President Vetoes Farm Bill, Override Expected

May 21, 2008 — 

Congress has finally completed the long overdue Farm Bill. Both houses have approved a compromise bill, officially known as H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, and sent it to the White House.

President Bush and Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer have railed against the bill as too expensive and "earmark laden" with pet projects. The President kept his promise and vetoed the bill upon arrival. It is expected that Congress will vote to override the veto before the current bill expires on May 23rd.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) indicates that the bill contains a number of provisions that benefit pork producers including:

• Changes to the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law that would allow flexibility in labeling and more manageable recordkeeping requirements.
• A study to evaluate the costs associated with reporting wholesale pork cut prices and volumes.
• Authorizing the Trichinae certification program.
• Authorizing the US Pork Center of Excellence.
• Authorizing research grants to:
  • map the swine genome,
  • study antibiotic resistant bacteria
• Improve pork producer access to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
• Increase funds for the Conservation Security Program to encourage conservation practices.
• Allow the use of manure and manure biogas for advanced biofuel and renewable biomass production.
• Provide incentives to expand the production of advanced biofuels made from agricultural and forestry crops and associated waste materials, including animal manure and livestock and food processing waste.
• Give producers the right to cancel production contracts within three days of signing.
• Allow producers, at the time of signing a contract, to opt out of using arbitration - and instead use the courts - to settle contract disputes.
• Give producers the right to settle disputes involving production or marketing contracts in the federal court district in which production occurred.
• Allow contracts between entities in different states to specify which state's laws apply when disputes arise unless the laws in the state in which production occurs take precedent.
• Sense of Congress regarding the pseudorabies eradication program, recognizing the threat of feral swine to the domestic swine population and establishing continued support for the swine surveillance system.
• Increase funding for the export-promoting Market Access Program and for the Foreign Market Development program.
• Direct the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to provide Congress an annual report on the number and resolution of livestock cases brought under the Packers and Stockyards Act.
• Allow interstate shipment of state-inspected meat and poultry from packing plants that have state inspection programs that are identical to the federal program.