USDA Inaction on New Swine Inspection System Fails U.S. Farmers and Pork Processors

USDA’s self-imposed November 30 deadline on the Time-Limited Trial for New Swine Inspection System plants is rapidly approaching and the department has yet to establish a permanent solution or issue an extension of the current Time-Limited Trial that allows certain pork processing plants to operate at increased line speeds to facilitate greater efficiency and output while protecting and improving worker safety and food safety.

There are six pork processing plants operating under the Time-Limited Trial in the U.S., and nearly 40% of the U.S. supply of hogs is within 100 miles of these six processing plants. Absent a permanent solution or an extension of the current Time-Limited Trial, these processors will have to reduce their operational capacity, which reduces demand for hogs, disrupts the supply chain for U.S. hog farmers and processors, and exacerbates already historically high inflation in the U.S. food supply.