Pork producers are awaiting a Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12 which will go into effect on January 1. It would prohibit the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised in housing that does not comply with the state’s prescriptive standards. The California Department of Food and Agriculture submitted proposed rules in December. However, South Dakota Pork Producers Council President Shane Odegaard says it still leaves producers in limbo.

Nearly all pork currently produced in the U.S. fails to meet California’s arbitrary standards. Odegaard says some producers will be modifying their operations, but it comes at a huge cost.

Odegaard says the voters of California had no idea about the unintended consequences of Prop 12 when they voted for the ballot initiative.

The National Pork Producers Council commented on the proposed rules and pointed out that they would require an unworkable annual certification of hog farmer compliance and impose burdensome recordkeeping requirements on producers, packers, and others in the food chain. They asked for a two-year delay in implementation.