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TheNationalPork Producers

Council in 2014 worked for rea-sonable legislation and regulation,to open new and expand existingexport markets and to protect thelivelihoods of America’s pork pro-ducers, getting several victories andmaking progress on issues ofimportance to the U.S. pork industry.

A couple of NPPC’s biggest winscame in December as the 113thCongress came to a close, with law-makers approving legislation toextend a number of tax breaks thatexpired at the end of 2013 andpassing a $1.1 trillion fiscal 2015spending bill that included a num-ber of priority pork industry provi-sions. Among them are ones that:

• Provide $2 million for biosecurityand herd management to addressthe Porcine Epidemic DiarrheaVirus.

• Provide a $3 million increase overthe previous year’s funding for theNational Antimicrobial ResistanceMonitoring Service, bringing totalNARMS funding to $10.6 million.

• Require the U.S. Department ofAgriculture to submit to Congresswithin 15 days of a final resolu-tion from the World TradeOrganization on complaints relat-ed to the U.S. Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL) law or by May 1,2015, recommendations forchanges in federal law that would

be requiredfor a COOL law

that does not violateU.S. international trade

obligations.

• Preclude the use by USDA offunds to write, prepare or pub-lish a final rule or an interimfinal regulation related to thebuying and selling of livestockunder the Grain Inspection,Packers and Stockyards Act unlessthe annual cost of the rule doesnot exceed $100 million. USDA is prohibited from implementingprovisions related to competitiveinjury, packer-to-packer sales,additional capital investments,three-day right to cancel con-tracts, “undue and unfair” prefer-ences and business justification,among others.

• Express concern that the advisorycommittee on the 2015 DietaryGuidelines for Americans is con-sidering issues outside its scope,including agriculture productionpractices and environmentalmatters. Language in the measuredirects USDA to include in thefinal 2015 Dietary Guidelinesonly nutrition and dietary information.

• Require the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency to rescind the“Waters of the United States”(WOTUS) interpretative rule. Theagency is not, however, preventedfrom finalizing a WOTUS rule.

continued on page 4

2 nppc.org •  January-February 2015

PERSPECTIVE

National Office10664 Justin Drive

Urbandale, IA 50322p: (515) 278-8012f: (515) 278-8014

www.nppc.org

Washington Public Policy Center122 C Street, N.W., Suite 875

Washington, D.C. 20001p: (202) 347-3600f: (202) 347-5265

Board of Directors

Chief Executive OfficerNeil Dierks - Urbandale, IA

OfficersPresident

Dr. Howard Hill - Cambridge, IA

President-ElectDr. Ron Prestage - Camden, S.C

Vice PresidentJohn Weber - Dysart, IA

Board MembersKent Bang - Omaha, NE

Phil Borgic - Nokomis, ILJim Compart - Nicollet, MN

Jim Heimerl - Johnstown, OHDavid Herring - Lillington, N.C.

Chris Hodges - Kansas City, MOBill Kessler - Mexico, MO

Ken Maschhoff - Carlyle, ILHoward (AV) Roth - Wauzeka, WI

Ray Summerlin - Rose Hill, NCTerry Wolters - Pipestone, MN

Past PresidentsRandy Spronk - Edgerton, MN

RC Hunt - Wilson, NCDoug Wolf - Lancaster, WI

Sam Carney - Adair, IADon Butler - Clinton, NC

Bryan Black - Canal Winchester, OHJill Appell - Altona, IL

Joy Philippi - Bruning, NEDon Buhl - Tyler, MN

Keith Berry - Green Castle, IN

2 0 1 4 : Ye a r O f

C h a l l e n g e s , V i c t o r i e s

While federal Washingtoncontinued to be in vir-tual gridlock last year,

the National Pork ProducersCouncil had plenty of challengesand several successes in 2014.

