Friday, February 4, 2022
CapitalPress.com 9
Has Proposition 12 changed the price
of an eggs-and-bacon breakfast?
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
California’s Proposition
12, an animal welfare mea-
sure approved by voters
in 2018, took eff ect Jan. 1.
Now, experts are exploring
its impacts.
The legislation banned the
sale of eggs, pork and veal
products in California unless
production facilities meet
specifi c
animal-confi ne-
ment standards. Opponents
predicted it would lead to
egg and pork shortages and
skyrocketing prices. Is that
happening?
Experts say Proposition
12’s impacts thus far have
been minimal. However, they
also say it may be months
before Proposition 12’s rip-
ple eff ects are refl ected in
bacon and egg prices.
“There are no obvious
impacts yet,” said Daniel
Sumner, professor of agricul-
ture and resource econom-
ics at the University of Cal-
ifornia-Davis. “The sky isn’t
falling.”
In the lead-up to Propo-
sition 12’s implementation,
some opponents predicted
the price of fresh pork prod-
ucts covered under the legis-
lation would increase 60%.
Sumner, in an economic
study, makes the more mod-
est prediction that the aver-
age price of uncooked pork
will rise by 7.7%, or about 25
cents per pound.
But even that price
increase likely won’t be
for months, he said. That’s
because Proposition 12 spe-
cifi cally regulates the space
breeding sows must have.
The meat currently in super-
markets is from pigs that
weren’t yet raised under
It’s too early to assess the
full impact of California’s
Proposition 12, which
governs how eggs and
pork are produced.
these requirements.
Sumner estimates Prop-
osition 12’s required sow
space will translate into $5 of
added costs per pig leaving
the farrowing barn.
The economist also pre-
dicts added expenses at the
processing stage due to track-
ing and segregation require-
ments. His studies estimate
processing expenses will add
19 to 21 cents per pound to
the fi nal price of compliant
pork products.
But no one knows for sure
yet, he said.
“We don’t know what’s
really going to happen at
retail,” said Sumner. “We just
know that every time you
make something a little more
complicated, you make it a
little more expensive.”
Nate Rose, spokesman for
the California Grocers Asso-
ciation, agreed it’s too early
to make accurate pricing
forecasts.
“On pricing, I think it’s
too soon to tell,” he said.
Rose said retailers are
talking with pork producers
to negotiate new contracts
as producers move into com-
pliance, but price changes
likely won’t be seen for 3 to
6 months.
Proposition 12 also regu-
lates the egg industry, requir-
ing eggs sold in Califor-
nia to come from cage-free
operations.
Retailers, said Rose, don’t
seem as concerned about
infl ated egg prices, because
California has been mov-
ing toward a predominately
cage-free market for a long
time.
According to a USDA
special report, 96% of
egg-laying hens in Califor-
nia were already in cage-free
systems by September 2021.
California has historically
produced only 35% of its egg
supply, so the legislation is
felt most by those outside the
state, said Lesa Vold, spokes-
woman for the Egg Industry
Center.
But even there, the cage-
free market has been edg-
ing upward. According to the
Humane League, in 2015,
6% of U.S. hens were cage-
free. In 2021, 30% were.
“To be honest, no one
(among our retail members)
seems to be talking about
eggs,” said Rose, of the gro-
cery association. “Pork has
kind of been the sticking
point.”
Sumner, the economist,
agreed.
“I’m not saying Proposi-
tion 12 is easy on egg oper-
ations, but compared to
pork, this just isn’t that big a
stretch for the industry,” said
Sumner.
Sumner predicts that
eventually, cage-free eggs —
once a specialty product —
will no longer get a higher
markup because the category
will become standard.
Court delays enforcement
of part of Proposition 12
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Supe-
rior Court judge in Sacramento County has
delayed enforcement of a key part of Prop-
osition 12 for 180 days after the proposi-
tion’s fi nal rules go into eff ect.
Proposition 12, an animal welfare mea-
sure approved by state voters in 2018 that
requires specifi c animal confi nement stan-
dards, went into eff ect Jan. 1, but part of the
law will not yet be enforced as a result of
the court decision.
