The National Pork Producers Council is pleased to see movement of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s farm bill and Congress one step closer to the clarity and certainty a 5-year farm bill reauthorization would bring.
With various hurdles cleared, it is now time for leaders in D.C. to hear the persistent, urgent plea of America’s 60,000-plus pork producers to finally stop the threat of a state-by-state patchwork of farm animal housing laws spurred by California Proposition 12.
“America’s pork producers deserve a robust farm bill, which should come with protection from being forced to rebuild our barns every time another state decides it knows what is best for animal welfare,” said Rob Brenneman, NPPC president and pork producer from Washington County, Iowa.
Not only does Prop. 12 make sustaining their businesses onerous for pork producers, but also it hinders the critical input and expertise of swine veterinarians.
Practicing Doctors of Veterinary Medicine from Illinois explained, “As veterinarians, we know that good welfare cannot be reduced to a single measurement such as square footage.”
“Science gives us the flexibility to learn and improve. Laws, however, change slowly and often lock today’s understanding into tomorrow’s production systems. If every state establishes its own production requirements, adapting new scientific knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. Veterinary medicine advances by questioning assumptions, evaluating new evidence, and continuously improving,” DVMs Bill Hollis and Aaron Lower shared.
As farm bill negotiations continue in conference, NPPC encourages the Agriculture Committee Chairmen and Ranking Members to produce a bipartisan farm bill that focuses on keeping pig farming in the U.S. affordable, checks the overreach of interstate commerce California has enjoyed, and bottom line, offers the best care for animals. That bill must include a solution to the state patchwork problem of Prop. 12.
***Courtesy of The National Pork Producers Council***
