$4 Billion Initiative Will Create A More Resilient U.S. Food System, Vilsack Pledges
While U.S. farmers and ranchers demonstrated a determined perseverance as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in 2020, many of the supply chain processes in place were not equally resilient and disruptions quickly mounted.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says his experience as CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council at the time made him realize transformation in the U.S. food systems was needed.
Vilsack said he expects to start building a more resilient system with the $4 billion tagged for such purposes as part of the Build Back Better initiative, the Biden administration’s COVID-19 relief plan,
He told Chip Flory, AgriTalk host, that the agency will start investing those dollars in a variety of areas initially, including:
Production opportunities – “An example would be providing resources to farmers so they can successfully transition to certified organic practices if they choose to do so for that value-added opportunity,” Vilsack said.
Processing capacity – “We are looking for an opportunity to expand our processing capacity,” Vilsack told Flory. “In the U.S., I think it's fairly clear that producers believe we don't have enough, as well as providing additional support for small and midsized processing facilities that currently do exist.”
Support for small pork producers – This would include financial resources for those “who may have to shift over into the spot market based on the line-speed case that was decided in Minnesota,” he noted.
Local and regional food system opportunities – “We’ll look at the ways in which we can aggregate local and regional food systems so that the small and midsize producers that rely on those local markets have an opportunity to benefit,” Vilsack said. “And then we’ll make sure that as we're using our procurement dollars, as we purchase commodities for school lunch programs, for food banks, etc., that we’re providing an opportunity for even the small and midsize producers to benefit from those kinds of programs.”
Vilsack’s conversation with Flory is available here:
Pork Industry Appeals Court Decision
During their conversation, Flory asked Vilsack if he would appeal a recent federal court ruling regarding slowing U.S. pork processing plants’ line speeds.
“That's not a decision I can make; it's done by the Solicitor General,” Vilsack told Flory. “What we can do is to provide the $50 million resource for producers who wind up having to deal with the spot market and don't get the benefit of a contract if there is in fact a reduction in line speed that causes a disruption in the market.”
The ruling, scheduled to go into effect on June 30, says establishments operating under the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSSIS) should prepare to revert to a maximum line speed of 1,106 head per hour.
“All the parties are talking right now so hopefully, something can be worked out between the workers and the companies,” Vilsack said.
“The USDA can't be put in a position of having to choose between food safety, worker safety and farmer profit,” he added. “That's not a choice that we should have to make; we should have all three.”
Enforcement Of The Packers And Stockyards Act
The USDA is starting to work on three proposed rules to support enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, the 100-year-old law that was originally designed to protect poultry and hog farmers and cattle ranchers from unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive practices in the meats markets.
“We want to make sure that we have a clarification of the scope of packers and stockyards, whether it's necessary to demonstrate harm, or likely harm, to the entire industry or to the individual producer,” Vilsack said. “Essentially, the scope of the of the Act needs to be better defined.
“We also need to draw a brighter line in terms of what constitutes unfair practices or undue preferences or prejudice to particular producers to give producers a fair shot at the market. We're a little concerned that there may be some unfairness, potentially some discriminatory and deceptive practices involved here. So we want to make sure that the rules are very, very clear,” he said.
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