USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced it would include a non-carcass merit premium for hogs raised in compliance with animal confinement legislation (ACL) in the National Weekly Direct Swine Non-Carcass Merit Premium report.
“This addition will provide pork industry stakeholders with the information necessary to make informed production and marketing decisions relating to ACL-compliant hogs,” AMS said in its statement.
The agency said ACL-compliant hogs were previously listed under the “other” category that included other certifications and characteristics like antibiotic-free hogs.
In recent years, certain states, including California with its Proposition 12 law, have enacted laws limiting the use of gestation crates in hog production. California requires pig products to be from pigs born to a sow house in at least 24 square-feet of space, regardless of where they are raised.