As we do every year, NPPCspent hundreds of hours lobbyingmembers of Congress and execu-tive branch officials, participatingin dozens of meetings as part ofvarious coalitions and work-ing with representativesof foreign nations andother agriculture indus-try groups to advanceproposals beneficial tothe U.S. pork industryand to stop ones thatwould have been detrimen-tal to pork producers. The orga-nization weighed in on numerousissues last year, submitting com-ments to regulatory agencies andsending letters to congressionallawmakers.

All of those efforts helped us secure victories for pork pro-ducers, including: getting morefunding for swine disease surveil-

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”~ Gen. George S. Patton

Dr. Howard HillNPPC President

Neil DierksNPPC CEO

lance and for antibiotic-resistancemonitoring; stopping an ill-con-ceived environmental regulation;extending important tax provi-sions; and advancing our tradeagenda.

Of course, NPPC, along with the National Pork Board and theAmerican Association of SwineVeterinarians, continued toaddress the Porcine EpidemicDiarrhea Virus (PEDV). One of the most important successes onthat issue was getting the U.S.Department of Agriculture tofocus its efforts with the diseaseon monitoring and researching it.

We also continued to communi-cate with and to educate compa-nies throughout the pork chainabout the pork industry’s commit-ment to continuous improvementand to the ethical principlesembodied in the We Care program,

which affirm that produc-ers do the right things

on their farms – fortheir animals, theirworkers and the envi-ronment – every day.

Those efforts havebeen critical in helping

us blunt attacks from ani-mal-rights groups, which contin-ued in 2014 to try to coerce com-panies into requesting that theirpork suppliers move away fromgestation stalls for sows.

And, as we did in 2013, weworked in a number of Northeaststates to stop legislation that

continued on page 7

Social mediaquickly is overtaking tradition media as the

preferred way to communicateinformation, and the NationalPork Producers Council over thepast few years has embraced it,with 2014 being a very success-ful social media year for theorganization.

The highlight of the year was a September “pork to fork”tour for 12 prominent bloggers.NPPC partnered with the AnimalAgriculture Alliance, the NationalPork Board, the North CarolinaPork Council, Prestage Farmsand Smithfield Foods to host thefarm and processing plant tour.The bloggers, all but one ofwhom had little to no agriculturebackground, visited a sow farm,nursery, finisher and theSmithfield processing plant in Clinton, N.C.

While the hostsentered the undertakingwith some trepidation,it proved to be anenormous success, withpositive blogger posts viewednearly 20 million times. That’s double the combined

circulation of Family Circle, GoodHousekeeping and Martha StewartLiving magazines.

NPPC also used its social mediaoutlets – Facebook and Twitter –to help pork producers ErinBrenneman from Iowa and ThomasTitus from Illinois win the U.S.Farmers & Ranchers Alliance(USFRA) “Faces of Farming andRanching” competition. Brennemanand Titus will spend the next yearsharing their agriculture storieson a national stage through pub-lic appearances, events, mediainterviews and social media.

To add more scientific authorityto the pork industry’s online

Socia l Media Effect ive Tool For U.S. Pork Industry

3nppc.org •  January-February 2015

profile, NPPC this year hostedthree regional social media train-ing sessions for swine veterinari-ans, which resulted in 10 newTwitter accounts. Those veterinar-ians now are part of NPPC’s grassroots army, which can be activatedwhen needed.

Last year, NPPC’s Twitter fol-lowing organically – meaning no money was spent – increasedby almost 30 followers a week,responding to the organization’sposts that contained a mix ofhumor, news and advocacy contentand pork industry information,including “Tweets” on the NationalPork Board’s #RealPigFarmingcampaign, which tells the stories ofpork producers across the nation.

With a low-cost, specific target-ing campaign, NPPC’s Facebook“Likes” increased by more than12,000 over the year. The new followers often came to the porkindustry’s defense when animal-rights activists attacked producerson NPPC’s social media pages.

Follow on Twitter at - https://twitter.com/NPPC

“Like” NPPC on Facebook -www.facebook.com/nationalporkproduces council

Bloggers on the "pork

to fork" tour.

t

continued from cover

Wins Scored On ‘WOTUS,’ GIPSA Rules, Tax Provisions

life. Under the bonus depreciationprovision, business owners (andfarmers) can deduct 50 of the costof an asset in the first year and theremaining cost using regular depre-ciation or Section 179 expensing.

