In a close ruling last month, the Supreme Court decided to uphold a controversial California law governing pork production.

One pig farmer told Fox News that the decision has disturbing implications that go well beyond the Golden State. 

Farmer claims that pen size requirement is misguided

At issue is Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot measure that mandated any pork sold in California must come from animals which were raised in accordance with specific standards.

They include housing pigs in pens of no less than  24 square feet, and the rules apply whether the animals are raised in California or not.

Dwight Mogler is a fourth-generation Iowa pig farmer, and he said that the law was pushed by groups which "don't appreciate modern animal agriculture."

Mogler explained that pigs often must be kept separate from one another as the animals can become very aggressive during a sow's heat cycle.

Concern that farms may go under as compliance costs mount

"People have really lost an understanding of how true farms work today," Mogler continued, adding, "We protect [animals] from the weather. We protect them from transmission of disease."

"All those practices … we employ to protect the health and the comfort of the animals that we care for," the farmer insisted.

"And so it’s very troubling to us that somebody else would impose standards when who knows best other than those of us who [have farmed] for multiple generations," he stressed.

Mogler asserted that many farmers simply do not have the resources to comply with the 26-square-foot pen requirement, and depriving them of the California market will push them out of business.

He predicted such a development will not only lead to lost jobs but also lead to higher costs and imperil America's food supply as a whole.

Animal rights group "delighted" with Supreme Court ruling

Fox News noted how in addition to the American Farm Bureau Federation, Proposition 12 was also challenged by the Department of Justice, which argued that it was a violation of the Constitution's dormant commerce clause.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision was welcomed by Kitty Block who serves as president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

"We’re delighted that the Supreme Court has upheld California Proposition 12 – the nation’s strongest farm animal welfare law – and made clear that preventing animal cruelty and protecting public health are core functions of our state governments," she was quoted as saying in a statement.