The US Supreme Court Creates Chaos for North Carolina’s Rural Economy

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in National Pork Producers v. Ross, upheld a California law that will have profound implications for North Carolina farmers. Ignoring the real experts – the farmers – activists led a referendum effort to impose restrictions on animal treatment that rejects centuries of tradition. The law requires that pork sold in California should meet California’s arbitrary standards. The problem is that 99% of all pork consumed in California is from out of state, which puts 99% of the compliance costs on out-of-state farmers, including those right here in North Carolina.

These activist groups aim to sow chaos in the meat industry to shut it down. Through this California law, they effectively attempt to regulate non-California farmers. 

Sadly, the Supreme Court’s ruling allows this to happen. It allows liberal activist groups to lobby for laws in California where out-of-state farmers will feel the negative impacts. 

Compliance with California’s restrictive regulations will be expensive. The compliance costs will fall almost entirely on out-of-state pork producers that desire to sell within California. 99.9% of our nation’s pigs are produced outside of California. There’s no practical way for processing facilities to separate pigs raised for consumers in California without massive additional capital investment.

Why does this matter? Well, the almost 40 million state residents consume 13% of the pork produced in the country. It is a significant market for American hogs. Compliance costs with these arbitrary regulations are high.

 Unless more legal actions are taken, companies must decide if they will sell their product in California. The whole sector will incur significant costs whether they choose to sell within the state or not: the costs of compliance to sell or the cost of shrinking/redirecting their market. 

Even more concerning is the nearly unlimited regulatory confusion this decision will unleash on interstate commerce in this country. The new ruling would allow any state to enact a law that would disproportionately impact out-of-state businesses. 

Farmers know the chaos this ruling unleashes because North Carolina farmers feed people across the nation and the world. But, what is unimaginable is the regulatory confusion that this ruling could unleash.

• What if New York decided that all products sold in New York must be made by employees making a “livable wage” in New York?
• What if Colorado decided only eggs from free-range chickens could be sold in Colorado? Nearly every state would have to move toward free-range chickens. 
• What if Michigan declares only cars made from union factories could be sold in Michigan? Would that force nearly car manufacturers to encourage unionization efforts? 

The constitutional chaos unleashed by this ruling knows no bounds. 

This lawsuit is a perfect example of how a well-funded minority in one state can attempt to unleash chaos on our markets by pushing unsound policies through the judiciary. They cannot pass legislation passed through legislative bodies like Congress or the General Assembly that are responsive to the needs of their citizenry. So instead, they push a liberal-leaning state to pass legislation that has almost no impact on the state and then weaponize the judiciary to enact it across the country. 

The NC Ag Partnership knows the current North Carolina leadership wants to support farmers and protect the North Carolina economy. Commissioner Troxler announced Friday that NC’s Ag Economy just reached the unprecedented $103.2 Billion mark. The Ag Partnership will continue to stand against radical policies that impact our farmers, their communities, and the businesses that depend upon them. 

Thank you for your financial support and help.