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Iowans need to realize they are being misled by the anti-Proposition 12 Save Our Bacon (SOB) bill being hawked by Iowa’s US senators, and particularly by Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.
(The current US House of Representatives version of the Farm Bill includes the Save Our Bacon Act, which would obstruct state laws regulating animal housing standards — including those set by California’s Prop 12 - but also endangers other state level laws and regulations. The US Senate is currently debating whether to include it in their Farm Bill draft.)
A recent op-ed by Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) President Dean Frazer of Conrad is typical of the misleading and inaccurate information aimed at Iowans. It’s important to look at the facts about Prop 12, the California ballot initiative overwhelmingly supported by California voters which established minimum space requirements for breeding pigs.
The requirements set by California for pork sold in the state (and also by at least three other states) are not mandates for how pigs have to be raised. They are an opportunity to meet a customer demand for pork raise so sows are not confined all their lives in metal cages, (like my family and I have for generations on our Hardin County farm). Back in the early 1990’s when Iowa farm families were still reeling from the Farm Crisis, the major focus of farmers of all stripes was to find a niche market that added value — a higher price — to what we raised. Now that such a market exists and is accessible, the IPPA has spent years and an untold amount of our checkoff tax money trying to take that market away.
If passed, SOB will not add one cent to what independent Iowa hog producers receive for their pigs, but it stands to benefit the major packers who are required to keep Prop 12 pigs and pork identified and segregated. Packers — especially the current monopoly of four (two of the biggest are foreign owned) — do not like being required to do anything. They behave like it’s easier to fund politicians like Hinson than meet customer preferences.
For all intents and purposes, this legislation is locking the barn door after the horse has bolted. Enough producers — both independent and industrial — have adapted to supply the market. This legislation will mean the investment made by hundreds of producers is being punished rather than rewarded.
The US Supreme Court not only ruled California was within its rights on Prop 12, but just this year declined to review the ruling. In this country, the high court is the final arbiter. The case is closed. This legislation also endangers state laws and regulations because its wording is overly broad in restricting what states are permitted to control. At a time when the federal government is struggling to manage a variety of foodborne and communicable illnesses, hamstringing the states poses deadly dangers to us all.
It’s only human to dislike being told we have to change, and as farmers we have a right to decide what is best for our business. (That doesn’t mean we can’t be expected to follow practices that don’t endanger our neighbors — such as helping keep nutrients out of the water leaving our farms.) Prop 12, however, is not a requirement to change — it’s an opportunity to meet customer wishes. Iowans deserve to not be misled by special interests on this dangerous legislation.
John Gilbert and his family have farmed in Hardin County along South Fork, a tributary of the Iowa River, for more than a century, and have sold their pigs to a specialty market for more than 25 years.