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SEPTEMBER
Lifting of Funding Ban on Chinese Chicken Risk Assessment Could Help U.S. Pork Producers
AUGUST
NPPC asks USDA to save pork industry
Korea Lifts Restrictions On U.S. Hogs, Pork
Governors urge Obama to help pork producers
No antibiotics amendment, groups urge speaker
Canadian pork ‘bail out’ would hurt U.S. pork producers
Resolve issues before passing food safety bill
Lifting of Funding Ban on Chinese Chicken Risk Assessment
Could Help U.S. Pork Producers
Washington, D.C., September 25, 2009 -
The National Pork Producers Council today commended conferees on the agriculture appropriations bill, on text slated for the FY 2010 agriculture appropriations conference report regarding the use of appropriated funds by USDA with respect to potential imports of poultry products from China. The conference agreement would allow USDA to use appropriated funds in FY 2010 to promulgate or implement a rule allowing imports of processed poultry or poultry products from China only after the Secretary of Agriculture notifies Congress that certain conditions have been met.
“We applaud the conferees for finding a path forward that will permit USDA to conduct a science-based risk assessment of Chinese processed poultry. It sends a strong signal to China that the U.S. abides by its trade obligations and will base decisions about imports on sound science,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “We expect China to do the same.”
As the world’s biggest exporter of pork, the U.S. pork industry has a compelling interest in making sure that foreign governments base their trade decisions on science. Last year, the industry exported nearly $5 billion of pork, including almost $690 million to China, the second largest destination.
In its efforts to move the process forward, NPPC was part of a coalition of agriculture and business organizations that urged the Congress to look closely at the issue. In August, NPPC issued a grassroots call to action, asking pork producers around the country to contact their members of Congress and urge them to find a science-based solution to the issue. And, at a critical point in the appropriations negotiations in mid-September, more than 130 pork producers came to Washington to meet with their congressional delegations on the issue.
"China is a very important market for the U.S. pork industry,” Butler said. "Given the current economic state of our industry, with producers losing more than $21 per hog over the past two years, U.S. pork exports to China are NPPC’s No. 1 trade priority.”
NPPC Asks USDA To Save Pork Industry
August 17 - Asking for help to save the U.S. pork industry and thousands of jobs, the National Pork Producers Council today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lend assistance to U.S. pork producers to help them weather a nearly 2-year-old economic crisis.
In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, NPPC requested $250 million in financial assistance and other actions that should help producers, who since September 2007 have lost an average of more than $21 on each hog marketed. It asked the agency to:
Purchase immediately an additional $50 million of pork for various federal food programs – other than ones in USDA’s Section 32 program – using fiscal 2009 funds. Fiscal 2009 ends Sept. 30. The funds would not come from USDA’s Section 32 program. (USDA annually buys pork for food programs; it bought $62.6 million worth in 2008, for example.)
Urge Congress to lift a spending cap on the Section 32 program, and use $50 million of $300 million available to purchase pork for the program, which uses customs receipts to buy non-price-supported commodities for school lunch and other food programs.
Buy on Oct. 1 a minimum of $50 million of pork, using fiscal 2010 funds. Fiscal 2010 begins Oct. 1. The purchase would be in addition to USDA’s annual buy.
Use $100 million of the $1 billion appropriated for addressing the H1N1 virus for the swine industry. This would include $70 million for swine disease surveillance, $10 million for diagnostics and H1N1 vaccine development and$20 million for industry support.
Work with the U.S. Trade Representative to open export markets to U.S. pork. Several countries, including China, continue to impose unwarranted bans on U.S. pork because of the H1N1 flu.
Study the economic impact on the livestock industry of an expansion of corn-ethanol production and usage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed raising the cap on blending ethanol into gasoline to 15 percent from its current 10 percent.
“U.S. pork producers are in desperate straits right now, and they need a little help from USDA,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “The request NPPC has made today not only will help pork producers and Americans who benefit from government feeding programs but tens of thousands of mostly rural jobs supported by the U.S. pork industry.”
Governors from nine states Aug. 7 also asked the federal government to help U.S. pork producers, urging USDA to make a supplemental $50 million purchase of pork and to lift the Section 32 spending cap to make additional pork buys.
Korea Lifts Restrictions On U.S. Hogs, Pork
August 12 - The National Pork Producers Council today hailed the Republic of Korea’s decision to inspect only a sample of U.S. pork exports rather than 100 percent of them and to lift a ban on live hog imports from the United States.
The restrictions were put in place in the wake of the H1N1 flu outbreak.