Under Proposition 12, restaurants, retail-
ers and other companies in California are
not allowed to sell pork from animals raised
in certain types of confi nement barns, and
companies that violate this by selling such
meat could be penalized.
Under this week’s decision, however,
this will not be enforced yet.
Judge James Arguelles ruled Monday
that grocers, restaurants and retailers would
not be subject to enforcement of the new
restrictions on whole pork meat sales until
180 days, roughly six months, after the
state enacts fi nal regulations.
The ruling was welcomed by petitioners,
including a meat processing operation, the
California Grocers Association and various
business associations whose members sell
pork in California.
According to public court records, peti-
tioners in the case — California Hispanic
Chambers Of Commerce vs. Karen Ross
— had contended that they and their mem-
bers should not be exposed to Proposition
12’s sanctions until the California Depart-
ment of Food and Agriculture and the state
Department of Public Health write the fi nal
regulations.
The CDFA is more than two years late
in fi nalizing regulations outlining what is
expected of pork producers under the prop-
osition, and petitioners argue that it’s hard
to comply with rules that are still incom-
plete and unclear.
Meat industry leaders and farm groups
praised the decision.
The decision “recognizes the complex-
ity of the pork supply chain and the bur-
densome and costly provisions of Prop 12,”
Pork Checkoff /TownNews.com Content Exchange
Pigs feeding in a barn. California Propo-
sition 12 has been delayed for pork be-
cause the state has not fi nished writing
the rules, a judge ruled.
Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the
North American Meat Institute, said in a
statement. “To enforce the law without fi nal
regulations leaves the industry unsure of
how to comply or what signifi cant changes
must be made to provide pork to this criti-
cal market.”
The North American Meat Institute and
its members are broadly opposed to Prop
12 and had urged the state to delay imple-
menting the law until CDFA creates the
fi nal regulations to minimize risk of busi-
nesses facing criminal sanctions and civil
litigation for non-compliance.
Petitioners didn’t get everything they
had requested in the lawsuit. They had
asked for a 28-month delay in enforcement
after CDFA issues fi nal regulations. The
court granted a 180-day delay.
“In the court’s view, the Jan. 1, 2022,
date was calculated at least in part to allow
producers to construct new enclosures after
the act took eff ect. Consequently, although
the court agrees that petitioners are enti-
tled to a delay that extends past the date on
which regulations are enacted, it disagrees
that 28 months are required,” according to
the ruling.
Although petitioners didn’t get all they
had asked for, grocery and other business
associations say 180 days is better than
nothing.
Proposition 12’s egg-laying hen provi-
sion, which ensures eggs sold in California
come from cage-free operations, remains
in eff ect because it was not an issue in this
week’s lawsuit.
Ag Expo participants mostly optimistic about year ahead
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
IDFG
Gray wolf
Idaho wolf population steady
despite new hunting law
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Idaho’s wolf popula-
tion is holding steady even
after state legislators passed
a new law allowing more
hunting of the predators.
Shane Roberts, Depart-
ment of Fish and Game
wildlife research manager,
told the Fish and Game
Commission Jan. 27 that the
state had a peak population
of 1,543 wolves on Aug. 1.
That compares to 1,556
in 2020 and 1,566 in 2019.
Fish and Game pro-
duced the estimates using
photos and analytics. Some
533 cameras are deployed
statewide.
Environmental groups
have challenged the method,
saying it overestimates the
wolf population.
Department Director Ed
Schriever said the method,
developed by researchers in
the department and at the
University of Montana, is
based on accepted science
and has produced consistent
results.
The department estimates
the population when it is
near its annual peak. Biol-
ogists then monitor hunt-
ing, trapping and other wolf
mortality through the rest of
the year.
The minimum wolf popu-
lation, in early spring before
pups are born, is estimated
at about 900, the department
said in a release.
The commission in 2021
expanded wolf seasons, and
hunting and trapping meth-
ods, to help reduce wolf
depredation of livestock and
elk herds. The legislature
passed a law, eff ective last
July 1, substantially increas-
ing the allowed harvest.
