The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is focusing on the coming second round of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) help (see previous item) and are urging Congress to provide USDA the authority to use the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to provide financial help to livestock producers have had to euthanize livestock due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The group wants no limits on the CFAP 2 effort, but USDA will still impose pay caps on the funds.
The group also wants more funding to boost the number of U.S. inspectors at U.S. borders, citing the appearance of African swine fever (ASF) in Germany as a key reason more inspectors are needed as they are the “first line of defense,” officials with the group told reporters in a call Thursday.
The group is working to try and get the inspector funding in the coming continuing resolution to keep the government funded past September 30, but officials were uncertain whether such funding could be added to the plan.