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Testifiers want Congress to change Prop 12 law

Some members of the pork industry are asking Congress to override California’s animal confinement law.

During a House Ag Committee hearing on Wednesday, Ohio pork producer and National Pork Producers Council Board of Directors Vice President Pat Hord said Proposition 12 opens the door to a patchwork of legislation. “It creates uncertainty around what we design for new barns and how I decide what to do when an existing barn needs remodeling. Whatever I do today could need to be changed when a new state decides they want a new housing standard.”

Matt Schuiteman, a pork producer on the Iowa Farm Bureau Board of Directors, said producers should be able to determine the best ways to raise pigs. “Lacking control to tailor our farm to best fit our animals’ needs is one of the biggest problems of Prop 12. When the rates at which barns are stocked are determined arbitrarily, it creates economic hardship for the producer and are detrimental to the pigs themselves.”

National Pork Producers Council economist Holly Cook said California accounts for 13 percent of pork consumption and less than 1 percent of production. “As expected, compliance with Prop 12 raises the cost of production at the farm level. While becoming compliant looks different for each individual farm, every approach comes with a cost. For farms with group pen gestation systems, converting barns to be compliant means a 30-40 percent decline in production. ”

Ranking member Angie Craig of Minnesota said she understands the concerns small pork producers have from the impacts of the law, but lawmakers need to balance the will of California voters.

Chairman Glenn GT Thompson said a section of the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 would prevent states from imposing production standards on producers outside of its jurisdiction.

A group of governors sent a letter to the committee asking Congress to take action on Prop 12 because states cannot regulate livestock production beyond its own borders.

The letter was signed by Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Mike Kehoe of Missouri, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, Mike Braun of Indiana and Joe Lombardo of Nevada.