**On December 17, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a stay on the Biden administration’s OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard which requires employers to enforce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

According to www.thepacker.com, 27 states filed emergency motions with the Supreme Court to block enforcement efforts, and the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on January 7, three days before the enforcement efforts are scheduled to start.

www.thepacker.com/news/industry/supreme-court-hear-covid-vaccine-mandate-arguments-january-7?mkt/

**As of December 1, U.S. farms held 74.2 million hogs and pigs, a 4% drop from the same time in 2020, and a 1% drop from September 1, 2021.

Those numbers come from the latest Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Of those 74.2 million, 68 million were market hogs, and just over six million were kept for breeding.

Iowa had the largest inventory among the states at 23.8 million head, followed by Minnesota at 8.9 million.

**Despite the challenges brought on by COVID, the Dairy Checkoff continued to help its foodservice partners to grow sales of U.S. dairy foods.

Dairy Management Incorporated, the organization that oversees the checkoff, says more domestic dairy got shipped into the international marketplace in 2021.

The checkoff continued its effort to connect with the Gen Z consumers, while the dairy industry’s sustainability journey reached new levels during a busy year.

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