KCII News was able to speak with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley about the Line Speed Trial for pork processing facilities, and how that could impact Iowa’s pork producers, “The Secretary of Agriculture got pressure not to go a head with the faster line, but he got a lot more pressure to keep it going. So he only extended it for one month, it should be a permanent part of the slaughtering of hogs. Farmers need certainty of when you are going to market your pigs, and if you slowed it down to the old speed, you would have less processing, and it would be harmful to the pork producers of Iowa, the number one pork-producing state in the nation.”  A federal court in 2021 limited line speeds to 1,106 head per hour. In response, USDA invited plants to take part in a trial that allowed higher line speeds if they collected information about worker safety.