Pork producers across the country continue to voice their concerns over how California’s Proposition 12 (Prop 12) could negatively impact family farms and are looking to Congress for a solution, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) reported in Capital Update.
Darrell Stitzel of Shannon, Ill., Phil Borgic of Raymond, Ill., and Jeff Bolomey of Carlinville, Ill., wrote a letter to the editor that ran in The Pantagraph.
In the letter, the producers noted, “If we want to continue farming, Proposition 12 will undoubtedly raise the cost of producing pork for us and other hog farmers, which jeopardizes an Illinois industry that contributes $3.3 billion in economic value and supports nearly 34,000 jobs.”
They also emphasized the importance of California’s 40 million consumers.
“Hog farmers need our congressional lawmakers to find a solution to this issue,” the Illinois producers wrote.
NPPC board member Todd Marotz, a pork producer from Sleepy Eye, Minn., told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that only 20% of his farm’s barns meet the California standard. He also described some of the consequences of Prop 12, including higher prices for pork and a larger carbon footprint for the pork industry as producers use more energy to heat larger barns in the winter and cool those barns in the summer.
NPPC continues to look for solutions because pork producers across the country are interested in selling to California’s massive marketplace.
“With producers facing average losses of $30 — sometimes exceeding $40 to $60 — on each hog marketed in 2023, most can’t afford the often significant costs of complying,” NPPC wrote.
NPPC said it continues to work with members of Congress on a solution to the problems created by the law and the rapidly emerging complex web of conflicting state laws.
Read More:
Prop 12’s January 1 Deadline Looms: What It Means for Agriculture
