DES MOINES, IOWA — During the 2025 World Pork Expo, held June 4-5 in Des Moines, Iowa, leaders from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) provided an update on the latest policies affecting the US pork industry.

In a media briefing on June 4, NPPC Chief Executive Officer Bryan Humphreys, President Duane Stateler and Vice President of Government Affairs Maria Zieba were joined by Kylee Deniz, executive director of the Oklahoma Pork Council, to discuss a range of issues from local legislation to global trade.

Work in Washington

The panel noted exciting developments in Washington but emphasized the importance of the ag community continually advocating for key initiatives.

“Wins take time, and there is a lot of important work that happens behind the scenes,” Humphreys said. “Staying at the table — across administrations and political divides — is how we make lasting change.”

Last week, the House passed the reconciliation bill that included all NPPC’s priorities thanks to persistent lobbying from the association and producers.

“We were fortunate that in the House version of the reconciliation bill, we got 100% of our asks on the tax package, which is very beneficial because those expire here in October,” Zieba explained. “We need to make sure we have that certainty.”

Provisions included the “three-legged stool” of animal health, $15 million in funding annually for the feral swine eradication program and funding for foreign market development programs.

While the bill’s passage is a win, Stateler said a lot of key items tied to a farm bill are still missing.

“The thing of it is, is that we need a farm bill,” Stateler stressed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing to have a farm bill passed by July 4, which Zieba noted is a “very aggressive” timeline.

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report was another topic of concern. Although the bright spot of the report was the inclusion of nutrient dense protein options like pork in a healthy diet, overall, NPPC found cause for alarm with its publication.

Out of the 73 pages and 500-plus citations in the report, no input was included from the producer perspective.

“A scientifically valid approach to what we allow into the food supply system as part of food safety should be our standard as American agriculture,” Humphreys said. “And any deviation from that, I believe creates significant challenges for us.”

On the state level, Deniz offered a look at how the pork industry is addressing ongoing regulatory hurdles.

Since December 2022, Oklahoma has had over 50 direct interactions with animal activists, specifically around sow housing.

“To be clear, the debates that we’re having is not how farmers house their sows — it’s not a gestation style versus open pen versus Prop-12 compliant,” Deniz said. “It’s truly on how do we change animal production? How do we change animal agriculture?”

As a ballot state, Oklahoma could see legislation similar to California’s Proposition 12.

“We are preparing for — anticipating — a state question that would look something like Proposition 12 and really trying to get ahead of that at this time,” Deniz said.

Trade developments

Encouraging news for the pork industry was the approval of more than 300 US pork processing plants for registration renewals to export to China in March.

Even with the renewed eligibility, the continued tension between the United States and China is cause for a market diversification strategy. Currently, NPPC has its sights on Vietnam.

“Our top priority remains and will continue to be market access into Vietnam,” Zieba said. “We see this as a huge opportunity for our US pork exports, not only because there's 100 million people in Vietnam whose number one protein consumption is pork, but also because, as we look at diversifying away from certain markets, Vietnam has that opportunity that is very unique. They not only love to eat muscle cuts, but they eat a lot of offals, which we need to diversify that area.”

Zieba added that of the offals exported, about 50% are shipped to China.

“Trade is vitally important for our industry,” she said. “We export about 25% of our production, and in 2024 that was over $8.6 billion. We would love to see another 2025 where we have record exports for our pork and pork products.”