Sponsors (2)
The bill raises baseline animal-welfare and food-safety protections and offers targeted aid to small producers, but it imposes retrofit and compliance costs — with near-term deadlines and enforcement penalties — that may raise consumer pork prices and strain small or rural farms.
Consumers and farmers-agricultural-workers: breeding pigs will have more space to lie down, stand, and turn, improving animal welfare and likely reducing disease and food-safety risks.
Small-business-owners and independent farmers-agricultural-workers: the bill prioritizes financial assistance to help retrofit facilities and comply with new space and confinement standards, reducing the burden of transition for smaller producers.
Consumers: major retailers and states phasing out intensive confinement will give clearer market signals about animal-welfare-friendly products, helping buyers make informed choices.
Consumers and taxpayers: retail pork prices could rise if producers pass retrofit and compliance costs onto consumers, increasing grocery bills.
Small-business-owners and farmers-agricultural-workers: producers will face significant compliance and retrofit costs to expand housing or change systems, raising production costs.
Rural-communities, small-business-owners, and farmers-agricultural-workers: smaller or capital-constrained producers may struggle with the transition, risking farm closures and industry consolidation.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits confinement that prevents pigs from turning/standing/lying, sets a 24 sq ft minimum per breeding pig, creates exceptions, and funds compliance help via USDA and a $10M Pork Board set-aside.
Introduced April 3, 2025 by Veronica Escobar · Last progress April 3, 2025
Prohibits confining breeding pigs in ways that stop them from lying down, standing up, or turning around, and establishes a minimum usable floorspace of 24 square feet per breeding pig (with specific exceptions). Requires USDA to create a financial assistance program prioritizing independent pig producers and directs the National Pork Board to set aside at least $10 million from assessments over the first two fiscal years after enactment to help producers comply. Federal enforcement and penalties under existing animal health statutes apply, state and local laws are preserved, and definitions and exceptions are specified.