Contact:
Heidi Gant
(O) 317-692-7828
(C) 317-966-3719
HGant@infb.org
(Indianapolis) – May 23, 2024 – Indiana Farm Bureau signed on to a letter this week to U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council, asking for a fix to California’s Proposition 12 to be included in the 2024 farm bill.
As part of a 2018 California ballot measure, Prop 12 prohibits the sale of pork, veal and eggs produced from animals not housed according to the state’s arbitrary requirements. In May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only Congress has the authority to step in and protect American agriculture from regulatory chaos posed by such laws.
“Prop 12 has caused uncertainty for pork producers in Indiana, especially for our small and mid-sized farmers,” said Randy Kron, INFB president. “Congress now has an opportunity to make this right by inserting language into a reauthorized farm bill. We’re hoping they do what’s best for farmers and consumers by preventing a patchwork of 50 different state laws that interfere with interstate commerce.”
Other statewide ag organizations in Indiana signed on to the letter, along with 10 individual county Farm Bureaus from Fayette, Franklin, Grant, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kosciusko, Perry, Warren and Warrick counties.
Read the full letter here.
###
About Indiana Farm Bureau: For more than 100 years, Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) has protected and enhanced the future of agriculture and our communities. As the state’s largest general farm organization, INFB works diligently to cultivate a thriving agricultural ecosystem to strengthen the viability of Indiana agriculture. Learn more at INFB.org.