NPPC also made sure that drafttax reform legislation did notinclude a provision that could havebeen detrimental to pork produc-ers. An initial discussion draftincluded a provision that wouldhave required farmers who havegross receipts of $10 million ormore to switch from using cashaccounting to accrual accounting;current law requires this of opera-tions of $25 million or more. Formany pork producers, the accrualmethod would result in, for exam-ple, the taxation in one tax year ofpigs (inventory) that go to marketin the next tax year. The switchalso would have subjected porkproducers to new complianceregulations – which are hun-dreds of pages – on inventorycapitalization rules.

Among other efforts, NPPCsigned a letter to the SenateFinance Committee, opposing thedetrimental provision and a jointagriculture letter to House Waysand Means Committee membersexpressing concerns about the pro-posal’s elimination of “specialexceptions” for farming business-es. In addition, NPPC staff, severalpork producers, bankers andaccounting firm representativesmet with key Ways and MeansCommittee staff to articulate the

pork industry’s concerns.

2014 FARM BILLAs the year began, NPPCweighed in on the 2014

Farm Bill, which was signed intolaw in early February. The $956 bil-lion measure, among other things,included trichinae surveillance andferal swine control programs, aprovision requiring USDA to estab-lish an Undersecretary for Tradeand one requesting the agency tostudy the efficacy of a catastrophicdisease event insurance programand reauthorization of export pro-motion programs.

In late April, NPPC President Dr.Howard Hill testified on the state ofthe U.S. pork industry before theHouse Agriculture Subcommitteeon Livestock, Rural Developmentand Credit, noting that pork produc-ers were dealing with PEDV and thethreat of trade retaliation againsttheir products because of COOL.

FIRE PROTECTIONNPPC also was again involved with the National FireProtection Association(NFPA), which waslooking into revising

its model fire code. The HumaneSociety of the United States(HSUS) and other animal-rightsgroups in 2012 pressured the orga-nization into requiring that all ani-mal housing facilities, includingswine barns, be equipped withsprinkler systems and that they be inspected annually. NPPCappealed the decision, citing theNFPA’s failure to get input from thelivestock industry and to researchthe causes of barn fires. It also citedthe significant cost of installingsprinklers, issues related to access-ing water for them and biosecurityissues with inspections. NFPA sub-sequently dropped the requirement

• Prohibit EPA from requiring live-stock producers to report green-house gas emissions.

TAX EXTENDERSThe so-called tax exten-

ders bill – the TaxIncrease PreventionAct of 2014 – includ-ed more than 50

expired tax provisions,including bonus deprecia-

tion and business expensing undertax code Section 179, which areimportant to pork producers.

NPPC, along with more than 40organizations, in November urgedHouse and Senate lawmakers toinclude the tax measures in amulti-year tax extenders package.Section 179 allows agriculturalproducers to write off capitalexpenditures in the year that pur-chases are made rather than depre-ciate them over time while provid-ing a way to maximize businesspurchases in years when they havepositive cash flow. Without the taxprovision, the maximum amount asmall business could immediatelyexpense when purchasing businessassets instead of depreciating themover time would have been $25,000adjusted for inflation. NPPC urgedlawmakers to restore the maxi-mum amount of expensing to$500,000 – as it was set previouslyin 2013.

Congress also voted to reinstatethe bonus depreciation provisionfor the purchase of new capitalassets, including agriculturalequipment. Most propertyand equipment must bedepreciated over their useful

4 nppc.org •  January-February 2015

and directed its TechnicalCommittee to reconsider the issue.

Last year, HSUS again urged the NFPA Technical Committee toapprove sprinklers for all barns,but after hearing from NPPC andother livestock groups about howfood animals are housed, the com-mittee rejected the HSUS requestin approving a final NFPA draft2016 fire standard, which willcome up for a final vote in 2015.

