Pork Producers Praise Conservation Title

November 16, 2001

National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Barb Determan commended the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee for passage of the conservation title in the farm bill. She said it "meets the needs of pork producers and the environment simultaneously."

Determan noted that the farm bill, S.1628, increases spending for conservation programs, while making significant modifications "to ensure that programs operate efficiently and fairly." The bill increases funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) by $700 million per year, for a total of $4.5 billion over the five-year farm bill. The bill also standardizes eligibility for the program, replacing the per animal unit cap for livestock producers with a payment limitation.

"The Senate committee's passed farm bill will go a long way toward eliminating the backlog of applications under EQIP, which will pay environmental dividends for our country year after year," Determan said. "Our challenge now is to ensure that the gains made by our industry in the bipartisan Senate Committee bill only gets stronger as the bill moves to the Senate floor, to conference, and to the President's desk for signature."

Determan pointed out that pork producers have made significant personal investments in environmental improvements, but need cost-share assistance in order to comply with mounting local, state and federal environmental regulations.

"The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) own analysis for its proposed CAFO rule assumes it will cost a 3,444 head farrow to finish swine operation in the Midwest $332,000 in capital costs and $26,000 in annual recurring costs to comply," Determan said. "Without some assistance, these regulations will drive producers out of business and lead to a further consolidation of the pork industry."