News

Bipartisan solution needed to address Prop 12

The head of the Michigan Pork Producers Association says federal legislation needs to consider recent state laws that dictate how livestock should be raised.

Mary Kelpinksi tells Brownfield while the EATs Act (Exposing Agricultural Trade Suppression Act) is intended to counter California’s Proposition 12 law and allow for interstate movement of ag goods, it’s a partisan effort.

“We’re hoping to work with legislators here in Michigan and across the country to come up with a bipartisan solution for the Prop 12 issue, something that would really look at the meat supply situation and make sure that we still have quality protein available,” she says.

She says in several states, including Michigan, farmers have spent more than a decade and millions of dollars to meet state regulations on animal housing.

“We had an opportunity to make modifications to the buildings, we had the opportunity to do a lot of research to make sure that we were keeping the animals’ needs in mind, but also time to train our labor force,” she explains.

Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, California, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey currently have laws in place that regulate pork production.

Kelpinksi says it’s also a very difficult time financially for pork producers and money is not available to make any infrastructure modifications.

“2023 and 2024 looked to be even worse than the late ‘90s just because of the input cost that we have and the share of the dollar that they’re getting for pork sales,” she says.

Kelpinksi says most importantly, legislation needs to consider animal well-being and current science.