On another issue involving HSUS,NPPC continued to defend porkproducers’ ability to use housingsystems that are best for the well-being of their animals, meetingwith dozens of food companies toeducate them on modern pork pro-duction practices. HSUS has coerceda number of food companies andrestaurant chains into demandingthat their pork suppliers abandonindividual sow housing systems.

The pork organization alsofought against legislation at thestate level to ban the use of sowgestation stalls, beating backHSUS-supported measures inConnecticut, Massachusetts, NewJersey and New York in 2014.

FUTURES MARKETSIn a move stronglysupported by NPPCto protect pork pro-ducers who use thefutures markets tomanage their risks,

the Commodity Futures TradingCommission (CFTC) last year pro-posed to revise a regulation relatedto customer margin calls. The cur-rent regulation requires FuturesCommission Merchants (FCMs) to

compute, as of the close of eachbusiness day, the amount eachcustomer’s account might be“undermargined.” An FCM mustmaintain a sufficient amount of itsown funds – “residual interest” –equal to or in excess of the totalcustomer undermargined amount,and customers must provide fundsfor margin calls by 6 p.m. EasternTime the next business day afterthe close of a trade. The regula-tion calls for a deadline of 9a.m. the next business day in2018. (The 9 a.m. deadline wasset to be phased in.)

NPPC told the CFTC the 9 a.m.deadline likely would force manyfarmers who use futures for riskmanagement out of the marketsbecause of the added cost. In addi-tion, said NPPC, prefunding marginaccounts would mean pork produc-ers would have more capital at riskof being used fraudulently, such ashappened with MF Global andPeregrine Financial. Because the 9a.m. deadline would cause problemsfor pork producers and producersin other agricultural sectors, theCFTC proposed to keep the dead-line at 6 p.m. the next business day.

In a related matter, NPPC, alongwith others agricultural groups, lastyear urged the Senate to fill a vacan-cy on the CFTC with an individualwith a strong understanding of agri-culture. The Senate is expected toconsider the matter in early 2015.

The organization also weighedin with the CFTC on repayment of$1.2 billion from customer accounts,including those of many pork pro-ducers, lost by commoditiesfutures trading firm MF Global.

The CFTC announced in April thatcustomers would begin receivingfunds, which were comingled withMF Global’s own money and usedto buy risky European debt. NPPCpreviously had urged the trusteesoverseeing MF Global’s bankruptcyto provide safeguards and protec-tions for customers.

WEST COAST PORTSNPPC was one of 105

national, state andregional trade asso-

ciations that sent aletter to President Obama

in early November, express-ing concern about ongoing

interruptions to the West Coastport system by the Inter-nationalLongshore and Warehouse Union(ILWU). The groups urged the fed-eral government to ensure the situ-ation does not escalate to a shut-down of West Coast ports.

The ILWU, which is negotiatinga new contract with the PacificMaritime Association, is refusing tosend qualified workers to the ports,causing congestion in the ports anduncertainty among importers andexporters. U.S. pork producersexported more than $6.5 billionworth of pork in 2014, accountingfor about 27 percent of total U.S.pork production. Much of thoseexports go to Asia, making the WestCoast port system a crucial part ofthe pork supply chain.

Finally, in 2014 NPPC continuedits relationship-building efforts withnon-traditional constituencies, reach-ing out to members of Congressfrom urban and suburban areas ofthe country and to lawmakers inthe Congressional Black Caucus andthe Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

5nppc.org •  January-February 2015

6 nppc.org •  January-February 2015

NPPC Tackles PEDV, Antibiotics, Hours-of-Service Rule

• $2.4 million for diagnostic testing.

• $1.5 million to National AnimalHealth Laboratory Network diagnostic laboratories forgenomic sequencing for newlypositive herds.

FERAL SWINE CONTROL

In early April,USDA announced

a $20 millionnational program

to reduce damagecaused by feral swine.

