WORLD OF PIGS ▶▶▶
Pig farming under a new US administration
On 20 January, a new administration was installed in Washington, DC. The new agriculture secretary in the Biden administration is a face known by many: Tom Vilsack. His actions during his previous time in the same job are considered dismal by many in the agricultural community.
BY TREENA HEIN, CORRESPONDENT T
President-elect Joe Biden speak- ing at a rally in Iowa, January 2020.
he recent fractious US presidential election will sure- ly be analysed by historians for many years to come, but for their part, US farmers just want to move for- ward with the respect and support they need from
the new president and agriculture secretary in order to earn a good living now and in the future. Countless media reports before the recent federal election in- dicated that US farmers were expected to vote largely for Trump, as they did in the 2016 election (recall, however, that US farmers overwhelmingly vote for the Republican party no matter the candidate). They did indeed vote for Trump in large numbers, despite the fact that Trump started a trade war with China in 2018 which removed a key agricultural ex- port market. That year, the Trump administration levied US$ 34 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, and China retaliat- ed with tariffs on US agricultural products. These rose to 33% for soybeans and a shocking 72% for US pork products. Indeed, American Farm Bureau executive vice president Dale
Moore recently stated that trade continues to be a central concern for US farmers, both with Pacific Rim countries and those across the Atlantic. He said, “We look forward to hopefully making some progress with the European Union,” adding that “the other area that is always a perennial issue… is ensuring that farmers and ranchers have access to a ready, stable, legal workforce… That’s going to be an ongoing challenge that we’re still trying to find answers to.”
NPPC: Focus on trade For its part, when asked about its concerns and priorities, the National Pork Producers Council also focuses on trade. “We are committed to working with the new administration on priority issues for US hog farmers, including the US rejoining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership,” says Communications Officer Rachel Gantz. It’s also a priority, she says, “to strengthen biosecurity at our borders to ensure African Swine Fever and other diseases remain outside the country.” US farmers are very concerned about higher taxes and new regulations that the Biden administration is expected to in- troduce. Biden’s “Plan for Rural America” frightens farmers be- cause, among its other “green” goals, it has set a goal of net-zero emissions for US agriculture. Farmers wonder what this will mean for them, at a time when they are already under immense pressure.
Tom Vilsack “an unwise choice” Biden’s selection for agriculture secretary (he will head the US Department of Agriculture, the USDA) is Tom Vilsack. He also headed the department during the two terms of the Obama administration. Reaction from the US agriculture community – and beyond – has been both swift and extremely negative. In the British newspaper The Guardian, George Goehl recently called the appointment “appalling” and Vilsack himself “a corporate yes man and former lobbyist with a dismal record in his previous time as secretary”. Goehl, who is executive director of a national community ac- tivism organisation called People’s Action, describes Vilsack’s previous tenure as “littered with failures, ranging from dis- torting data about Black farmers and discrimination to
26 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 1, 2021
PHOTO: PHIL ROEDER/WIKIPEDIA
PHOTO: ANDREW HARNIK/AP/ANP
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
