DES MOINES, Iowa (DTN) -- With California's Proposition 12 continuing to hang over the pork industry, leaders from the National Pork Producers Council are pressing Congress to pass a farm bill that ends the state's production restrictions before year's end.
Ending Prop 12 through the farm bill remained the topic du jour at the World Pork Expo on Wednesday. The expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds runs through Thursday with more than 15,000 producers and vendors expected to attend.
Upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, Prop 12 prohibits sales of pork in California from swine not provided at least 24 square feet of floor space during birthing and weaning. The law sets standards for pork production outside of California for any meatpacker wanting to sell pork within the state.
The House version of the farm bill, which cleared committee in late May, includes a provision that would prevent states from blocking the sale of meat products that have been approved by federal inspectors. Leading up to the committee vote, NPPC led a letter with nearly 900 groups calling on Congress to override those state laws.
Lori Stevermer, president of NPPC and a pork farmer from Easton, Minnesota, said congressional action is critical because without it the livestock industry overall risks a patchwork of different regulations across the country beyond California and a similar law in Massachusetts called Question 3. Stevermer said such regulations could become generational issues for producers trying to pass on their farms or others trying to get into the industry.
"If you have these young individuals that are saying, how do I farm, given all of the regulatory -- for lack of a better word -- mess that's out there?" Stevermer said.
Before Prop 12, California accounted for roughly 15% of pork sales nationally. A USDA study showed there is 20% less pork being sold now in the state and prices on average are about 20% higher as well. Some cuts such as pork loins cost more than 40% higher than before the law went into effect.
"If Californians believe that they would be sourcing products from Europe or Brazil or other foreign countries and creating that greenhouse gas emissions that transportation creates, they probably wouldn't have voted for Prop 12," said Maria Zieba, vice president of government affairs at NPPC. "It's not better for animal welfare, it's not better for the environment and it's causing all sorts of different issues on the supply side and pricing.
TRADE: LOOKING AT AFRICA
Exports account for roughly 25% of pork sales, which equaled about $8 billion last year.
Zieba said she met with Biden administration officials Tuesday stressing the need for more market access agreements that would remove barriers to more sales.
"Unfortunately, we have not been negotiating new market access and new comprehensive trade agreements," Zieba said, adding the pork industry is heavily dependent on foreign markets.
The Biden administration has not made efforts to strike larger trade deals, though trade officials are now negotiating with Kenya on a potential deal.
Zieba also plugged work in Congress to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a 10-year reauthorization meant to expand trade with African countries. NPPC has been pressing Congress to ensure the next AGOA will do more to require countries such as South Africa to accept more U.S. agricultural products.
The House farm bill also doubles funding for a couple of trade promotion programs, the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program, often referred to as "MAP and FMD." Farm groups have pushed for more than a decade to increase the money going to those programs. MAP right now is funded at $200 million a year while FMD is $34.5 million.
"If you can't differentiate your product from competitors, you are still going to have trouble entering that market. That's where these programs are so vital," Zieba said. "It's also very important to mention that we do fall behind because our competitors in the European Union -- they have similar programs and they have been increasing funding while ours has been static for a number of years."
NPPC ON FARM BILL AND CCC
Pork officials stressed their support for the House farm bill, which funds increases in commodity programs, crop insurance, research and foreign animal disease programs. Doing that, though, led Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, to take away the Agriculture secretary's authority to use the Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) fund -- an annual $30 billion line of credit.
The CCC is used to support commodities in different ways. USDA released $300 million last month for a trade promotion program and last week used $824 million to help dairy farmers dealing with highly pathogenic avian influenza. USDA often in the past has bought pork products for school lunches to help boost pork prices as well.
Chase Adams, NPPC assistant vice president for domestic policy, noted, "The chairman had to find a way to pay for this farm bill." Adams said that required "guardrails" on the CCC.
"I think what this comes down to is who has the purse strings," Adams said.
Adams said the House majority, which included four Democrats who helped advance the bill out of committee, agreed the bill is in a position to reassert Congress' authority over those funds.
"I do think it's a concern because those funds have been out there to use more quickly through secretarial action, but at the same time it's really Congress that is supposed to be controlling the purse."
FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASES
The pork industry has been concerned for years since African Swine Fever first arrived in the Dominican Republic. Now, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has moved to mammals such as dairy cows.
"The focus should be on biosecurity," said Dr. Anna Forseth, NPPC director of animal health. "With regard to H5N1, we know that pigs are susceptible to influenza A viruses. This would obviously be a new strain of virus."
The House farm bill also helps preserve the array of programs for foreign animal disease prevention, which include National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank; National Animal Health Laboratory Network; National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program; and National Veterinary Stockpile.
TIME SHORT
Talking about politics, producers and other groups need to press lawmakers to pass a farm bill before the November election, Adams said. Regardless of the outcome, the election could delay the farm bill another year or two.
"I hate to say this, but it comes down to politics," Adams said. He added, "We've got to just make sure that lawmakers keep hearing from producers that we need a farm bill right now."
Also see, "Diversifying Meat Exports, FAS Chief Says Africa Has Prospects for Growth,"
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