USDA’s Animal and PlantHealth Inspection Service (APHIS)Wildlife Services manages the pro-gram in 39 states to control popu-lations, test animals for diseasesand research methods to bettercontrol damage. A significant por-tion of the program includes sur-veillance and disease monitoringto protect the health of domesticswine herds. APHIS is testing feralswine for diseases of concern toU.S. pork producers, such as classicalswine fever (which does not existin the United States), swine brucel-losis, porcine reproductive and res-piratory syndrome, swine influenzaand pseudorabies. Feral swine havecaused $1.5 billion in annual dam-age and carry diseases that canaffect people, domestic animals,livestock and wildlife, as well aslocal water supplies. The $20 millionin funding, which was supportedby NPPC and represented a signifi-cant increase over fiscal 2013, wasincluded in a fiscal 2014 spendingbill approved last January.

In another victory, the NPPC-backed Veterinary MedicineMobility Act was signed into law

in early August. The statute allowsveterinarians to transport and use controlled substances beyondtheir primary place(s) of practice.

ANTIBIOTICSNPPC also fought effortsin 2014 by those opposedto modern food-animalproduction to place(further) restrictions on

and to require data collection onantibiotics use.

Some lawmakers and groupssuch as Keep Antibiotics Workingsought to prohibit the use in live-stock and poultry of antibioticsused for preventing and control-ling disease. Use for growth pro-motion-feed efficiency is beingphased out under the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration’sGuidance for Industry 213.

In an August op-ed that ran in a number of newspapers, NPPCPresident Dr. Howard Hill detailedthe efforts of livestock and poul-try producers and governmentactions, including Guidance 213,that have reduced the use ofantibiotics. He urged federal regu-lators to consider those effortsbefore they place more limits onfarmers’ ability to keep their ani-mals healthy.

On the data collection issue,NPPC made clear that it is notopposed to collecting more data ifit can inform the collective knowl-edge of antibiotics use and antibi-otic resistance. But many groupsasking for more data simply wantraw numbers that can be usedagainst animal agriculture.

The National Pork ProducersCouncil in 2014 workedwith the National Pork Board

and the American Association ofSwine Veterinarians to address the Porcine Epidemic DiarrheaVirus (PEDV), which continued to plague pork producers aroundthe country.

First identified in the UnitedStates in May 2013, PEDV hascaused significant losses to producers, with an estimated 8 million-plus pigs lost over a 20-month period.

NPPC convinced the U.S.Department of Agriculture, whichinsisted that pork producers who

had an outbreak ofPEDV report the dis-ease, to focus onresearching the dis-ease. To that end, inJune at NPPC’s WorldPork Expo, Agriculture

Secretary Tom Vilsack announcedthe agency would commit $26.2million in funds to address thedisease, including:

• $3.9 million to be used by USDA’sAgricultural Research Service tosupport the development of vaccines.

• $2.4 million for cooperativeagreement funding for states tosupport management and controlactivities.

• $500,000 for herd veterinariansto help with developing andmonitoring of herd managementplans and sample collection.

• $11.1 million in cost-share fund-ing for producers of infected herdsto support biosecurity practices.

nppc.org •  January-February 2015 7

2 0 1 4 : Ye a r

O f V i c t o r i e s

continued from page 2

HOURS OF SERVICENPPC, along with otherlivestock, poultry andfood organizations, in June secured from

the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Administrationa one-year wavier for truck drivershauling livestock and poultry fromcomplying with a rule that requiresdrivers to take a 30-minute breakfor every eight hours of service.That service would have includedtime for loading and unloadinganimals. NPPC hailed the move asa victory for animal welfare, sincesummer temperatures can causelivestock health problems, particu-larly for pigs, which do not sweat.

Finally, in 2014 NPPC continuedto add to its grassroots ranks,graduating another class from itsSwine Veterinarian Public PolicyAdvocacy Program, which edu-cates swine veterinarians aboutthe public-policy and regulatoryprocesses and about the impor-

tance of pork trade, internationaltrade standards and comprehen-sive surveillance and swineinfluenza reporting. Graduates of the program can be called on to write comments on proposedfederal regulations, participate in congressional briefings and act as spokespersons for the U.S.pork industry.

would outlaw gestation stalls. (We again stopped all of thoseill-advised proposals.)

