NCBA Vice President Testifies Before House Ag Committee

Oct 12, 2021

The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing yesterday to review the state of the livestock industry. Witnesses included U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and NCBA Vice President Todd Wilkinson, a rancher from South Dakota, who was among a panel of livestock producers who testified. Wilkinson said Congress needs to focus on incentivizing expansion of packing capacity and avoid mandates that could interfere with producers’ choice in marketing their cattle. He also cautioned Congress against adopting the Biden administration’s attempt to repeal stepped-up basis and force recognition of capital gains at death.

In addition, Kansas Congressman Tracey Mann questioned Vilsack about the legality of USDA’s announced intention to remove harm to competition as a requirement to prove a violation of section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA). Mann raised the concern that removing the harm to competition requirement would convert PSA from a tool to ensure equal opportunity to one that ensures equal outcomes.

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Video: Biosecurity Compliance - Dr. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Montreal, discusses the human side of biosecurity compliance. He explains why protocols often fail when people are tired, unconvinced, undertrained, or working with impractical systems, and how leadership, employee input, technology, feedback, and small incentives can make biosecurity more consistent on swine farms. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Biosecurity only works when people repeatedly do the right thing, and that means the system has to support compliance every day."

Meet the guest: Dr. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt is a veterinarian and professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Montreal. His work focuses on biosecurity, infectious disease control, and practical risk reduction in animal production systems, with experience across swine and poultry health. Learn more from Dr. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.