PEORIA, Ill. — California’s controversial Proposition 12, which regulates animal housing sizing for sows, went into full effect with the New Year. Here’s a look at what it means for producers in the Farm World readership area:

All pork sold in California (where 15 percent of America’s domestic pork supply is purchased, according to the National Pork Producers Council) must originate from farms that comply with larger animal housing requirements. 

The law means that all sows must be able to turn around, lie down, stand up and extend their limbs within their housing. 

Pork producers and distributors are now required to hold certificates of compliance to the new standards. Prior to 2024, retailers were allowed to sell non-compliant pork products already in the food chain.

The law applies not only to producers and distributors located in the state of California, but to any distributors and producers wishing to sell pork in California. 

Processors and companies including Tyson Foods, Hormel Foods, Perdue, Clemens Food Group, DuBreton Farms, Albertsons, Chipotle and Niman Ranch have already announced compliance with Prop-12 requirements.

Housing standards set by Prop 12 also apply to veal and eggs sold in California.

A similar state law, Question 3, was approved and took partial effect in Massachusetts in August 2023.

USDA estimates that pork prices will increase more than 7 percent due to California Prop 12 requirements, resulting in an annual economic loss of $320 million.

However, pork industry stakeholders are pushing back against Prop 12 requirements in their states. Concerns include upgrade costs, interstate commerce issues and food cost increases. According to the NPPC, the law will “create significant challenges for how producers operate and increasingly allows others to dictate how to raise pigs without any voice in the standards being imposed upon them.”

Federally-elected lawmakers have joined the fight as well. Some, like U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), are looking to pass laws that would “reverse” Prop 12. Reuters news service reported that Grassley and fellow Iowa Republican Joni Ernst plan to reintroduce the Ending Agriculture Suppression Act, which would curb states’ ability to regulate agricultural products sold within its borders.

“California’s Proposition 12 is going to hurt the economy of Iowa, which is number one in pork production. Because we farm differently than the (people) of California think we ought to run our animal agriculture, we can’t sell our product there. We have to solve this problem by passing legislation. Our bill makes sure Iowa pork can be sold everywhere in the nation, including in California, and consumers can afford bacon for breakfast,” stated Grassley in June 2023.   

However, the law proposed by Grassley and Ernst was opposed by more than 200 Congressional lawmakers last year who found the bill could “harm America’s small farmers, threaten numerous state laws, and infringe on the fundamental rights of states to establish laws and regulations within their own borders,” Politico reported.

Another bill that would prohibit states from regulating agricultural practices in other states was recently introduced by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Hawley’s Protecting Interstate Commerce for Livestock Producers Act preempts states and local governments from regulating the raising, production, and importation of livestock or livestock-derived goods from another state or local government. The bill also allows states to regulate the importation of livestock in the event of animal disease, and protects farmers from states implementing laws that are preempted by the bill.

In May 2023, a majority Supreme Court opinion upheld California’s Prop 12, finding that states have the right to say what products can be sold within their boundaries. “Companies that choose to sell products in various States must normally comply with the laws of those various states,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote. “While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California merchants may sell is not on that list.” 

(Additional reporting from University of Illinois Farm Policy News, AgricultureDive.com)