There’s something strange happening in Congress right now. Traditional champions of states’ rights and markets are planning to use the upcoming Farm Bill to prohibit every state from setting its own product standards. These are standards that create new market opportunities based on consumer demand for specific products, and that don’t conflict with federal standards.
You see, over the last decade or so, we, along with dozens of other egg and pork producers in Pennsylvania, and hundreds across the country, both large and small, have been listening to consumers and adapting to their preferences and state market opportunities.
We’ve seen these market opportunities, and we’ve innovated and made often substantial investments to meet them. These opportunities include markets where consumers in several states have demanded higher ethical standards in the production of cage-free pork and eggs.
No producer is forced to invest to meet these opportunities or to sell in these markets. Like any business, producers look at these markets and decide whether it is profitable to sell into them. If it is, they do. If it isn’t, they don’t.
Yet a significant number of producers like us have innovated and invested, but we respect the right of other producers to choose not to invest in these ways and sell into these new markets — they are free not to do so, just as we are free to do so.
Disappointingly, some in Congress seem to be considering language in the upcoming Farm Bill that would abolish these state standards. This would unfairly penalize those who have invested in these new markets.
Many farms have made these substantial multi-year investments, planning to recoup from these new market opportunities based on these product standards. For Congress to now come in with a stroke of the pen to abolish these product standards would pull out the rug from countless American farmers and the families who invested millions of dollars.
Farms and families whose only “fault” was taking advantage of a new business market.
Concerningly, this part of the Farm Bill would likely also erase Pennsylvania’s, and every other state’s, right to set any standards for ag products sold within their state as well. So instead of allowing Pennsylvania to set some state standards, it’s likely this push by Congress will erase existing state laws and instead put politicians and bureaucrats in D.C. in charge instead of states.
So, respectfully, we urge Pennsylvania’s members of Congress to put consumer freedom and states’ rights first by not including such language in the upcoming Farm Bill.
We have faith in our customers. Please protect our, and our state’s, freedom to serve them well.
