(NAFB) – The National Pork Producers Council this week thanked the Biden administration for extending to February 28, 2022, a waiver for commercial truckers from the federal Hours of Service regulation.

The rule limits truckers to 11 hours of driving time and 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time in any 24-hour period and requires prescribed rest periods. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the FMCSA included livestock haulers in an initial emergency declaration that provided an exemption from the HOS regulation for commercial truckers hauling essential supplies, including livestock. The waiver subsequently was expanded to cover the delivery of livestock feed.

NPPC President Jen Sorenson says, “Extending the HOS waiver ensures that livestock truckers can get hogs to market safely and efficiently.”

In August, the FMCSA extended the waiver to November 30.  Further, a provision in the infrastructure bill recently signed into law expanded the miles agricultural truckers can drive without the HOS restrictions.