WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 23, 2026 — The National Pork Producers Council, which speaks for more than 60,000 pork producers across the country, spearheaded a massive coalition of 330 organizations representing millions of agriculture producers in urging Senate Agriculture Committee leaders to include a Proposition 12 solution in the final 2026 Farm Bill.
Shortly after the coalition’s call to action, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman released a discussion draft of the farm bill. The draft addresses several priorities championed by the National Pork Producers Council — including funding for the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan — but does not contain a fix for Proposition 12.
National Pork Producers Council President Rob Brenneman, a pork producer from Washington County, Iowa, responded to the draft’s release. “While there is certainly room for improvement, we appreciate the Chairman putting forward a discussion draft to guide a path forward. He is spot on when he says, ‘it’s the Senate’s turn to deliver’ on a farm bill for all of rural America,” Brenneman said. “America’s pork producers will continue to advocate for a Prop. 12 fix in the formal farm bill like our livelihood depends on it — because it does.”
Adding pressure to the situation, activists launched a $30 million advertising campaign aimed at swaying lawmakers, distorting scientific facts, and undermining years of effort that real pig farmers have invested in seeking a Proposition 12 fix.
Brenneman pushed back on that campaign: “Prop. 12 is creating an unpredictable, unavoidable wave of conflicting state laws and uncertainty — and farmers are the ones left to drown in its wake. We don’t have millions of dollars to spend on political advertising fighting these senseless ads aimed at intimidating our congressional leaders. We need those leaders to hear what we are asking over baseless ad campaigns because we still have to raise our pigs, pay our bills, and compete in a marketplace increasingly shaped by mandates coming from states with very few pig farmers.”
If the final farm bill fails to address Proposition 12, pork producers say they will be left navigating a confusing web of state-level animal housing regulations. Industry advocates argue this patchwork of laws disproportionately harms smaller farming operations, limits veterinarians’ decision-making authority, drives up grocery prices for consumers, and erodes the rights of individual states.
Efforts to resolve the Proposition 12 issue have drawn bipartisan backing, as demonstrated by the successful passage of the 2026 Farm Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The National Pork Producers Council expressed gratitude to its Senate supporters who have continued to champion the rights of American pork producers, including Senators Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley, Kevin Cramer, Ted Budd, Pete Ricketts, Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, and Mike Rounds.