In addition to our legislativeand regulatory efforts, NPPCcontinued reaching out to law-makers from non-agriculturaldistricts, talking about porkindustry issues with, for example, members of theCongressional Black Caucus and the Congressional HispanicCaucus.

Part of that outreach alsoincludesd supporting congres-sional candidates whose viewsrepresent the interests of U.S.pork producers. We do thatthrough our political actioncommittee, PorkPAC, and lastyear, using the record amount of funds we raised, NPPC sup-

ported more than 100candidates.

As we begin thisnew year and a new

Congress, NPPC again willaccept the challenges offighting on your behalf toget reasonable legislationand regulation, to opennew and expand existingexport markets and toprotect your livelihood.

And with your supportand involvement, the

U.S. pork industry in2015 will feel the

exhilaration of victory.

NPPC convinced the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture to focus on researchingPEDV, resulting in a commitment of$26.2 million in funding.

2014 Swine Veterinarian Public Policy Advocacy Program graduating class.

u

p

8 nppc.org •  January-February 2015

NPPC Worked To Expand U.S. Pork Trade

The National Pork ProducersCouncil had a successfulyear on the international

trade front, with much progressmade toward finalizing a multilat-eral free trade agreement (FTA)and eliminating non-science-based barriers to U.S. pork.

Here are several important2014 trade victories for U.S. porkproducers.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP)

The Asia-Pacific region is thefastest growing economic area in the world and has the greatestpotential for increased porkexports. Consequently, NPPC ledthe charge in the early days of theObama administration for the ini-tiation of an Asia-Pacific FTA.During the past year, NPPC led amassive effort aimed at securingthe best possible deal for U.S. porkand other products in Japan, oneof 12 TPP countries – the othersare the United States, Australia,Brunei Darussalam, Canada,Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, NewZealand, Peru, Singapore andVietnam – which account for 40percent of global GDP. NPPC sin-gle-handedly changed the dynam-ics in the TPP negotiation to makeit more difficult for Japan toexempt many of its products fromtariff elimination. The organiza-tion employed a strategy that,among other things, resulted in

140 House members sending avery strong letter to PresidentObama that singled out Japan’sTPP offer as insufficient. The let-ter was initiated by House leader-ship, and most of the memberssigning the letter are pro-tradeand, therefore, important interms of a future vote on a finalTPP agreement and/or one onTrade Promotion Authority, whichsets the parameters of FTAs.

In addition, NPPC representa-tives circled the globe meetingwith foreign government officialsand private-sector representativesin the other TPP nations to buildsupport for a strong marketaccess package in Japan. WhileJapan has rightfully consumedmuch of NPPC’s trade policyefforts, the organization workedhard on issues in all the TPPcountries. NPPC scored a numberof TPP market access successesin 2014, gaining the ability to sellchilled pork in New Zealand, get-ting a ban on variety meats inVietnam lifted and getting a ban lifted on U.S. pork sales toMalaysia.

According to Iowa StateUniversity econo-mist Dermot Hayes,increased porkexports resulting froma TPP agreement thateliminates all tariffs and non-tariff barrierswould create more than 15,500direct and indirect U.S. pork-related jobs.

INTERNATIONAL TRICHINAE STANDARDThere are many nations that donot permit the United States toship chilled pork without trichinaetesting. While NPPC worked – andis continuing to work – bilaterallywith a number of countries toaddress the issue, getting an inter-national standard established isthe best way to deal with suchnon-science-based barriers. Tothat end, and in large part due tothe efforts of NPPC, the U.N.Codex Committee on FoodHygiene in 2014 agreed on a stan-dard favorable to U.S. pork pro-ducers, which should be adoptedin the summer of 2015.

