Minnesota pork producers will be among producers from throughout the country who will be traveling to Washington, D-C next month with a clear message for lawmakers…
“The need for a farm bill, whether we’re going to call it farm bill 2.0 (or) skinny farm bill.”
Lauren Servick with the Minnesota Pork Producers Association says more specifically, producers need a solution to California’s Proposition 12…
“It is the only vehicle right now that we have for a change or a fix for Prop 12, so taking farmers out (to D.C.) to be advocating for a farm bill that includes some certainty around Prop 12.”
Servick says trade and ag labor will also be top issues during the Fall Legislative Action Conference.
Proposition 12, which was passed by California voters in 2018, sets standards for how certain farm animals are raised. It specifically requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying hens, and veal calves. It also prohibits the sale in California of products from animals raised in systems that don’t meet these space requirements, even if those products are produced outside of California.
Those requirements present a big problem for producers in Minnesota and other states that are in compliance with their own state’s production regulations, yet can’t market their product in California because of the Prop 12 rules.
(content: in part, courtesy MNN)
