Farm Bureau applauds the State of Montana for filing an amicus curiae with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the petition filed by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) challenging the constitutionality of Californiaâs Proposition 12.
The brief was filed by Indiana, joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
âIt (Prop 12) freely permits California to impose regulations directly on out-of-state commercial conduct and thereby fosters inconsistent state regulatory obligations and enables tit-for-tat state regulatory conflict,â the States said, âThe ultimate result may be a transformation of Americaâs current integrated national market into a patchwork of regulatory regions.â
Last year was the second highest year for U.S. agricultural exports, according to USDA s Foreign Agricultural Service s (FAS) 2020 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook. Total exports were nearly $146 billion, an increase of approximately 7%. This is the second highest level on record, after 2014.
FAS said the primary factor for the increase in exports was the increased shipments of soybeans, corn and pork to China.
Soybeans were the United States number one agricultural export at $25.7 billion, an increase of 38% over 2019. Soybeans represented nearly 18% of total U.S. agricultural exports in 2020, with China accounting for 55% of total soybean exports.
Corn exports were $9.2 billion, an increase of 20% over 2019, led by a $1.1 billion increase in exports to China. Mexico and Japan were the top two markets.
Colorado Cattlemen s Association
A sign on the side of a cattle truck promotes beef during one of numerous rallies in Colorado in support of “Meat-In Day” on March 20. Proposed 2022 ballot initiative would criminalize artificial insemination and other ranching practices.
Ranchers throughout the West and around the nation are keeping a close eye on a proposed Colorado animal-cruelty initiative that cleared a key procedural hurdle April 7 but faces an uphill battle.
Animal-welfare advocates are trying to place the Protect Animals from Unnecessary Suffering and Exploitation (PAUSE) initiative on the ballot in November 2022. Critics say the measure would ban artificial insemination and other commonly accepted veterinary and animal care practices in Colorado and would ban the slaughter of livestock that have not yet lived more than one-quarter of their anticipated lifetime, which for cattle is about five years.