Posted November 5, 2013
Representative Steve King (R-IA), one of the conferees
negotiating the farm bill is pushing for the bill to include the so called
“King Amendment” which would bar one state from imposing production standards
on agricultural products that come from another state, according to a KMA Land
article available here.
During his statement at the first public meeting of the
farm bill conference, King said, “California passed a law that mandates that
beginning 2015 no eggs be brought into or sold in the state unless they are
laid by hens that are raised in facilities that are effectively double the
infrastructure costs to our producers.”
The California law, passed in 2008 as a result of a
statewide referendum and requires cages to be large enough for egg-laying hens
to stand and spread their wings.
According to King, the law would effectively prohibit Iowa eggs from
being sold in California.
Critics like Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR) say
the “King Amendment” violates state’s rights.
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) said state laws that regulate the sale of raw
milk or methods for managing disease in livestock herds could be nullified by
the “King Amendment.”
The Iowa delegation remains optimistic that a farm bill
can be negotiated before the end of the year, according to an article by the
Sioux City Journal, available here. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said, “I’m
predicting we go up to about the Friday before Christmas to get a farm bill.”
For more information on farm bills, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