“South Korea’s decision is good news for U.S. pork producers,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “NPPC has been working closely with U.S. and foreign government officials to terminate all remaining H1N1 restrictions on U.S. hog and pork exports. Korea is a top market for U.S. pork exports and an important destination for swine breeding stock. Our producers are enduring very difficult financial times, and the removal of these restrictions by Korea is appreciated.”
The U.S. pork industry since September 2007 has lost nearly $4.5 billion, and producers have lost an average of more than $21 per hog marketed since then. While high production costs – mostly feed grain prices – are the primary culprit for the industry’s economic woes, restrictions on U.S. pork and hog exports put in place in early May by a number of countries that cited fears of H1N1 exacerbated the problems.
In 2008 South Korea was the sixth largest market for U.S. pork, with exports valued at $284 million. In 2009 exports to Korea through May were down 10 percent by volume and 7 percent in value. Breeding stock exports to South Korea also are down in 2009 because of the H1N1-related ban. The country ranked as a top destination for U.S. live hogs in 2008 with exports of $1.1 million.
Korea’s decision to lift the restrictions will reignite enthusiasm for the U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement, which contains tremendous benefits for U.S. pork producers, according to NPPC, which helped secure favorable treatment for U.S. pork and pork products. According to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, when the FTA is fully implemented, U.S. pork exports to the Asian nation will rise to nearly 600,000 metric tons. That’s significantly more than the amount currently shipped to Japan, the No. 1 export market for U.S. pork. Hayes also estimates that the FTA will increase by $10 the price producers receive for each hog marketed.
“This is the single most important trade agreement ever for the U.S. pork industry, and it will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new export sales,” said Butler. “We need Congress to approve the FTA with South Korea as soon as possible.”
Under terms of the FTA, tariffs on all frozen and processed pork products will be eliminated by 2014. Fresh chilled pork will be duty free 10 years after implementation. U.S. pork products currently face tariffs as high as 25 percent. Additionally, South Korea has agreed to accept all pork and pork products from USDA-approved facilities.
The trade deal with South Korea was made possible in part because of the effective working relationship between NPPC and the National Pork Checkoff Board and their shared goal of increasing U.S. pork exports
Governors Urge Obama To Help Pork Producers
August 7, 2009 - The National Pork Producers Council today commended the governors from a number of the nation’s top pork-producing states for urging President Obama to take immediate action to help U.S. pork producers through a nearly 2-year-old economic crisis.
In a letter sent to the president today, the governors of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin asked the administration to:
Support at least an additional $50 million of pork purchases for government feeding programs. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture annually buys pork for federal food programs; it bought nearly $62.6 million worth in 2008, for example.)
Remove a spending cap on USDA’s Section 32 food-assistance program so that additional purchases of surplus agriculture products, including pork, can be made. (Congress imposed the cap as part of USDA’s fiscal 2009 budget.)
Urge China to quickly lift a ban on U.S pork that was put in place because of the H1N1 flu outbreak and to eliminate other barriers to U.S. pork exports.
“Today, the pork industry is facing an economic crisis that is catastrophic in nature,” said the governors in their letter to the president. “For the pork industry to remain as vibrant entities in rural communities, we need your prompt actions to assure that our communities and the U.S. pork industry remain competitive world wide.”
Since September 2007, the U.S. pork industry has lost nearly $4.4 billion, with producers losing an average of $21.37 per pig over the past 21 months. Many pork producers have gone, or are in jeopardy of going, out of business, threatening thousands of the more than 550,000 mostly rural jobs they help support.“U.S. pork producers, who provide America’s families with a safe, wholesome, nutritious product, are grateful to the governors for intervening on their behalf with President Obama,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “These state executives recognize that pork production is a significant value-added industry for their states and for our country.”
[The following governors signed the letter: Bill Ritter, D-Colo.; Pat Quinn, D-Ill.; Chet Culver, D-Iowa; Steven Beshear, D-Ky.; Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich.; Dave Heineman, R-Neb.; Beverly Perdue, D-N.C.; Brad Henry, D-Okla.; and Jim Doyle, D-Wis.]
July 30, 2009 - The House today passed food safety legislation that the National Pork Producers Council recognizes as much improved from the version that was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“NPPC is pleased that the bill passed today addressing our on-farm concerns,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “We are thankful that the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (PAMTA), was not included in this food safety bill.”
PAMTA would ban from use in livestock and poultry animal health products that are used to prevent and control diseases. “America’s pork producers support strengthening the nation’s food safety system. The House bill moves us in the right direction, but work remains,” added Butler.
