(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Duane Stateler, a pork producer from McComb, Ohio, released the following statement after U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, which averts a disastrous patchwork of contradictory state-by-state farm regulations that would hit hardest small and medium-sized pork producers.
“We thank Senators Ernst, Grassley, and Marshall for standing up for the American pork producer, especially during these times of uncertainty. U.S. pork producers have just suffered the worst 18 months of financial losses in history, and many farm families are contemplating whether they can pass along their farm to the next generation. We urge the Senate to take up this legislation immediately to provide us much-needed relief.”
Bipartisan support for providing relief from a patchwork of state laws continues to grow with support from President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, and their respective Agriculture Secretaries Brooke Rollins and Tom Vilsack.
Without certainty from the Food Security and Farm Protection Act, there will be:
- Widespread, damaging consequences for farmers and consumers alike.
- Significant fees forced on producers to pay for outside regulators to audit their farms due to the whims of consumers outside their state’s borders.
- Risk of putting farm families out of business by significantly increasing the cost of raising pigs.
- Increased prices at the grocery store, as much as 41% for certain pork products.
