Senate farm bill draft presented with Prop 12 fight unresolved
The debate over California’s Proposition 12 remains front and center in farm bill discussions after Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) released a long-awaited 2026 farm bill discussion draft on Tuesday.
Many producer groups have spent the past several years calling for updates to the farm safety net, stronger risk-management tools, greater support for animal health and disease prevention efforts, and investments that help maintain U.S. competitiveness in domestic and international markets.
While the draft includes several priorities supported by livestock and commodity groups, such as funding for the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan, improvements to agricultural credit and farm loan programs, expanded investments in specialty crops, enhanced research and conservation programs, and fertilizer market transparency measures, it does not include language sought by pork producers and other agricultural organizations to address Proposition 12 and similar state-level production standards.
The omission drew immediate reactions from both supporters and opponents of federal intervention.
The National Pork Producers Council, which says it represents more than 60,000 U.S. pork producers, announced that it had led a coalition of 330 agricultural organizations in urging Senate leaders to include a Proposition 12 fix in the final farm bill.
“While there is certainly room for improvement, we appreciate the Chairman putting forward a discussion draft to guide a path forward,” said NPPC President Rob Brenneman, an Iowa pork producer. “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 added that pork producers intend to continue pressing lawmakers on the issue.
“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.”
Approved by California voters in 2018, Proposition 12 establishes minimum space requirements for certain livestock and prohibits the sale of pork in California unless production standards meet the law’s requirements. The measure survived a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023.
Many livestock groups argue the law reaches beyond California’s borders by affecting production practices in other states that supply pork to California consumers (Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana are the nation’s top pork producers). Opponents of the law have pushed Congress to adopt legislation that would prevent states from imposing production standards on agricultural products produced elsewhere.
NPPC and allied farm organizations argue that Proposition 12 could lead to a patchwork of differing state regulations, increase costs for producers, and create uncertainty in interstate commerce.
The American Farm Bureau Federation also cited the issue among its priorities following release of the Senate draft. In a statement, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said Farm Bureau wants Congress to address “protecting interstate commerce from a patchwork of state laws” as lawmakers continue work on the legislation.
Senate draft leaves issue out — for now
Reporting from several Capitol Hill outlets indicated that Senate negotiators intentionally left Proposition 12 language out of the initial discussion draft as they seek broader support for the farm bill.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) acknowledged Tuesday that Proposition 12 language was not included in the Senate version but suggested the issue could still emerge later in the process.
“My first step would be to get it included in the Senate bill,” Grassley told Brownfield Ag News. “But let’s say we aren’t successful, then it is a conferenceable item because it’s in the House bill. So consequently it could be settled in conference.”
The House passed its version of the farm bill in April, and supporters of a federal fix continue to point to bipartisan support for addressing Proposition 12 during House deliberations.
Animal welfare advocates praise omission
Animal welfare organizations welcomed the Senate’s decision not to include Proposition 12-related language.
Humane World Action Fund, formerly known as the Humane Society Legislative Fund, said the Senate draft rejected what it characterized as efforts by large pork industry interests to overturn voter-approved state laws.
“Most members of the Senate see the Save Our Bacon Act as a sob story peddled by a few powerful pork producers, not a solution to the issues farmers and rural communities confront every day,” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund.
Amundson praised Senate leaders for excluding the proposal and argued that voters and states should retain authority to establish standards for products sold within their borders.
“We will remain vigilant throughout the Farm Bill process and final vote to make sure that Congress respects the will of voters, the investments that humane-minded producers have already made, and the fundamental rights of states to establish commonsense standards for products sold within their borders.”
Farm bill path forward
The Senate discussion draft is the latest step in a farm bill process that has stretched well beyond the expiration of the previous legislation. Beyond Proposition 12, debates continue over nutrition spending, commodity programs, conservation, rural development, and other agricultural priorities.
Boozman described the proposal as a framework intended to advance negotiations and move the Senate toward formal consideration of a five-year farm bill.
With the Senate draft now public and House-passed language still on the table, the question of whether Congress should preempt state livestock production standards is likely to remain one of the most closely watched agricultural policy fights of the year.
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