A note from NCC Interim President Gary Kushner.
Dear Friends,
Well, I failed at retirement. I’m hoping this only happens once. All jokes aside – which, as many of you know, is hard for me – after 40 years as NCC’s outside general counsel, I accepted the call to serve as NCC Interim President while the Council begins its process of putting in place its leadership for the future.
I’ve known this for many years, as many of you have, that NCC has a fantastic team here in Washington that is laser-focused on our mission of advocating on behalf of America’s chicken producers. It’s one of the best and most effective trade associations I’ve been around in Washington, and a big reason I agreed to take on this interim role.
I can tell you, there are no shortage of issues facing the broiler industry to advocate for and advocate against. USDA just this week proposed a rule that would attempt to change the legal standard that parties must demonstrate harm to competition and make it easier to sue and win under the Packers and Stockyards Act. This would open the floodgates to frivolous litigation for our members. You can be sure NCC is already working in opposition to this proposed rule. This is the fourth rule issued by USDA in just the last several months as part of their regulatory onslaught leading up to the elections.
We continue to work on other issues, including upcoming new Salmonella regulations, issues related to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), immigration and labor, and our Chicken Check In program.
On Capitol Hill, the 2025 Appropriations process is underway, and work has begun on the next Farm Bill. Both have implications for our members.
And then, as you all know, a minor event in November is fast approaching. Although we do not get involved in presidential races, you can be sure NCC’s political action committee remains very active in supporting candidates for the House and Senate who take the time to learn about the issues important to the broiler industry.
Thank you to all who have sent well wishes and I look forward to continuing to work with the NCC team on these and many other issues. Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out.
Best,
Gary
