Pork leaders converge on D.C. for big talks

Sep 18, 2023

D.C. just became the hotspot for pork industry leaders. More than a hundred of them took over the city as part of the National Pork Producers Council’s Spring meet-up. With a lineup of experts and decision-makers, it was quite the event.

Scott Hays, the big boss at NPPC, started things off. He shared just how crucial these face-to-face chats with Congress members can be. "By being here," he noted, "you're giving them a real glimpse into our world."

So, what were the big talks about? Here's a sneak peek:

2023 Farm Bill: This one's all about protection against threats like foreign diseases and expanding markets. After a string of challenges post-2018, from pandemic woes to trade hiccups, this Bill might be the fresh start the industry needs.
California Proposition 1: NPPC feels the farm bill needs a federal solution for the issues brought up by this proposition, especially as it overlooks decades of scientific and animal welfare progress.
Trade: The U.S. sold a staggering $7.6 billion worth of pork to over a hundred countries in 2022 alone. Expanding this? On the agenda!
Labor Woes and the H-2A Visa Program: Despite attractive pay packages, the pork industry's facing a labor crunch. Maybe tweaking the visa rules could help?

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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