NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After the recent Supreme Court decision in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, Congress needs to act to make sure ag products can continue to move between states and the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act is designed to do that. It was introduced in the Senate last month by Kansas U.S. Senator Dr. Roger Marshall.
"The state of California wants to tell Kansas farmers how to grow pigs," Marshall said. "We're not going to let them do that. We feel it's a violation of state rights, it has interstate commerce issues. Today, California wants to tell us how to grow hogs. Next, it will be chickens and cattle. Eventually, they are going to tell us how to build airplanes and how to build cars, as well. We think that will be very stifling to the economy."
Conservation and efficiency of operations are vital to the interests of farmers throughout the country.
"Our farmers and ranchers have so much respect for our livestock," Marshall said. "That's really what this issue is about. They are concerned about how we raise sows in modern day agriculture. What happens are, the sows will actually roll over on their little piglets. What we do is, when they have baby piglets, we put them in a little bit smaller container chamber, so they don't roll over and kill the pigs. We actually think it's the more humane thing to do, but here we have California trying to tell us how to grow pigs in Kansas."
The bill would let any producer injured by a regulation on their product to potentially bring an action in the appropriate court to invalidate that regulation and seek damages for economic loss resulting from that regulation.
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