Vilsack, Boozman discuss Farm Bill prospects, Prop 12 impacts

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senator John Boozman met with 120 pork producers at the National Pork Producers Council’s (NPPC) Fall Legislative Action Conference, discussing prospects for a 2024 Farm Bill and a federal solution to California’s Proposition 12, according to a recent press release. 

The Prop. 12 ballot initiative, which went into effect earlier this year, imposes serious financial burdens on pork producers, raises food prices on consumers, and sets a dangerous precedent enabling each state to develop differing regulations on out-of-state producers.

Due to Prop. 12, Californians are experiencing less pork and higher costs. Vilsack also acknowledged that pork producers don’t have the luxury of deciding which state(s) to market their products.

Prop. 12 inflicts construction costs for producers up to $4,000 per sow and has already caused a 20% surge in California’s pork prices. USDA economists also found that the volume of pork sales in California has declined significantly since the new law was implemented, with California now accounting for two percent less of total US fresh pork sales.

Vilsack also emphasized that these price increases make it harder to include pork products in nutrition programs that support vulnerable populations and that shrinking farms mean more good jobs are likely to be exported out of state, or even out of the US.

Boozman, the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told NPPC members that he remains optimistic about a Farm Bill passing this year.

“We are working hard to get a Farm Bill done. I’m very concerned about Prop 12. Chair Stabenow and I have both shared frameworks, and importantly, G.T. Thompson got a bipartisan Farm Bill out of his committee,” he said. “Agriculture needs to stick together... to get this done,” he said.

To educate policymakers on the critical need for a Farm Bill to pass this year with a fix to Prop 12, NPPC hosted a pop-up food truck on Capitol Hill offering maple bacon donuts and information on the existential threat of Prop. 12 and other similar laws. The “Food Truck from a Post-Prop 12 America” accepted “Bacon Bucks,” highlighting the price hikes American consumers could face if Prop. 12 is left unchecked.