Questions still outweigh the answers among Canadian producers anticipating changes arising from new animal welfare legislation in California and Massachusetts.
In September, the Canadian Pork Council hosted a webinar with Michael Formica, chief legal strategist for the National Pork Producers Council in the United States.
Formica provided background and outlined the potential impacts of the new bills, Proposition 12 in California and Question 3 in Massachusetts.
“The one main distinction between Prop 12 and Question 3, Massachusetts doesn’t have the 24-square-foot provision,” said Formica.
That provision requires at least 24 square feet of living space per sow in gestation. Oklahoma is considering similar legislation, with a minimum of 36 square feet per sow.
Formica described legal challenges to the state legislation as well as bills that are being considered by the US federal government. Those include an update to the Farm Bill as well as proposed legislation, the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act, which is supported by the NPPC and some other industry organizations.
But hog farmers in Canada are playing their cards close to their chests while watching developments that will affect their buyers south of the border, says Mark Ferguson, General Manager of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board (Sask Pork).
“Canadian producers are in a wait and see mode,” Ferguson said in a phone interview with Prairie Hog Country.
“I think many Canadian producers would have the ability to produce pigs to sell into the California market. It just depends on what the price would be for those animals and whether that justifies becoming compliant. The price would obviously have to be a lot higher on those pigs.”
Among the strategies specific to Prop 12, producers who are already utilizing loose housing in their gestation rooms have the option of simply cutting back the number of sows in each unit, said Ferguson. However, depending on market conditions, that may not be a cost-effective solution.
“Right now, when prices are not good, having fewer pigs is a good thing. When prices are high, what is the lost opportunity cost of having (fewer) pigs? So, if you’re making a profit of $20 a pig and you’ve just lost thousands of pigs because you had to remove the sows out of the barn, there’s a huge cost.
“The analysis wouldn’t be that hard to do, but you’d have to make assumptions about how much profit you’re making on the pigs that you don’t have anymore.”
In his presentation, Formica said some other states, including New York, Florida and Texas are considering similar bills. On the other hand, there is a strong field of opposition to Prop 12 and Question 3.
In California, for example, restaurants and a large community of ethnic consumers are deeply concerned with the impact on the supply of pork as the industry becomes Prop 12 compliant.
While California makes up 14 per cent of the US population, its ethnic groups including Latinos and Asians consume 15 per cent of all the pork sold in the country. That statistic does not include the uncounted transactions at small, local markets, said Formica.
“So, my hunch is, it’s actually bigger than 15 per cent, but it’s a massive market for pork.”
California grocers were successful in having a modification to Prop 12, which allowed them to sell non-compliant meat stocked before July 1.

US packers, in general, are staying quiet about any plans they have made to meet requirements in California and Massachusetts, said Formica, but it is certain that both farms and packers are going to take a hard look at legislations and trends before investing any money in upgrades or new facilities.
“If you build a Proposition 12 facility, you don’t want that farm to be rendered worthless two years or four years down the road because, you know, New York (for example) comes in with a different standard.”
Formica described a “robust debate” in Congress. The Senate and the House of Representatives each have an almost even split between Republicans and Democrats, so it takes only a couple of votes on either side to make or break a bill.
At this point, Canadian producers who wish to meet Prop 12 compliance will require an audit to be performed by one of six approved firms listed on the California Department of Food and Agriculture web site. Formica said he does not have accurate estimates of the cost but suggested it would exceed $1,000 US per day within California, with a presumption of additional costs for travel to producers in other regions. He suggested that producers visit cdfa.ca.gov/animals to find the list and investigate their options.
CPC chair René Roy, in his comments to the webinar, said the uncertainty continues.
“We have seen some processors looking for Prop 12 producers. But so far it is just starting from the processing side to have to require or look for Prop 12 certified or compliant (pork). I would say because certification as far as I know it has not happened yet in Canada.”
“For the moment, . . . we haven’t seen any movement in terms of demand or in terms of . . . how we supply pigs.
“We expect that there may be impacts for producers, but we haven’t observed anything yet.”
Audrey Cameron, director of on farm programs with the Canadian Pork Council, added during the Q & A session that currently only about five per cent of Canadian farms are currently compliant with Prop 12 •
— By Brenda Kossowan