(NewsDakota.com/NAFB) – The National Pork Producers Council applauded the first farm bill hearing in the 118th Congress.

The organization is pleased the Senate Ag Committee is taking up issues important to the pork industry. In 2021, the U.S. exported 8.1 billion dollars worth of pork to more than 100 countries, which increased the average value of each pig marketed by nearly 63 dollars. Those exports also support more than 10,000 jobs in America.

“Congress must provide strong investments in both the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program,” the NPPC said in a statement. “A wide swath of U.S. agricultural companies have utilized these export promotion programs, generating a net return of almost 25 dollars for every dollar spent and creating 225,800 full-and-part-time jobs across the U.S. economy.”

The NPPC is also looking forward to working with members of Congress while developing a farm bill that benefits producers and every American.