(Bloomberg) — Hog futures surged following a court-ordered delay to California’s Proposition 12 rule, intended to provide more humane conditions by giving farm-raised pigs more living space.
A California judge granted a petition that will delay the regulation that had just gone into effect at the beginning of the year, according to a filing in the Sacramento County Superior Court.
Some meat companies including Seaboard Foods, the second-largest U.S. pig producer and fourth-biggest pork processor, had halted sales of certain products due to the rule. Grocers and restaurateurs had sought a 28-month postponement of Proposition 12, which was proposed in part in reaction to use of cages known as gestation crates that limit animal movement.
California’s New Pig Law Prompts Meatpacker to Halt Pork Sales
Hog farmers largely opposed the rule, saying the requirements would raise costs when prices for building materials have been soaring, and also boost meat prices for consumers. Advocates said it would provide more humane conditions for pigs to turn around.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture was evaluating the ruling to determine next steps, Steve Lyle, CDFA director of public affairs, said in a statement.
“It should be noted that the judge’s ruling is a narrow one that applies only to retailers, including grocers, and not to pork producers providing pork products to California,” CDFA said. “Pork producers and suppliers remain subject to enforcement if they violate the square-footage requirement that went into effect on Jan. 1.”
The ruling was a “temporary reprieve,” Michael Formica, general counsel for the National Pork Producers Council, which represents hog farmers, said in a statement. Farmers are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will hear their challenge to California’s rule, which the NPPC says is a violation of the dormant commerce clause, he said.
Chicago hogs climbed as much as 2.2% Tuesday, hitting 97.375 cents per pound, the highest since July.
(Adds statement from California agriculture department in fifth paragraph)
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