House Ag Committee member David Rouzer hopes the EATS Act, which would bar states from regulating the treatment of farm animals raised in other states, can be incorporated in the next farm bill.
In the latest edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, the North Carolina Republican discussed the EATS Act, which he cosponsored in the House, and his other farm bill priorities.
The EATS Act seeks to allow interstate sales of agricultural goods if they are produced in accordance with federal law and the laws of the state in which the goods are produced. California's Proposition 12, which was upheld by the Supreme Court this year, prohibits the sale of whole pork meat in the state if comes from the offspring of sows raised in gestation crates.
The bill is contentious, with governors and even the heads of state ag departments at odds about whether it should become law. Previous attempts to pass similar laws have failed in past Congresses.
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Producers should be able to sell their goods anywhere in the U.S. "if they grow in accordance with good production standards and meet all the permitting requirements," Rouzer said on the show.
"There ought to be some legal safe harbor there, so to speak, [so] they can sell their product in any state in the union," he said. "Hopefully we can we can come up with a bipartisan solution that's incorporated in the farm bill."
Discussing his priorities for that bill, Rouzer emphasized the importance of protecting crop insurance.
“The basic structure in terms of preserving crop insurance, enhancing the crop insurance products that are out there and the safety net that's out there, I think that's the main focus,” he said.
Also on the show this week were Anne MacMillan of Invariant and Deb Calhoun of the Waterways Council to speak on government funding and a possible shutdown.
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