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NPPC Supports Lawmakers’ Request for EPA to Reinstate Agricultural Waste Rendering

What Happened: Representatives Nick Langworthy (R-NY) and Jim Costa (D-CA), along with 26 of their House colleagues, have called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its recent ranking of waste management technologies to reinstate the inclusion of agricultural waste rendering. This request has garnered support from a wide range of business and agricultural organizations, including the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).

In June, the EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration jointly released the “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.” The strategy aims to prevent food loss and waste and increase the recycling of food and other organic materials. Although rendering is mentioned in the strategy report, it was omitted from the accompanying infographic — the “Wasted Food Scale” — which ranks different food waste management methods.

In their letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the 28 lawmakers expressed concern that excluding rendering, and its valuable contributions to energy and industrial uses, from the Wasted Food Scale “will significantly impair food and organic waste reduction efforts by confusing future local, state, and federal action.”

“Since the 1800s,” the lawmakers noted, “rendering has managed the lion’s share of recycled agricultural wastes.”

Why It Matters: Rendering plays a crucial role in recycling agricultural waste, with finished products that include animal feeds, as well as fats, oils, and greases used as valuable feedstocks for the advanced biofuels industry. These feedstocks also replace virgin oils in the production of many industrial products, such as lubricants, paints, and varnishes, and can be utilized in anaerobic digesters to produce biogas. Additionally, rendering contaminated animals helps eliminate bacteria, protozoa, parasitic organisms, and viruses, including highly pathogenic and low pathogenic avian influenza viruses.

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Drone Flight & Baling Success at Last!

Video: Drone Flight & Baling Success at Last!

Drone Flight & Baling Success at Last!

After weeks of rain delays and frustration, we finally have a reason to smile — it’s hay time again at Ewetopia Farms! In today’s episode, we head out to the fields where Arnie is baling hay, and I attempt my second drone flight to capture it all from the air. The drone still had some hiccups, but I managed to get some aerial footage of the baling process.

Back at the farm, the work doesn’t stop. Arnie brings the bales home, and the next critical step begins — wrapping and stacking the bales to make haylage. This process is essential for preserving feed for our sheep and ensures they have nutritious forage in the months ahead.

It’s a good day on the farm — the sun is out, the drone is flying (sort of!), and we’re making progress. Join us for a satisfying and productive day that brings a long-awaited sigh of relief to this year’s challenging hay season.

?? Let us know in the comments: Have you had to deal with weather delays this season?

?? Thanks for watching and supporting Ewetopia Farms — where every day is an adventure in sheep farming. Please like, comment, and subscribe to follow our daily journey with the flock!