The U-S Supreme Court handed down its decision on the lawsuit rgarding California’s Proposition 12 which requires animals to be given a specific space requirement for the product to be sold in California. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of California’s law on a split vote 5 to 4. Many farm organizations are disappointed with the high court’s ruling. Scott Vander Wal is the president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation and is the vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. He says the decision is upsetting and could establish a precedent for additional regulations for livestock production.
Vander Wal says decisions that adversely affect agriculture are being made by people with no connection to agriculture. He says that is troubling.
The American Farm Bureau and the Iowa-based National Pork Producers Council argued it will cost the swine industry up to $360 million dollars to abide by the California requirement and reconfigure the pens for sows.
