fix problems caused by California Proposition 12. In Rollins’ confirmation hearing, she committed to helping Congress fix these problems.

They also provided Rollins with the pork industry’s latest efforts to prevent and prepare for foreign animal diseases, particularly African swine fever. Those efforts include support for funding the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, the National Veterinary Stockpile, and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.

Why it matters: Secretary Rollins oversees USDA’s various agricultural programs, including ones related to conservation, farm programs, food safety, foreign animal disease preparation and prevention, marketing and regulatory issues, natural resources, rural development, and trade. She also will help shape the next five-year Farm Bill.

NPPC President to House Ag Committee: Fix Prop. 12, Keep Trade Flowing

What happened: On Tuesday, shortly before meeting with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minnesota, testified about the state of the U.S. pork industry before the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.

As she did the previous week before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Stevermer highlighted the U.S. pork industry’s No. 1 issue: Fixing California Proposition 12, a state regulation that poses an “existential threat” to all of U.S. agriculture.

Another top issue Stevermer raised was the tariffs President Trump placed on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico and the retaliatory duties those countries imposed on U.S. products. She emphasized the importance to the pork industry of keeping trade flowing.

Policies that allow businesses to trade fairly and with certainty “are critical to the continued success of America’s pork producers, U.S. agriculture, and the overall American economy,” she told the subcommittee, adding that “the United States needs more comprehensive trade agreements that eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports.”

Stevermer also discussed other pork industry priorities, including the prevention of foreign animal diseases, ongoing market access and trade issues, and employment challenges, including the need for year-round H-2A visas.

Why it matters: The policies and programs Congress approves can affect – positively or negatively – pork producers’ ability to continue providing safe, wholesome pork products to consumers worldwide, adding more than $62 billion to the U.S. economy, and supporting more than 573,000 U.S. jobs.

Click here to read Stevermer’s testimony.

U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Goods from Canada, China, Mexico

What happened: Early last week, President Trump placed tariffs of 25% on products from Canada and Mexico and doubled an existing 10% tariff on Chinese goods. Canada and China then responded with duties on U.S. products, and Mexico was expected to announce their response Sunday. On Thursday, Trump suspended tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico that qualify under USMCA preference and reduced tariffs on potash from Canada that falls outside of USMCA preference to 10%. Changes to Trump’s tariff policy on Thursday were effective at 12:01am on March 7 and did not specify an expiration date.

The president imposed the tariffs over drugs being smuggled into the United States and persistent trade deficits with each of the nations. In early February, he postponed for 30 days putting tariffs on Canada and Mexico after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to address immigration and drug issues.

In response to the U.S. duties, Canada placed retaliatory tariffs of 25% on a number of U.S. goods and will apply additional tariffs following a 21-day comment period if tariffs applied by the U.S. are not lifted, while China imposed duties of 15% and 10%, including a 10% tariff on pork. Trump has threatened to put on those countries additional tariffs equal to the ones they are applying to U.S. products. It is unclear to how Thursday’s suspension of certain tariffs will impact Canada’s response.

While the tariffs could put an economic strain on American agriculture, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is formulating a relief plan for farmers to address any hardship. NPPC’s board officers – President Lori Stevermer, President-elect Duane Stateler, and Vice President Rob Brenneman – met with Rollins last week and voiced their concerns about the tariffs’ effects on producers.

NPPC’s take: NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minnesota, emphasized the importance of trade to U.S. agriculture and pork production in testimony to the Senate Agriculture Committee and a House Agriculture subcommittee, noting the need for “policies that foster the free flow of goods and expand export markets – primarily through trade agreements.”

Addressing the tariffs specifically, NPPC CEO Bryan Humphreys said the organization, working across the farming and agricultural supply chain, is “actively engaged to ensure government actions minimize damage” on producers.

Why it matters: U.S. pork producers depend on international trade, exporting product to more than 100 countries annually. Exports equate to more than $66 in average value from each hog marketed, support more than 140,000 American jobs, and contribute nearly $16 billion to the U.S. economy. Canada, China, and Mexico are among the top five destinations for U.S. pork and the three countries accounted for nearly 53% of U.S. pork exports in 2024.

Groups Urge Senate to Approve Vaden as Deputy Ag Secretary

What happened: NPPC joined more than 200 agricultural organizations in urging Senate lawmakers to approve the nomination of Stephen Vaden to be the deputy secretary of Agriculture. He served as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the first Trump administration, serving from 2017 to 2020.

A native of Tennessee, Vaden grew up working with his father on the family’s diversified row crop farm. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from Yale. Currently, he is a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade. Vaden first must be approved by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee before moving onto the Senate for a confirmation vote.

NPPC’s take: NPPC has worked closely with Vaden, as he was instrumental in the development of the pork industry’s strategy to argue Prop. 12 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“As representatives of farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, cooperatives, and conservationists,” the groups wrote, “we believe that Judge Vaden’s extensive experience and deep-rooted commitment to American agriculture make him exceptionally well-qualified to serve in this critical leadership role at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”