Petaluma’s egg farmers are celebrating the passage of the federal farm bill without a controversial amendment that would have given out-of-state producers an unfair market advantage by skirting a costly California regulation.
The amendment, proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), would have denied any state the right to establish farming regulations that out-of-state farmers would need to follow in order to sell their product in that state. The farm bill that passed confirms that all eggs sold in California must come from facilities that meet state standards for containment and health, ensuring all egg farmers are on an equal playing field in the regulations they are required to follow.
It’s a move that could push some out-of-state egg producers out of the California market, a state that has the most stringent farming production standards in the country, said Arnie Riebli, president and CEO of Sunrise Farms and NuCal Foods with more than 1 million egg-laying hens across Sonoma County, including a farm in Liberty Valley west of Petaluma.
King’s proposed amendment targeted a more recent California law related to confinement standards for egg-laying hens. In 2008 California voters passed the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which required farmers to utilize larger cages that allow the hens to practice their natural behaviors such as perching and scratching, by Jan. 1, 2015. Riebli said overhauling his farms cost “$20 million plus” to comply with the new requirements, a cost out-of-state producers initially avoided since they weren’t required to obey the new law
The amendment, proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), would have denied any state the right to establish farming regulations that out-of-state farmers would need to follow in order to sell their product in that state. The farm bill that passed confirms that all eggs sold in California must come from facilities that meet state standards for containment and health, ensuring all egg farmers are on an equal playing field in the regulations they are required to follow.
It’s a move that could push some out-of-state egg producers out of the California market, a state that has the most stringent farming production standards in the country, said Arnie Riebli, president and CEO of Sunrise Farms and NuCal Foods with more than 1 million egg-laying hens across Sonoma County, including a farm in Liberty Valley west of Petaluma.
King’s proposed amendment targeted a more recent California law related to confinement standards for egg-laying hens. In 2008 California voters passed the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which required farmers to utilize larger cages that allow the hens to practice their natural behaviors such as perching and scratching, by Jan. 1, 2015. Riebli said overhauling his farms cost “$20 million plus” to comply with the new requirements, a cost out-of-state producers initially avoided since they weren’t required to obey the new law
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