Source: USDA | March 13, 2019

Please join APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea and NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr, along with members of their leadership teams, including APHIS Associate Administrators Mike Gregoire and Mike Watson and NRCS Acting Associate Chief Kevin Norton on Thursday, March 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET for a Farm Bill Listening Session via teleconference. 

This listening session is an opportunity for interested State and Tribal partners as well as stakeholders to comment on the feral swine provision in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 that will be jointly managed by APHIS and NRCS. 

We recognize that many of you live outside of the Washington, D.C., area, and we hope this call-in format makes it easy for you to participate in the upcoming session and share your thoughts on implementation.

The summary pasted below provides a brief overview of the feral swine farm bill provision. The listening session will also begin with a short briefing on the provisions followed by stakeholder comments for the remainder of the call.

In order to hear from as many participants as possible, we ask that you plan to limit your comments to 3 minutes or less. If you would like to provide a written copy of your comments either before or after the listening session, you can do so by sending them to hallie.zimmers@aphis.usda.gov. 

To participate in the listening session, we ask that you please register in advance by clicking on the link below and providing your name, organization and email address. Once you submit your information, you will promptly receive an email that includes the call-in number and a unique conference code to enter the call. You will also have the opportunity to join by webinar. The listening session will be recorded.

If you would like to make other colleagues aware of this event, please forward them the link below. To avoid any problems connecting to the call, do not share your unique code. 

Registration Link: http://ems8.intellor.com?do=register&t=1&p=813125

AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2018 RELEVANT FERAL SWINE PROVISION

SEC. 2408. FERAL SWINE ERADICATION AND CONTROL PILOT PROGRAM.

• Provides $75 million in mandatory Commodity Credit Corporation funds to be split between APHIS and NRCS on a feral swine eradication and control pilot program.
• Allows the Secretary to provide direct financial assistance to producers to mitigate damage and to implement control activities.