Pork producers in Iowa were dealt a blow last week when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a California animal welfare law that mandates more housing space for pigs in order for their pork to be sold in that state. Some pork producers have already complied with the law’s requirements to keep a hold of a significant U.S. pork market, while other producers say they won’t make changes to their operations.
Proposition 12, a 2018 California ballot initiative, lays out minimum housing requirements for egg-laying hens, calves raised for veal and breeding pigs. For breeding pigs, the law requires at least 24 square feet of space per breeding pig in order for their pork or pork from their offspring to be sold in California.
But many hog farmers in Iowa, the top pork producing state in the U.S., raise their pigs in facilities that don’t meet the standards of the California law.
Northwest Iowa hog farmer Dwight Mogler says he didn’t make renovations to his 4,400 head sow farm near Lester to comply with Proposition 12, and he doesn’t plan to in the near future. It’s something he discussed with the four pork processors he does business with.
“What we are unable to provide them,” Mogler said, “someone else is going to have to.”
Mogler is concerned that Proposition 12 could open the door for new strict animal welfare laws in other states.
“The fear is that over time if this becomes the accepted standard for all markets, it will raise the cost,” Mogler said. “We will be forced to make the modifications on all of our farms.”
Mogler is a minor shareholder of a South Dakota farm that made modifications to be Proposition 12-compliant. He’s testing the waters of the California law, as the South Dakota farm is only about 10% of his total hog production.
The farm removed individual pens for sows and put in stalls that allow them to move in and out into space they can roam around, Mogler said. Proposition 12 allows some exceptions to its animal housing standards. For example, sows can be housed in stalls that don’t meet the spacing requirement for up to six hours in a 24-hour period during breeding.
When sows are ready to be bred, they can get moody and aggressive, which is why Mogler said he houses his breeding sows in individual pens called breeding stalls on his northwest Iowa farm for up to a week. Mogler said he’s not sure how the new housing will work for his pigs.
There are a lot of unknowns about the renovations to the South Dakota operation, he said. For example, will the operation be as productive as it used to be? Mogler’s family sources 20,000 pigs a year from that farm, which produces more than 150,000 pigs a year.
“We don’t know if we can even come close to that level of productivity,” Mogler said. “We know the animals will be challenged because of the group housing and the fact that we can’t individually pen them during the breeding process.”
The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion
The U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected a challenge to California’s Proposition 12 from the Iowa-based National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation. In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12. The court rejected the claim of the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation that Proposition 12 violated the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause. The Dormant Commerce Clause prevents states from passing laws that burden other states' commerce.
“Both the district court and court of appeals dismissed the producers’ complaint for failing to state a claim. We affirm,” the Supreme Court wrote. “Companies that choose to sell products in various States must normally comply with the laws of those various States.”
Source: iowapublicradio.org
Photo Credit: istock-Srdjan Stepic
Categories: Iowa, Livestock, Hogs