Capital Update – For the Week Ending April 7, 2023
In this week’s National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Friday recap: Lawmakers request export promotion program funding and NPPC files Supreme Court brief defending agriculture and hog farm construction. Take a deeper dive below.
Coalition Asks Lawmakers to Fund Export Promotion Programs
What happened: The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports, which includes NPPC and more than 120 other organizations, is urging congressional appropriators to continue mandatory funding for Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs. The Coalition also asked the Senate agriculture committee to include in the next Farm Bill a provision that would double the dollars for those programs.
In letters sent late last week to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture appropriations subcommittees – respectively, Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and John Hoeven (R-ND) and Reps. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Sanford Bishop (D-GA) – the Coalition asked that the MAP get at least $200 million and (FMD receive a minimum of $34.5 million in fiscal 2024, which begins Oct. 1.
The Coalition also called on Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR), the chairwoman and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, to include in the 2023 Farm Bill, the “Expanding Agricultural Exports Act of 2023” (S.176). That measure would double the annual funding for MAP and FMD over the five years of the new Farm Bill.
Why it matters: U.S. agricultural trade is vital to America’s farmers, ranchers and the overall U.S. economy, supporting about 1 million U.S. jobs. For U.S. pork producers, exports contribute significantly to their bottom line. Last year, they shipped $7.68 billion of products to foreign destinations – those exports contributed more than $61 to the average price producers received for each hog marketed.
The Coalition pointed out that the outlook for agricultural trade is “uncertain due to continuing supply chain disruptions, surging international competition and the absence of new, near-term trade agreements.” For the first time since 1959, the United States is facing an agricultural trade deficit, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasting a deficit of $14.5 billion for fiscal 2023.
NPPC’s take: NPPC has long supported MAP and FMD funding. According to USDA, between 1977 and 2019 returned an average of $24.50 in annual export value for every dollar invested in the programs. Over the same period, the programs increased export revenue by $9.6 billion annually and added $12.2 billion to farm cash receipts.
Learn more: NPPC’s Farm Bill Priorities
NPPC Files Supreme Court Brief Defending Agriculture and Hog Barn Construction
What happened: NPPC filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court this week in Signet Builders v. Vanegas, defending the use of H-2A Visa holders constructing barns as clearly engaged in an agricultural activity. NPPC made a strong argument and defense of the fundamental importance of specialized agricultural and livestock workers and requested that the U.S. Supreme Court accept the case and clarify that essential specialized labor (in this instance constructing hog barns) performed at a farm is indeed agricultural.
What’s the scoop: Signet Builders, a construction company that does work for pork producers and other farmers, uses the H-2A Visa program to secure on-farm labor to build barns and other infrastructure necessary for raising livestock. This visa program authorizes foreign workers to perform “agricultural” work in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Trial lawyers representing Vanegas filed suit alleging that even though he was building hog barns, he wasn’t an agricultural employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The District Court dismissed the case, finding that workers building agricultural infrastructure were clearly engaged in agricultural activity.
After an appeal from Vanegas, the Seventh Circuit reversed the decision and indicated that despite Vanegas admitting he was only building hog barns, he was not engaged in agricultural activity. Signet has appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Vanegas’ work clearly falls within the broad FLSA exemption for agricultural work. NPPC’s brief supports Signet and defends the use of specialized workers on farms, such as construction workers building hog barns, as clearly being agricultural work.
Why it matters: Agriculture suffers from a severe labor shortage that negatively affects all links in the food supply chain. This case is relevant as it affects the ability of agricultural businesses to hire guest workers on H-2A visas and both the amount and type of work that those workers can perform. Addressing workforce and labor concerns is critical to help feed 8 billion people across the globe.
NPPC’s take: NPPC believes it is vital for producers to be able to employ specialized workers on their farms and that construction of barns and other infrastructure necessary to raising livestock is an essential and fundamental agricultural activity.
Learn more: NPPC Amicus Brief