Prop 12 Reversal is Not Likely to be in Farm Bill

Arkansas Senator John Boozman, Ranking Member of the Senate Ag Committee, traveled to Indiana Monday with Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young to hear from producers and talk about the upcoming Farm Bill.

Crop insurance and labor issues were two consistent themes throughout the day, as was the Supreme Court’s ruling on California’s Prop 12.

“As we've looked at converting our individual sow stalls to group housing, the numbers that we've seen are going to be somewhere in between $3,000 to $4,000 per sow to retrofit our facilities.”

American pork producers are hopeful that a legislative fix can happen that could overturn Prop 12. Some were hopeful that legislative fix could happen in the Farm Bill. Both Braun and Boozman dashed any hopes of that happening Monday.

“The problem is, with this administration, they're very much like the California administration. I don't see President Biden signing a bill that overrules them. So, it's a difficult situation. We're going to be working with our various groups like Farm Bureau and the pork producers to see if we can figure out a path forward.”

The Supreme Court upheld California’s Prop 12, a ballot measure that prohibits the sale of pork, eggs, and veal not produced according to the state’s production standards, back in May.