9nppc.org •  January-February 2015

COLOMBIAThanks to the recent FTA with

Colombia, U.S. pork exports to thatnation are growing rapidly, and itis becoming the most importantmarket in the hemisphere afterCanada and Mexico. NPPC workedto defend U.S. pork exports to andto avoid conflict in Colombia,reaching out to and coordinatingclosely with the leadership of theColombian pork industry on anumber of issues of mutual bene-fit. While certain Colombian agri-cultural groups expressed con-cerns with the increasing U.S.imports, and the issue was frontand center in the country’s 2014presidential election, NPPC wasable to stave off pressure fromColombia’s domestic pork produc-

ers to limit U.S. pork imports.(NPPC learned from the Mexicanpork industry’s response toincreased U.S. pork imports fol-lowing the North American FreeTrade Agreement: two safeguardcases, four dumping cases andmultiple border closures.)

SOUTH AFRICAIn 2014, NPPC significantly

raised the profile of pork in SouthAfrica, which blocks U.S. porkexports based on non-science-based barriers, including ones relat-ed to porcine reproductive and res-piratory syndrome, pseudorabiesand trichinae. NPPC used the 2015expiration of the African Growthand Opportunity Act (AGOA), a

preferential trade program thatprovides recipient countries inSub-Saharan Africa with access tothe U.S. market, as leverage tohighlight the U.S. pork industry’sconcerns. Among other things,NPPC drafted and spearheaded aletter from many U.S. agriculturalgroups, expressing concern aboutthe lack of reciprocal marketaccess in South Africa. The letter aswell as outreach to the Obamaadministration and congressionallawmakers paid big dividendswhen South African Trade MinisterRob Davies over the summer rec-ognized that U.S. pork marketaccess “very strongly is linked toour continued presence in AGOA.”

TAIWANBecause of its unwarranted banon U.S. pork from hogs fed rac-topamine, NPPC worked againstTaiwan’s campaign to negotiate abilateral investment agreementwith the United States. Taiwan hasno scientific basis for its rac-topamine ban, which is a blatant-ly political ploy designed to pro-tect the politically powerfulTaiwanese pork industry. Pork isthe lead trade issue in U.S.-Taiwanese relations, and theObama administration and con-gressional lawmakers – throughthe education efforts of NPPC –are very sensitive to U.S. porkproducers’ concerns.

10 nppc.org •  January-February 2015

‘Waters of the United States,’ Environmental Issues Addressed

CWA rule and would requirefarmers to obtain federal permits.The congressional request wasincluded in a fiscal 2015 compre-hensive spending bill signed intolaw in December.

Earlier in the year, after receiv-ing a request from NPPC andother agricultural organizations,EPA agreed to extend the com-ment period for the WOTUS rule.It did so after NPPC and dozens ofagricultural and business organi-zations sent a letter to EPA andthe Corps of Engineers raising“serious concerns” with the rule-making process for the proposedrule and urging the agencies towithdraw it and after NPPC andother groups convinced the U.S.House to approve legislation toprevent the development andimplementation of the regulation.NPPC also unveiled maps showingthe land likely to be regulatedunder the rule.

'WOTUS' RULEIn its November comments

on the WOTUS rule, NPPCagain urged EPA and theCorps of Engineers towithdraw the proposal, cit-

ing its “numerous and sub-stantial flaws.” (NPPC also

wrote comments for an agricultur-al coalition and for a broader busi-ness coalition.) According toanalyses by agricultural organiza-tions, including NPPC, and federalagencies, the rule would encom-pass millions of miles of streamsand adjacent lands, subjecting anyactivity near or on them – includ-ing, for farmers, applying fertiliz-ers and pesticides and (potential-ly) planting crops – to CWA per-mitting. The regulation also wouldexpose farmers to citizen lawsuits,alleging, for example, that ditcheson cropland should be regulatedunder the CWA.

EPA DATA RELEASENPPC also continuedto go after EPA for its2013 release to envi-ronmental groups ofthe personal data ofthousands of live-stock producers,

pressing a lawsuit to prevent futurereleases.

