On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a one-year exemption for truck drivers hauling livestock and poultry from an hours-of-service rule that took effect last July 1. The regulation requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of service, which for drivers transporting livestock and poultry includes the hours of service loading and unloading animals.

The regulation was a topic of discussion at World Pork Expo last week the day before the exemption was granted. National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president-elect Dr. Ron Prestage of South Carolina, who is a veterinarian, says it’s an animal welfare issue.

“On a hot summer day in South Carolina, I don’t know what in the world they expect to happen to those animals for 30 minutes, sitting in a rest area or a truck stop with a heat index of 118 (degrees),” he said. “Veterinarians are always going to be concerned about animal welfare and my concern about it is animal welfare.”

Prestage also talked about some environmental issues NPPC is watching, particularly the EPA’s proposed Waters of the United States regulation under the Clean Water Act. “On one hand, they want to be cooperative with agriculture, and that’s a good thing. On the second hand, if they’re going to tell us we have to have permits because we have a small ditch that runs across a corn field or a swine facility, that doesn’t make any sense to us at all.” Prestage adds that NPPC will be working aggressively to keep that rule from being implemented.