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Pig farmer says production will likely face more regulatory challenges

An Indiana pork farmer says he’s bracing for more regulatory requirements.  Keith Schoettmer tells Brownfield, “Proposition 12 was a shot across the bow, if you will, that these types of challenges are going to come.”

Schoettmer, a former America’s Pig Farmer of the Year, owns and operates a midsize farrow to finish operation in central Indiana.  He says the impact of Proposition 12 on retail prices is still unclear.  “We don’t know if we have enough supply raise under Prop 12 standards to meet that demand out there,” he says.  “I think it would be naïve to think that this movement of state regulation isn’t going to grow.”

He tells Brownfield it wouldn’t take much for his operation to become Prop 12 compliant, but they haven’t made any changes to their housing yet. “For us to do that, we need to get paid adequately well for less production,” he says.  “Because it will certainly reduce the output on our farm.”

Brownfield interviewed Schoettmer at the 2023 Midwest Pork Conference in Indiana.

AUDIO: Keith Schoettmer, Indiana pig farmer