The commission intends
to manage wolves for a pop-
ulation below the current
level, Schriever said in the
release.
The goal is to reduce
confl icts with livestock and
manage a balance between
wolves and their prey, which
the department said is pri-
marily elk.
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service’s 2009 de-listing
rule called for about 1,100
wolves in the Northern
Rocky Mountains. It said a
region-wide population of
1,500 would slowly reduce
wild prey and lead to high
livestock depredation.
Public Information Offi -
cer Roger Phillips told Cap-
ital Press the stable summer
population provides a good
baseline to help guide man-
agement decisions, but also
“shows that if there is going
to be change, it’s going to be
incremental. And if we need
to go back in another direc-
tion, we can do that.”
Cameron Mulrony, Idaho
Cattle Association executive
vice president, said consis-
tent summer estimates “are
telling us that the popula-
tion is healthy” and able to
replace losses despite recent
drought.
“We can see that our take
has to kind of remain where
it’s at to keep the population
stagnant, because there is an
abundance of food supply if
wolves want to move into
the urban interface,” he said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife in
September began reviewing
Western wolves for potential
re-listing under the Endan-
gered Species Act, which
would shift wolf manage-
ment from the state to the
federal government.
“We need consistent
management of the popu-
lation, and the state is best
suited to manage the wolf
population,” Mulrony said.
CALDWELL, Idaho —
Solid demand for equipment
and services is expected to
continue as 2022 unfolds,
several Western Idaho Ag
Expo exhibitors said.
Brian Tollefson, who
owns Precision Grain Sys-
tems in Fargo, N.D., par-
ticipated in the Jan. 25-26
event in Caldwell, Idaho.
The company provides
grain storage and handling
equipment.
Last year’s high com-
modity and steel prices drove
record-high sales, he said.
Steel prices, which spiked
in the summer, led to buying
promptly rather than waiting.
And high commodity prices
meant more farmers could
aff ord to add on-site storage.
“When corn gets above $5
(per bushel), grain bins pen-
cil out a lot better,” Tollefson
said.
He said a grower may use
on-site storage to hang onto
grain in hopes of capturing
the best price.
“It’s staying steady,”
Tollefson said Jan. 25 of
sales. “There is no drop-off
in sight,” partly because most
commodity prices remain
high.
Aden Johnston, a sales
and design specialist with
Agri-Lines in Parma, Idaho,
said he expects demand this
year to be as good as it was in
2021. Center-pivot sprinkler
systems are among the com-
pany’s off erings.
He said growers, many of
whom had a good 2021 that
left them with money to put
back into their operations,
remain optimistic overall.
Center-pivot sprinklers,
remote monitoring and other
systems can help growers
realize labor and water sav-
ings. Johnston said sales
increased about 20% last
year, but higher supply costs
cut into profi ts. He expects
supply-chain challenges to
continue.
Last season’s drought led
some to pursue repairs and
upgrades they might ignore
in a normal water-supply
year, he said.
Caldwell-based R&M
Steel Co. manufactures steel
buildings, including hay
barns and farm and ranch
shops. President Rob Rob-
erts said 2021 demand for
ag-related buildings was
higher than usual.
“Drought was a con-
cern,” he said.
For example, tight hay
supplies and high hay prices
drove additional demand to
move a fresh cutting inside
a building as soon as pos-
sible — to get the crop out
of the weather, and to guard
against losing mass from the
top and bottom of the stack,
Roberts said. R&M sold
hay buildings as far away
as Montana and Western
Oregon.
He said he expects sim-
ilarly strong demand for
on-farm steel buildings this
year.
“I hope the steel mills are
able to get back on track,”
Roberts said. Steel prices,
which recently leveled,
saw threefold and fourfold
increases last year.
Twin Falls-based Jus-
tin Leavens, a commercial
agriculture sales specialist
with Perfect Blend Biotic
Fertilizer, said the com-
pany paid more last year for
inputs ranging from labor
and transportation to pro-
pane, which is used to dry
chicken manure, which also
cost more.
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