Wisconsin Prioritizes Animal Health in Federal Policy Discussions

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Secretary Randy Romanski participated in the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) 2023 Winter Policy Conference in Washington D.C. this week. While there, he proposed two action items related to animal health, which passed the organization with unanimous support.

The first action item encourages USDA to publish rates or guidance explaining which disease response costs the federal government will cover in order to reduce confusion for producers and aid states in developing emergency plans. These changes will enable states to confidently move forward with contracting and purchasing to facilitate a rapid response.

The second action item encourages USDA to develop incentives to help producers develop depopulation and disposal plans to prepare for animal disease emergencies. This will allow impacted farms to complete depopulation and disposal more efficiently when needed and allow them to return to production quicker.

“Over the past several days, I participated with my colleagues in robust discussions about the challenges we are facing responding to animal diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza,” said Romanski. “With the passage of these action items, NASDA will now work with federal government officials and industry stakeholders to move them forward.”

While in Washington D.C. the regional Midwestern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (MASDA) group met, and Secretary Romanski was elected Treasurer of the organization. The Food Export Association of the Midwest USAalso met at the Winter Policy Conference. Romanski was also selected to serve as the next Secretary/Treasurer of Food Export-Midwest.

Important Information:

Cooperative chime in on proposed budget

Cooperative Network, representing cooperative businesses throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota, is pleased Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers budget proposal includes numerous initiatives directly benefitting cooperatives and rural economies.

The following items in the governor’s 2023-2025 Biennial Budget Proposal are top priorities for

Cooperative Network:

Broadband – Evers’ budget includes $750 million to connect every household in Wisconsin to high-speed internet by 2025, a major initiative that would have a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents in rural areas of the state.

Workforce Development – Like all businesses in Wisconsin, cooperatives need a stable and growing

workforce. Truck drivers and other CDL holders are particularly crucial to cooperative businesses. The

guv’s budget funds scholarship and grant programs for student CDL education, and increases the amount of time Seasonal Farm Service CDL’s can be used from 180 to 210 days.

Cooperative Development – The Cooperative Feasibility Study grant program have gone to a wide variety of budding cooperatives – ranging from mobile meat processors to rural grocery stores. CN strongly supports continuing this grant program.

New partnership aims to protect the US from African Swine Fever

WASHINGTON — At the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Winter Policy Conference, NASDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Pork Board (NPB) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) announced a new partnership to enhance coordination and preparedness to prevent and protect the United States from African Swine Fever (ASF), a deadly pig disease that could cripple the entire agricultural sector with long-lasting ramifications for the economic viability of U.S. livestock production.

The enhanced partnership between these four entities will allow for the most effective harmonization of federal and state response plans to enable producers to prevent, plan and recover from African swine fever outbreaks, as well as encourage industry preparation for future outbreaks and disease response in other livestock sectors, which fosters rural food security and public confidence in the U.S. food system. The only way to stop African swine fever is through proper preparation and mitigation efforts.

Report provides a snapshot of current pork industry

WASHINGTON — The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) released its latest pork industry economic update that summarizes key pork industry market indicators through January 2023.

Q1 takeaways include:

After declining 2.5% in 2022, USDA projects growth in pork production for 2023.
Retail pork prices increased by 1.5% from December 2021 to 2022.
The cost of raising pigs was record high in 2022, increasing 21% from the previous year.
Labor market conditions and changing demographics are exacerbating the rural labor shortage.

“The U.S. pork industry is a pillar of the U.S. economy, supporting jobs, sales, and value-added activity throughout the pork supply chain,” said Lori Stevermer, NPPC vice president and pork producer from Easton, Minnesota. “It is important to raise awareness of the economic contributions made by pork production and highlight the current economic and policy issues impacting producer success.”

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