Last Chance for Courts to Stave Off Economic Disaster for Livestock Farmers

Last week’s blog on July 15 painted a bleak picture about how California’s, Proposition 12 law will force pork and veal producers in the Midwest to restructure their facilities to meet that state’s arbitrary animal welfare rules.

The Ninth Circuit, which is the bane of agriculture’s existence with all its agricultural knowledge, has one more case which might be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court if lost in the 9th Circuit. That case involves farmers represented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

This case is presently awaiting a final decision which could come any day, including this week.

This case had a 49-page reply brief filed on January 14, 2021 entitled NPPC v Ross. Instead of seeking an injunction against Proposition 12, as NAMI (North American Meat Institute) did, NPPC and AFBF probably will lose in the 9th Circuit in the next few days; then it’s possible the case ends up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why?

It’s the commerce clause

NPPC and AFBF claim they have adequately alleged that California’s Prop 12 is an impermissible extraterritorial regulation. This brief also argues that California’s Proposition 12 imposes an excessive burden on interstate commerce as compared to any benefit California’s hog producers may receive.

As we wrote last week,