WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would extend an expiring pork production line speed program until November 30, 2023, following petitions from a group of lawmakers, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.). The lawmakers urged USDA to take immediate action to extend the Time-Limited Trial for pork processing plants in the New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) in a letter Tuesday. Without the trial extension, pork producers and consumers alike would be detrimentally impacted.
In response to the letter, USDA extended the NSIS line-speed trial for an additional 9 months. The extension prevents any of the nation’s small- and medium-sized hog farmers from suffering upstream impacts, and consumers from forking out too much money for their pork. “Without an extension, producers will again be facing lost market leverage and fewer options for selling their hogs, potential contract cancellations, and greater transportation costs. Our family farmers, the food supply chain, and consumers need the certainty that our pork processing capacity will remain strong, and plants will not be forced to reduce production and thereby hog purchasing,” the lawmakers wrote to USDA Secretary Vilsack.
“While an extension until November 30 of this year is welcome news, we must continue to fight for a permanent solution for our pork producers,” Grassley said.
In addition to Grassley and Finstad, the letter is signed by Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Reps. GT Thompson (R-Penn.), Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.), Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Tracey Mann (R-Kan.).
This week’s letter follows previous that Grassley, along with Reps. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), sent to USDA and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The prior letter urged the Administration to pursue all legal actions to push back the implementation of the U.S. district court decision slowing swine inspection line speeds after June 30, 2021. USDA established the first 12-month Time-Limited Trial following that letter.
Full text of the letter to USDA can be found here and the letter to DOJ can be found here.
