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NPPC Applauds Pick For USTR Ag Negotiator Approve Animal Health User Fee Law, Says NPPC |
NPPC Applauds Pick For USTR Ag Negotiator WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 2008 – Expressing confidence that she will be good for U.S. pork exports, the National Pork Producers Council applauded the selection of Ellen Terpstra as chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. President Bush today announced that he intends to nominate her to the post. (The position currently is vacant.)
“U.S. pork producers will have a champion in Ellen Terpstra,” said NPPC President Bryan Black, a pork producer from Canal Winchester, Ohio. “She will bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge about agricultural trade to USTR.”
Terpstra currently serves as U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. She previously was administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Earlier in her career, she served as president and CEO for USA Rice Federation. Terpstra received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.
“NPPC looks forward to working with Ellen Terpstra in her new position on trade initiatives that will help the pork industry continue to have record levels of exports,” said Black. “We urge the U.S. Senate to quickly confirm her to the important post of USTR chief agricultural negotiator.” WASHINGTON, D.C., March 11, 2008 – Calling it a critical tool needed by the pork industry and veterinarians, the National Pork Producers Council today urged reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA).
The law, enacted in 2003, authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to collect fees from the animal health industry to be used for the review and approval of animal health products. Legislation to reauthorize ADUFA is expected to be introduced in Congress after a public comment period, which ends April 14.
“Our industry has faced a number of disease challenges since ADUFA was first signed into law,” said Barb Determan, a past NPPC president and pork producer from Iowa, at a public hearing at FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “ADUFA was able to get new, innovative technologies to the marketplace, which has helped our industry grow and prosper.”
Since ADUFA was signed into law, three new swine health products have come on the market, helping producers fight the increasing challenges that swine respiratory diseases have created for the industry. Additionally, last year alone, veterinarians and pet owners received nine new products to help pets live longer, healthier lives.
The FDA review and approval process for animal health products is very rigorous. To win approval, animal health companies must demonstrate that their products are effective and safe for animals and safe for the environment. If a product is intended for use in food animals, meat from such animals must be proved safe for human consumption.
“We need new and innovative medicines to maintain the health of our pigs and to deliver safe, wholesome meat products to consumers around the world,” Determan said. “As a pork producer, I have a responsibility to protect public health, animal health and food safety. Pork producers need new medicines and technologies to accomplish this.
“ADUFA ensures that animal health companies are able to provide products to treat and control the new diseases that our animals will face,” added Determan. “The broader public interest is served when pork producers have the means necessary to keep their animals healthy. ADUFA is a critical tool needed by the pork industry and veterinarians. NPPC Elects New Officers, Board Members WASHNGTON, D.C., March 10, 2008 – The National Pork Producers Council at its annual business meeting held March 7-9 in St. Louis elected new officers and members of its board of directors.
Taking over as president of the organization is Bryan Black of Ned Black & Sons farm in Canal Winchester, Ohio; Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Murphy-Brown LLC – the livestock production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc. – is president-elect; and Sam Carney, a producer from Adair, Iowa, is vice president. Each was elected for a one-year term.
Elected to the board for three-year terms in the producer category were Carney; Gary Asay, from Osco, Ill.; Mark Legan, from Coatesville, Ind.; and Bill Luckey, from Columbus, Neb. Quentin Bottorff, who works for Phibro Animal Health, was re-elected to a two-year term, representing allied industry.
“We have excellent leadership in Bryan, Don and Sam and quality, dedicated industry representatives in the new board members who were elected,” said NPPC CEO Neil Dierks. “I know that all of them will work diligently and tirelessly on behalf of America’s pork producers.”
In addition to the new officers and board members, continuing as NPPC directors are: Kathy Chinn, from Clarence, Mo.; Bob Dykhuis, from Holland, Mich.; R.C. Hunt, from Wilson, N.C.; Larry Liepold, from Okabena, Minn.; Randy Spronk, from Edgerton, Minn.; Doug Wolf, from Lancaster, Wis.; and Todd Neff, from Dakota Dunes, S.D., who serves as the Pork Producer Industry Council representative. Jill Appell, co-owner of Appell’s Pork Farms of Altona, Ill., will serve on the board as immediate past president.
Producers C. Ray Noecker, from Ashville, Ohio; E. Ray Summerlin Jr., from Rose Hill, N.C.; and Todd Wiley, from Walker, Iowa, were elected to NPPC Nominating Committee, which reviews the credentials of candidates for the organization’s board of directors. Black Elected New NPPC President WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2008 – Bryan Black, a pork producer from Canal Winchester, Ohio, March 9 was elected president of the National Pork Producers Council. He was elected to the post for a one-year term at NPPC’s annual business meeting held March 7-9 in St. Louis.
Black is involved in Ned Black & Sons farm, which includes 300 sows and 500 acres of cropland. He is responsible for breeding, gestation, day-to-day chores and crop work.
A member of NPPC’s board of directors for the past five years and of various NPPC committees, Black also has served on the Ohio Pork Producers Council, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Soybean Council. He earned an associate’s degree from the Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute.
“Bryan Black will be an excellent president for NPPC and an excellent leader of the U.S. pork industry,” said NPPC CEO Neil Dierks. “Bryan knows the issues of concern to pork producers, and I’m sure he will articulate well the industry’s positions to the public and to policy-makers.” |