House hears NPPC testimony on Proposition 12 impacts

DES MOINES, Iowa — The National Pork Producers Council is monitoring several pieces of legislation that are making their way through congressional committees and testified at a House hearing on Proposition 12.

Pat Hord, NPPC vice president and Ohio pork producer, and Holly Cook, NPPC economist, testified before the full House Agriculture Committee July 23 on the implications of California’s Proposition 12 for farmers and food prices.

On behalf of the industry, they called for Congress to support the efforts of committee Chairman Glenn Thompson’s (R-Pa.) to address “the spiderweb of state regulations” Proposition 12 invites.

Hord shared his family farm’s story with the committee.

“Despite producing Prop 12-compliant pork, I am here to say Prop 12, and an unmitigated regulatory patchwork, threatens our farm,” Hord said.

Proposition 12, a California ballot initiative, bans the sale of pork that does not comply with the state’s specified confinement standards.

Though enacted in a single state, Proposition 12 has created sweeping consequences nationwide by fueling market volatility, imposing costly new mandates on producers, and paving the way for a patchwork of inconsistent state regulations. These disruptions have raised pork prices for consumers and continue to push small, multigenerational farms out of business, according to NPPC.

Hord and Cook explained how widespread adoption of measures like Proposition 12 “would lead to even more consumers paying higher prices for pork, a result already felt by Californians, who eat 13% of U.S. pork despite producing less than 1% of the U.S. pork supply. There, prices from bacon (+16%) to loins (+41%) increased significantly due to Prop. 12, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

“A patchwork of conflicting, Proposition 12-style regulations around the country would also lead to even more consolidation of the industry as pork producers are forced to constantly reconstruct their operations or close their doors,” Hord said.

Beyond rising consumer prices and industry consolidation, Hord spoke to misconceptions that Prop 12 enhances food safety and animal welfare, citing the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ opposition to Prop 12 and how those pen requirements can “unintentionally cause harm” to animal welfare.

Economist Cook discussed the significant financial impacts on producers converting to Proposition 12-compliant housing, as well as USDA research and recent scanner data confirming the impact on consumer costs.

“Proposition 12 has been called an unfunded mandate, meaning voters approved the measure, but consumers had not demonstrated an ability or willingness to pay the premium required to consume the same volume of pork products,” Cook testified.

“It’s been more than a year since that report was released, and updated scanner data shows these trends continue to hold. Retail prices in California are still more than 20% higher than before Prop 12 took effect, while the total sales volume is down by double digits. This means Californians are spending more but consuming less pork than they were before Prop 12.”

AG APPROPRIATIONS

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations unanimously approved its 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act aimed at helping rural America, support farmers and ranchers, secure the food supply, and maintain nutritional support for low-income families, according to NPPC.

The bill provides $27.1 billion in discretionary spending, including funds for the following U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies important to animal agriculture:

• $3.6 billion for agricultural research programs, including $1.9 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and $1.7 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. It fully funds the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to protect animal agriculture from foreign animal diseases.

• $1.2 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to help protect animal and plant resources from diseases and pests. It also provides funds to assist ranchers with the cost of electronic identification tags to comply with animal disease traceability requirements.

• $223 million for the Agricultural Marketing Services to market U.S. agricultural products domestically and internationally, support domestic commodity purchase programs, and provide market data to help producers make informed business decisions.

• $1.2 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to promote the safety and productivity of the $186 billion meat and poultry industry by supporting nearly 8,000 inspection personnel for meat, poultry and egg products at more than 6,800 facilities.

The annual agriculture appropriations law funds federal programs that support farmers, including farm loans, agricultural research, and ones related to protecting swine health and preventing and preparing for foreign animal diseases.

“NPPC supports the bill’s in funding for various USDA program, particularly ones that benefit animal agriculture,” the organization stated in its weekly podcast.

The bill heads to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

ANIMAL HEALTH LAB

The NPPC’s weekly update also reported the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry held a hearing on the role of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network in safeguarding U.S. agriculture.

NAHLN, part of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, helps prevent, prepare for, and respond to foreign animal diseases. It works in partnership with APHIS’s National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank and the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, as well the National Veterinary Stockpile, to bolster the country’s abilities to respond to animal health emergencies.

“NPPC strongly supports the NAHLN, part of the ‘three-legged stool’ of USDA programs that help protect the American food supply by preventing, preparing for, and responding to foreign animal diseases,” the NPPC stated in its podcast.

“The NAHLN network, along with the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, will be critical for a timely and effective response to foreign animal disease outbreaks, as has been the case for highly pathogenic avian influenza and will be the case for other diseases.”

MENTAL HEALTH

U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to help address a mental health crisis among farmers.

The Farmers First Act of 2025 would revise and extend through fiscal 2028 the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, a USDA program providing competitive grants to states, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations to provide stress assistance programs, such as professional agricultural behavioral health counseling, helplines, and resources, to individuals engaged in farming, ranching, and agriculture-related occupations.

Grant funding for farm telephone helplines and websites may also be used for crisis lines.

According to researchers at the University of Georgia, farmers have suicide rates much higher than the general population, with elevated mental health symptoms and high stress levels. Exacerbating the crisis: Farmers are hard to reach because of their occupational demands and a culture in rural communities where conversations about mental health often have a stigma.

U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced companion legislation.