Select U.S. Pork Plants Given Permission to Operate Faster with USDA Trial Program

Nine U.S. pork plants will be allowed to operate faster processing-line speeds for a one-year trial, USDA announced this past week. The trial comes after a federal judge struck down a Trump-era rule that removed line speed limits, due to a Union suing USDA over worker safety. Because of this, some pork processing companies, such as Hormel or Quality Pork Processors, are able to apply for the trial since they were previously operating at higher speeds. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, who sued previously and is the largest union for meatpacking workers, said the program will collect data that shows how to protect workers and promote food safety. Following the pilot announcement, lean hog futures saw a boost on the CME. Couple that with the potential to reduce supply chain stress, faster processing times could add needed profitability for U.S. hog producers. Read more on the USDA trial program here.