The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) held its spring Legislative Action Conference in Washington, D.C. this week.

The biannual “fly-in” drew approximately 125 pork producers from around the country. According to NPPC, the producers lobbied their members of Congress on issues of importance to the U.S. pork industry, including the Hours of Service Rule for livestock haulers, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personal data release, the federal Renewable Fuels Standard, Porcine Endemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV), USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans and trade issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

NPPC staff presented pork producers with updates on legislative issues. Speakers at the conference included Reps. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Jim Matheson, D-Utah; Darci Vetter, USDA deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, Farm & Foreign Agricultural Services; Ed Pagano, former White House deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs and partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLC; and Richard Sellers, American Feed Industry Association senior vice president of legislative & regulatory affairs. Producers, Capitol Hill staff and lawmakers also attended NPPC’s Capitol Hill-famous and widely-attended “Rack of Pork” congressional reception. Approximately 900 people attended the event.