The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, H.R. 2749, would give the Food and Drug Administration the framework for a risk-based inspection system and move the agency toward a preventive approach to food safety regulation. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., would give the FDA new authorities to address food-borne-illness outbreaks and regulate processors’ record keeping in hopes of more easily identifying these outbreaks.
“NPPC is grateful to Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., for reaching compromise language contained in the bill," said Butler. "NPPC also appreciates the help of the many Energy and Commerce and Agriculture Committee members who voiced concerns regarding the impacts that the bill would have on America’s pork producers.”
NPPC supports language in the bill that recognizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s authorities over products, facilities and farms raising animals from which meat and eggs are regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act or the Egg Products Inspection Act. NPPC is also very supportive of the grains exemption which helps our diversified pork producers. Other improvements to the bill relate to traceability of food and record-keeping. The measure also takes a more targeted approach for the new authority granted to the FDA to prohibit or restrict the movement of food. NPPC appreciates the strengthening of language that requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consult with the Secretary of Agriculture.
While pork producers continue to suffer record losses, NPPC is committed to food safety and believes that the bill is a positive first step toward securing effective and meaningful food safety reform legislation.
No Antibiotics Amendment, Groups Urge Speaker
July 24, 2009 - A group of agricultural organizations, including the National Pork Producers Council, today urged the Speaker of the House not to allow a bill to ban certain animal health products to be tacked on to any pending legislation.
The Coalition for Animal Health, which includes organizations that represent veterinarians, farmers and ranchers, food and feed producers and animal medicine manufacturers, in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked that the “Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009” (H.R. 1549) not be added to bills now being considered, including food-safety and health-care reform legislation.
H.R. 1549 would ban from use in livestock and poultry animal health products that are used to prevent and control diseases. Farmers only would be allowed to use animal health products that treat diseases. The bill also would require all “critical antimicrobial animal drugs” to go through a second U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process within two years of enactment of the legislation. Currently to win approval, an animal drug maker must demonstrate that a product is effective and safe for animals and for the environment. FDA also must determine that new antibiotics for food animals will not harm human health.
The legislation purports to address an increase in antibiotic-resistant illnesses in humans. But, the coalition pointed out, numerous risk assessments, including one conducted by FDA, have shown risk levels associated with antibiotic use in agriculture that are extremely low, and nationally recognized scientific studies have shown that the removal of important animal health products could actually increase food-safety risks.
In its letter, the coalition also noted that the food-safety and health-care reform bills are based on the important principle of prevention. “It would be ironic and inconsistent to add an amendment that would remove important tools for disease prevention used in veterinary medicine,” said the coalition. “Veterinary medicine has long employed prevention as the preferred option for dealing with diseases, and antibiotics are an important tool in the prevention toolbox.”
Canadian pork ‘bail out’ would hurt U.S. pork producers
July 20, 2009 - An emergency government subsidy program for the Canadian pork industry proposed by the Canadian Pork Council would have a “lethal impact” on U.S. pork producers, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
The CPC has asked the Canadian government to pump $800 million into the country’s pork industry. The key component of the program is a loan to pork producers – to be repaid over 10-15 years – of $30 for each market hog. A second component would provide $500 for each sow culled plus the market value of the animal.
The proposal would artificially prop up Canadian pork production and, according to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, U.S. live hog prices would be approximately 7 percent lower than otherwise would have been the case.
“Such a subsidy program would have a lethal impact on U.S. pork producers,” said NPPC President Don Butler. “NPPC is extremely concerned about such a program, which will shift financial pain to U.S. producers, who already have lost an average of more than $21 per hog since October 2007.”
Butler pointed out that while the program is described as a “loan,” it is unlikely that commercial banks would make unsecured, subordinate loans to Canadian pork producers at a time when they are losing money. “The program is really a cash bailout,” he said.
“NPPC is keeping all options open to address this issue,” said Butler.
Resolve Issues Before Passing Food-Safety Bill
July 16, 2009 - While a food-safety bill making its way through the U.S. House largely exempts livestock and poultry farms, U.S. pork producers still have some concerns with the legislation, the National Pork Producers Council told the House Agriculture Committee, which today held a hearing on the measure.
In a letter sent yesterday to all members of the agriculture panel, NPPC and 24 state pork producer associations urged lawmakers to resolve a number of outstanding issues before finalizing the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” (H.R. 2749), including:
The organizations also urge lawmakers to oppose any amendments that would ban certain antibiotics used in livestock production. Earlier this week, the House Rules Committee held a hearing on the “Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009” (H.R. 1549), which would ban animal health products that are used to prevent and control diseases. Farmers only would be allowed to use animal health products that treat diseases.
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