Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) testified before the House Committee on Agriculture on the next farm bill and urged fellow lawmakers to include a provision aimed at tackling market access issues caused by California Proposition 12 (Prop 12) and Massachusetts Question 3 (Question 3).
Hinson explained that these ballot measures ban the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised in housing that fails to meet the states’ arbitrary standards.
“California Prop 12 has the potential to disrupt the free movement of goods across state lines and poses a serious threat to small family farms,” Hinson testified.
Hinson, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration, said one farmer from her district told her that Prop 12 and legislation like it creates uncertainty in decision-making on their family farm. She shared that regulations like Prop 12 and Question 3 will drive consolidation and provide her and her family with fewer options to source and market their pigs while driving up the price of food for families.
“Unchecked extraterritorial regulations, like Prop 12 and Question 3, could force pork producers who want to continue to sell products in those states to convert existing sow pens to housing that complies with the initiatives’ standards,” the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said in Capital Update on Friday. “That would cost between $1.9 billion and $3.2 billion, according to a University of Minnesota study. Hinson relayed concerns from her constituents that would create uncertainty for family farmers, drive industry consolidation, and give farmers fewer options to source and market their pigs – all while driving up food prices.”
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