Reposted from: https://richmond.com/opinion/column/article_b2122e02-cfbe-48a3-88c8-640a2f56a4d1.html
May 1, 2026
Good policy requires more than a clever name. Behind the folksy branding of the so-called “Save Our Bacon Act” lies a serious threat to Virginia agriculture, particularly livestock producers already operating on thin margins. The bill, tucked into the latest federal farm bill now making its way through Congress, would saddle Virginia producers with new uncertainty at the worst possible time.
As a Virginian with a long-running family winery — JBR Vineyards in Giles County — I know agriculture is bigger than the stereotypes people often imagine. It includes livestock producers, grain growers, orchardists, vegetable farms and vineyards like mine. Our products differ, but our concerns are often the same: access to markets, fair rules, consumer trust and the freedom to build businesses that can survive for the next generation.
That is why I oppose the so-called “Save Our Bacon Act,” which would prohibit states from enacting “a condition or standard on the production of covered livestock other than for covered livestock physically raised in such State or subdivision.”
Read the rest of the article on Richmond Times-Dispatch’s website.
Cameron Ring