IPPA Supports Implementation Of Defense Production Act

On April 28, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to extend much-needed federal support to the U.S. pork production system. By triggering the DPA, the federal government will prioritize the continuity of pork processing plant operations. The following statement may be attributed to Mike Paustian, a pig farmer from Walcott, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

“Iowa’s pig farmers appreciate the President taking this first important step to provide uniform and consistent solutions and all available resources to address the unprecedented crisis we are facing.

“We must safely stabilize the current plant capacity challenge and overcome other major hurdles facing our nation’s pork production system. According to Decision Innovation Solutions, Iowa has more than 142,000 workers involved in the pork production and processing. All these Iowans are being emotionally and financially impacted by the disruptions to the supply chain and this pain will quickly spread across all parts of rural Iowa.

“It is also critical to ensure the health and safety of all the courageous people that work in our processing facilities. Their work is paramount to ensuring an on-going supply of safe and plentiful protein for consumers.

“We also want to thank Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and our two U.S. Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, for reaching out to the President to share our message with him about the need for a coordinated effort to deal with this crisis.”