During last week's 2026 UEP Legislative Board and Committee Meetings, attendees heard from US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who emphasized his ongoing desire to continue “fixing the deregulatory mess” egg farmers currently find themselves involved in. As the keynote speaker, Zeldin encouraged all 170 attendees gathered in Washington, DC, to pursue passionate advocacy in all areas of environment and sustainability.

UEP Chair JT Dean and UEP President Chad Gregory were pleased to welcome US EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as the UEP May Legislative Meeting’s keynote speaker.

The week began with a review of UEP’s 2026 position papers led by UEP Vice President of Government Affairs Donald Grady. Topics covered included Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), labor and the egg industry’s opposition to the National Chicken Council’s hatchery surplus petition for food safety concerns.

Brian Kreher chaired the Government Relations Committee Briefing, where Grady announced the Congressional Egg Caucus has grown to be 10 members strong. He explained a small shift in the HPAI vaccine strategy intended to eliminate the trade obstacle and further educate on surveillance strategy to achieve pilot approval. Grady noted work is being done to strike the Hatchery Surplus provision from the House Agriculture Appropriations Bill and keep it out of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill. Hyma Moore and Mike Reed of Cornerstone Government Affairs provided a great Midterm Election Preview, and Jeff Hendricks from USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service updated the group on two recent solicitations for Shell Eggs and Egg Products as well as the AMS approval of a $20 Million Section 32 Bonus Buy. John Hollay, President and CEO of National Council of Agriculture Employers, wrapped up the briefing with a presentation on the current state of Immigration Reform.

Mike Reed and Hyma Moore of Cornerstone Government Affairs entertained May Legislative Meeting attendees with a bipartisan Midterm Election Preview.

Dan Krouse chaired the Environment and Sustainability Committee Briefing. Krouse introduced EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator of Office of Water Peggy S. Browne who discussed ongoing dialogue with UEP on several issues including the CAFO Effluent Limitation Guideline study, WOTUS, PFAS biosolid risk assessment, nutrients and water reuse. UEP Consultant Lauren Lurkins provided an update on federal issues including the Ohio TMDL litigation, air consent agreement discussions, USDA NRCS conservation practice standard comments, extended producer responsibility, and UEP's ongoing work to update the Fire Mitigation Report. Krouse also highlighted the joint UEP and AEB webinar on the Incredibly Sustainable tool announced by AEB's Dr. Mickey Rubin (see article below) and noted that the committee had welcomed the new International Poultry Welfare Alliance and US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Eggs Executive Director Andy Vance.

During the Food Safety Committee Briefing chaired by Kim Rice, AEB’s Rubin provided an update on the path to building a robust education and outreach program for all segments of the industry. Jeff Hendricks provided the AMS update on the sanitation program and SmartApps data from shell egg plants. UEP Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs Oscar Garrison provided a FSMA 204 Traceability Update, noting that theTraceability Rule has been extended to July 20, 2028, to give affected entities more time to implement the rule's requirements. Garrison reported that UEP has applied for membership in the Partnership for Food Traceability and noted a robust Traceability Program will require a cross-functional team including food safety, production, processing, inventory control, sales, and IT to be successful.

The Animal Welfare Committee Briefing, chaired by Roger Seger, covered a range of key animal welfare and certification topics. David Will opened with an update on organic matters, including the one-year temporary variance approved for induced molting in U.S. organic laying operations as well as a proposed rule published to end methionine restrictions. There were several UEP Certified program updates, including shifting guidelines to a 6-year systematic update cycle. Dr. Larry Sadler also provided updates on the establishment of an UEP Certified Free Range & Pasture Guideline Task Force and the ongoing assembly of a Fire Prevention & Mitigation Task Force.

The MPS Egg Farms team took position papers on the topics of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, hatchery surplus and labor to their respective Congressional offices on Capitol Hill.

Mike Reed and Hyma Moore of Cornerstone Government Affairs entertained May Legislative Meeting attendees with a bipartisan Midterm Election Preview. The Animal Health and Biosecurity Committee Briefing concluded the session, led by Chair John Bedell. The briefing largely focused on industry vaccination efforts, with Dr. Rosemary Sifford providing her insights regarding the success of vaccination programs in other countries around the world. Dr. Craig Rowles and Dr. Mickey Rubin provided expert insights as to what a vaccination pilot program would look like. UEP’s Garrison provided an update on USDA’s biosecurity assessments and the participation of 1,358 layer and pullet farms, while AEB’s Rubin provided early insights into the epidemiological work being conducted by Dr. Brian McCluskey’s work on layer farms.

Click here to view and download images from the Legislative Meetings.