Support for farm bill split among livestock groups
by Peter Shinn
Brownfield Network
The livestock industry appears to be divided on the House version of the 2007 farm bill. Major pork and dairy groups have unqualified praise for the measure while beef cattle groups have a more two-sided assessment.
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is praising the House farm bill, approved by a 40-vote margin Friday, as one that “will help pork producers remain competitive in the global marketplace.” NPPC President Jill Appell said in a release issued Friday her organization wanted a farm bill that, among other things, “protects producers from initiatives that would adversely affect their livelihoods, such as mandates on production practices.” Appell said the farm bill passed the House “achieves those goals.”
Similarly, the National Milk Producers Federation (NFMPF) said in a statement Friday the House farm bill will help keep the dairy industry “vibrant in the future.” According to the NMPF statement, the House farm bill did no less than include “all of the major elements that the National Milk Producers Federation had sought when the process of writing a farm bill in Congress began earlier this year.”