EPA’s Office of Water had releasedraw data from farms in 30 states to the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil, Earth Justice and the PewCharitable Trusts under Freedomof Information Act requests thegroups filed. The informationincluded, in some instances, farmers’ home addresses, phone

The National Pork ProducersCouncil in 2014 focusedmuch of its attention in the

energy and environment areas onthe proposed “Waters of the UnitedStates” (WOTUS) rule from theU.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency and the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers.

The regulation would expandthe scope of the federal CleanWater Act (CWA) to cover most ofthe country’s water bodies, ditchesand gullies, land characteristics thatexist on almost every farm. Therule would give EPA and the Corpsof Engineers jurisdiction over thosewaters; currently, that jurisdiction– based on several U.S. SupremeCourt decisions – includes only“navigable” waters and waters witha significant hydrologic connec-tion to navigable waters.

In a significant victory for agri-culture, Congress mandated thatthe agencies rescind an accompa-nying interpretive rule, which enu-merated 56 agricultural prac-tices that would be exemptfrom the WOTUS rule.NPPC and other agriculturalgroups expressed concernthat practices not listedwould run afoul of the new

INSIDEWashington Public Policy Center122 C Street, N.W., Suite 875Washington, D.C. 20001

Website: www.nppc.orgJA

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2014 Successes . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3NPPC Social Media. . . . . . . . . . 3Agriculture & Industry. . . . . . 4-5Science & Technology. . . . . . 6-7International Trade. . . . . . . . . 8-9Environment & Energy. . . . 10-11PorkPAC Sucess . . . . . . . . . . . 11

11nppc.org •  January-February 2015

numbers, e-mail addresses andpersonal medical information.

In December the U.S. DistrictCourt for the District ofMinnesota, which in mid-2013placed a temporary restrainingorder on EPA to stop it from releasing more personal informa-tion of farmers, heard argumentson a motion from NPPC and theAmerican Farm Bureau Federationfor summary judgment on thelawsuit.

Legislatively, NPPC supportedbills introduced in the Senate andHouse – the “Farmer IdentityProtection Act” – to prohibit EPAfrom disclosing to the public theprivate and confidential informationof livestock and poultry producers.

NPPC also continued to manageagriculture’s opposition to EPAimposing restrictive water-qualitystandards on the Mississippi Riverwatershed. The organization ispart of a pending lawsuit againstthe agency over its proposed TotalMaximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) –amounts of various nutrients – forthe seven-state Chesapeake Baywatershed, a proposal NPPCbelieves will serve as a model forthe Mississippi watershed andcould be used to limit the size offarms and restrict the applicationof manure to cropland.

PROPANE SHORTAGEWhen pork producers

in the Midwest werefaced in late 2013 and early 2014 withshortages of propane,

NPPC worked withCongress, the Obama

administration and the energyindustry to address the supplyissue.

NPPC pressed the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission(FERC) to use – for the first timeever – its emergency authority toorder the operator of the majorMidwestern propane pipeline toallocate sufficient “availablecapacity” to address the supplyconcerns, which were brought onby extremely cold temperaturesin much of the region.

The late January 2014 actionhelped check record-highpropane prices and alleviatedpork producers’ concerns aboutshort-term spot market avail-ability and costs associated with providing heat for theiroperations. In addition to FERC’smove, the U.S. Department ofTransportation issued emergencyorders for 10 Midwestern and 12Northeastern states, suspendingthe limits on the amount of timedrivers hauling propane couldspend on the road.

The political action commit-tee of the National PorkProducers Council,

PorkPAC, had a tremendous success rate in 2014, with 93 percent of the candidates towhom it contributed winningtheir November election.

PorkPAC disbursed more than $447,000 over the two-year election cycle, supporting 33 Democrat and 70 Republicancandidates in 36 states; 96 ofthose 103 candidates won theirraces.

PorkPAC was created in 1986to educate and support candi-dates at the federal level whoseviews represent the interests ofpork producers, processors andthe U.S. pork industry. It allowsNPPC members concerned withthe future of the pork industry tocontribute to worthy candidatesfor congressional office.

PorkPac Has

Successful Year

For more information about NPPC’s PorkPAC,

call (202) 347-3600.