WASHINGTON — As Congress works to push out a new five-year Farm Bill, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing where producer groups — including the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Turkey Federation (NTF), among others — testified on the pressing issues facing animal agriculture.

The hearing, which took place on Jan. 26, was titled, “Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy,” and marked the second in a series to examine the state of the agriculture sector.

“In the next farm bill, it is critical we improve risk management tools to support both our specialty crop and livestock producers,” said John Boozman (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate committee. “It is important to continue investing in our research and marketing programs. We must invest in our animal health programs to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks, and we must address regulatory overreach burdening all producers.”

Represented in the second panel of the hearing were livestock, poultry and dairy producers.

Mitigating avian diseases

John Zimmerman, NTF 2024 chair and second-generation turkey grower from Northfield, Minn., voiced priorities of the US turkey industry, including ongoing animal health challenges. He detailed the significant impact diseases like highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) have had on turkey operations.

“As chairman of NTF and a grower, I cannot overstate the impact of these two viral animal diseases that have killed millions of turkeys nationwide,” Zimmerman said. “While HPAI grabs headlines for its effect on egg and milk prices, aMPV has also killed millions of turkeys. Together, these two respiratory viruses have exponentially increased volatility, supply shortages and market uncertainty.”

Zimmerman noted that aMPV has impacted between 60-80% of turkey flocks nationwide. The disease is more subtle than the lethal HPAI but is cause for concern just the same due to its ability to significantly reduce egg sets of breeder stock that produce the next generation of turkeys and cause severe prolonged mortality in commercial flocks, according to Zimmerman.

Under the US Department of Agriculture’s current review process of an imported modified-live vaccine, approval of a vaccine can take a year, causing frustrations from turkey producers who face financial losses from the disease.

“As the industry recovers from aMPV, we urge the committee to make aMPV an eligible disease under the USDA’s Livestock Indemnity Program,” Zimmerman said. “This would assist growers in mitigating economic loss and it will go a long way to assist poultry producers, who are being hit hard, stay on their farms producing the most abundant food supply in the world.”

aMPV is only half the battle, Zimmerman said, with HPAI also leading to losses in the sector. As of Feb. 19, 459 commercial turkey flocks have tested positive for HPAI, affecting over 18.6 million turkeys.

“A national strategy targeting all potential hosts of H5 influenza is lacking, allowing the virus to spread,” he said. “The global poultry industry is in crisis, so pursing a successful vaccination program that does not negatively impact trade as part of a stamp-out strategy, is the key to significantly reducing disease rates.”

Zimmerman criticized USDA’s interim final rule linking biosecurity audits to indemnity, which could disincentivize reporting of HPAI detections.

On another note, Zimmerman called into question USDA’s proposed Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products, claiming it to be unscientific and not legally sound.

Beef priorities

On behalf of the beef industry, Buck Wehrbein, president of NCBA, spoke before the Senate committee, detailing issues like animal health, regulatory burdens and the upcoming national Dietary Guidelines as areas affecting the sector.

“The cattle industry is seeing better market conditions, strong consumer demand for beef, and optimism for the future of our industry yet challenges still remain,” Wehrbein said. “Congress must always remember that food security is national security and the policy decisions they make will impact the hardworking cattlemen and women who produce our nation’s food. Passing a farm bill, axing the Death Tax, protecting beef in the Dietary Guidelines, rolling back excessive regulations, holding our trade partners accountable, combatting the New World screwworm, and protecting the Beef Checkoff are all tangible steps Congress can take to support American farmers and ranchers and protect our food security.”

Earlier this month, Congress introduced a bill known as the Death Tax Repeal Act that would end the federal estate tax affecting family farmers. NCBA was a named proponent of the legislation, and the group has continued to advocate for its passage as evident in the hearing.

Also of high concern for the group is the new threat of New World screwworm. NCBA asked Congress to protect the cattle industry by investing in sterile fly production facilities that will help to eradicate the screwworm.

The parasitic disease has been detected in Mexico recently. NCBA worries that, while the United States have been free of New World screwworms for over 60 years, the pest could move north.

In his testimony, Wehrbein urged Congress to pass a farm bill that supports animal health, voluntary conservation and risk management tools. He explained the importance of the Beef Checkoff program, which strengthens beef demand, educates consumers and funds research. He also addressed the importance of supporting public lands ranching and reducing overregulation on American cattle producers.

Call for a Prop. 12 fix

Continuing the fight to address the problems posed by California’s Proposition 12, NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minn., brought the issue before the Senate committee.

“We must fix the problems caused by Prop. 12, which has increased farmers’ operating costs, created business uncertainty and raised pork prices at the grocery store,” Stevermer said. “We stand with farmers and consumers across the country, grateful to have the support of both President Trump and former President Biden in clearly and decisively opposing Prop. 12.”

Stevermer highlighted that, although Prop. 12 is a state regulation, its impact and “threat” extends to all of US agriculture.

Prop. 12, which was developed without input from pork producers, veterinarians or animal welfare experts, prohibits the sale of uncooked whole pork meat not produced within the law’s specified housing dimensions, Stevermer explained. She continued to point out inconsistencies in the law by prohibiting a package of uncooked bacon produced on a farm outside the standards but allowing that same bacon from the same farm if it is first cooked and packaged prior to sale.

Adding to costs for producers, Prop. 12 requires an outside auditor certify their farm, which Stevermer believes threatens to put pork producers out of business by significantly increasing the cost of raising pigs.

Other priorities for the pork industry mentioned included foreign animal disease prevention, ongoing market access and trade issues, and employment challenges, such as the need for year-round H-2A visas.