NPPC Lobbies For Stay of Federal Court NSIS Line Speed Ruling

Jun 14, 2021

The National Pork Producers Council is calling for a stay of a court ruling that will reduce overall U.S. pork processing capacity. A recent federal court ruling struck down provisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new swine inspection system which allows for faster harvest facility line speeds.

National Pork Producers Council President Jen Sorenson told reporters on hand yesterday for the opening World Pork Expo in Des Moines, NSIS line speeds is the organization's most pressing priority.

Clip-Jen Sorenson-National Pork Producers Council:

The end of June implementation date for this court order is looming and NPPC continues to urge the administration to appeal and stay this decision because of the damage it will exact on hog farmers, especially the smaller producers. While overall U.S. pork harvest capacity will drop 2.5 percent because of this decision, capacity at six plants running NSIS line speeds will decline by as much as 25 percent.

Smaller producers near these plants will be forced to sell their hogs on the spot market at depressed prices with additional transportation costs to send their hogs to distant plants. Hog farmers are expected to lose more than 80 million dollars this year alone because of this decision. This is not a partisan issue.

Development of the new swine inspection system started during the Clinton administration. The five original plants which had been running at NSIS line speeds over the life of the program have been safely operating for more than 20 years.

\At a time when the United States is seeking to increase much needed pork harvest capacity, the court order will reduce plant capacity at six plants running NSIS line speeds by as much as 25 percent. The administration can prevent this from happening.

Source : Farmscape

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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