AgriTalk: AFBF Weighs in on Shipping Reform, Court’s Decision to Review Prop 12
As March prepares to make its exit this week, the U.S. pork industry received some long-awaited news. Dale Moore, executive vice president at American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said it’s absolutely good news during a conversation with AgriTalk’s Chip Flory on Monday.
The Supreme Court of the United States decided to hear AFBF’s joint challenge with the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) on California’s Proposition 12.
“It fascinates me who some of the proponents of the change that took place in California are,” Moore told Flory.
The impact that Proposition 12 will have on small farmers is unmistakable.
“The cost of switching over housing...I mean we’re looking at, according to a University of Minnesota study, conversion of sow barns to group pens would cost between just shy of $2 billion to over $3 billion that is coming out of pork producers’ pockets. And that’s not something that typically gets passed on in the cost of pork,” Moore added.
Animal welfare concerns come into play, too, he said.
“Having been around enough folks who have raised hogs, and a little bit myself when I was in college, sows do not necessarily like being next to each other. They're not the most amenable creatures to getting along with each other in a group-type setting,” Moore said.
In addition, when you flip the chart over and look at it from the other side, he said it will have an impact on those families whose food dollar is stressed.
“This can take yet another high-quality protein source off their table,” Moore said.
Ocean Shipping Reform is Critical
Another heated issue Flory asked Moore to discuss is the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.
As an organization, Moore said a lot of energy is spent focusing on what farmers and ranchers deal with every day on their farms. Farmers and ranchers are also very interested in understanding what happens at the grocery store or the restaurant where most Americans interact with what is produced on U.S. farms and ranches.
“But now we’re spending more and more time, not just in AFBF, but in all of agriculture, taking a look at how I get what I raise on the farm to the processing plant, to the wholesalers, to the retailers and more,” he said. “A big part of that – fertilizer equipment, chemicals, as well as our export opportunities – are so tied into what is going on with ocean transportation.”
AFBF has long been supportive of ways to improve locks and dams and waterways, as well as the ports.
“Now we've got this supply chain issue with just trying to keep up on top of everything else that's going on. The great work that was done in the House and now moving over to the Senate, our hope is we can get this bill done in fairly quick order,” Moore said.
Listen to the full conversation on AgriTalk here.
Read More:
Supreme Court Takes Up NPPC, AFBF Challenge to Proposition 12
Considering Prop 12 Conversion? Think About These Things First
