Poultry, pork producers helped by USDA changes | North Carolina

(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s poultry and pork producers are getting a commitment through streamlined administrative requirements from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

The Tarheel state is No. 1 nationally in production of poultry and eggs, and No. 3 in hogs. Agriculture is the state’s No. 1 industry, with annual economic impact estimated at $111.1 billion.

“America leads the world in pork and poultry production, and we are committed to ensuring our producers remain competitive on a global scale without being held back by unnecessary bureaucracy,” Rollins said.

The policy being implemented will maintain food safety standards, a release says.

Via email to The Center Square, state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said, “The department wears two hats with respect to this announcement. We do inspect meat processing facilities in the state of North Carolina and as long as there are adequate protocols in place, certainly efficiency is important and a way to help hold down food prices.

The other role that falls under the department is food safety, and we want to make sure the public is safe. The meat inspection we do is under FSIS guidelines and we inspect meat to the same standards that USDA does.”

Mountaire Farms operates America’s largest broiler-processing plant in Lumber Bridge, just south of Fayetteville on N.C. 71. The plant employs about 3,400 people and produces an average of more than 500,000 chickens per day.

Smithfield Foods operates the world’s largest pork processing plant in the crossroads community of Tar Heel, just south of Fayetteville on N.C. 87. The 1 million square-foot facility employs about 5,000 people and produces an average of 8 million pounds of meat daily.

Food Safety and Inspection Service, a federal release says, will “extend waivers allowing pork and poultry facilities to maintain higher line speeds, ensuring they can meet demand without excessive government interference. Rulemaking to formalize these speed increases will begin immediately.

“Additionally, FSIS will no longer require plants to submit redundant worker safety data, as extensive research has confirmed no direct link between processing speeds and workplace injuries. These reforms will strengthen U.S. food production, reduce costs for producers, and support a more resilient supply chain.”

Rollins says the reforms will improve efficiency in pork and poultry processing.

“We are working relentlessly,” she said, “to bring down Joe Biden’s 30% input cost increase that, when combined with his $49 billion ag trade deficit, has devastated our farmers over the last four years. Under President Trump’s leadership, outdated regulations that slowed production and raised costs are being eliminated.”