Federal Judge Issues Stay of Massachusetts Question 3With regulations implementing it set to take effect Monday, Aug. 15, a federal judge Thursday granted NPPC’s motion for a stay of Massachusetts Question 3. The law would ban the sale of pork from hogs born to sows housed in pens that don’t comply with the state’s new…
Coalition Calls for Ag Labor ReformAs part of the Ag Workforce coalition, NPPC and 21 state affiliates signed a letter urging Senate leadership to find a path forward on ag workforce issues. While progress is being made toward a workable solution for expansion and reform of the H2-A visa program, many hurdles remain. The groups wrote,…
USDA Begins Pandemic Relief Payments to Pork Producers USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) this week began issuing nearly $63 million in pandemic assistance payments to hog producers under the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program. SMHPP assists eligible producers who sold hogs through a spot market sale from April 16 through Sept. 1, 2020. Initially proposed…
NPPC Spearheads Letter to Congressional Leaders to Back ‘Beagle Brigade Act’NPPC spearheaded a letter signed by 52 other agricultural organizations and veterinary groups asking Senate and House leaders for “swift passage” of the “Beagle Brigade Act of 2022” (S. 3678 and H.R. 8432). The legislation would authorize the National Detector Dog Training Center, the primary…
Report Highlights Pork Industry Contributions To U.S. Jobs, EconomyNPPC released a new economic report highlighting how America’s pig farmers are significant contributors to the agricultural and overall U.S. economy. The report, authored by NPPC staff economist Holly Cook and Iowa State University economist Lee Schulz, features the U.S. pork industry’s value chain contributions and growth…
Iowa Supreme Court Reinstates Pork Producers’ Right to FarmIn a major victory for Hawkeye pork producers, the Iowa Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision said the state may provide livestock producers immunity from nuisance lawsuits such as ones complaining about odor. The court reversed a precedent that had struck down an Iowa law granting immunity…
Groups Urge Administration to Weigh in on Shipping Port Labor TalksToday, NPPC joined more than 150 agriculture and business groups in urging the Biden administration to get the two sides in labor talks on West Coast shipping operations to extend their current contract while a new agreement is finalized. The contract between the Pacific Maritime…
Ocean Shipping Reform Act Of 2022 Signed Into LawA win for the U.S. agriculture groups – the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) was signed into law. OSRA addresses some of the most egregious practices threatening U.S. agriculture exports, such as unfair and onerous detention and demurrage charges. Last year alone, the U.S. pork industry exported…
NPPC, Farm Bureau File Prop. 12 Brief With Supreme Court NPPC and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) today filed their initial brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in their case against California’s Proposition 12, which bans the sale of pork not produced according to the state’s production standards. The high court is expected to…
MCDONALD’S BOARD REJECTS ANIMAL-RIGHTS ACTIVISTSLate last week, McDonald’s shareholders rejected Carl Icahn’s bid to get two animal-rights activists on the fast-food restaurant’s board. The billionaire investor wants to force the company to stop buying pork from hog farmers who use individual pens for sows. Several other food firms, including Wendy’s, Papa John’s, and Dine Brands…