Posted March 4, 2015
The North
Dakota House Agriculture Committee will vote on the proposed changes to the state’s
anti-corporate farming law, according to a Grand Forks Herald article available
here.
AgWeek also published an article available here.
House
Agriculture Committee Chairman Dennis Johnson, R-Devils Lake, said that SB 2351
is scheduled at 8 a.m. March 5 in the Brynhild Haugland Room. Johnson expects
the committee to work toward a vote on March 6 and that it will go to the floor
as early as March 9 or 10.
The bill is probably the most contentious of any agriculture
bills remaining and both sides are likely to “double down” in the House debate,
according to Johnson.
SB 2351
would allow non-family corporations to own and operate dairy and swine farms,
and would allow each farm to own or control up to 640 acres of farmland,
according to AgWeek.
The North
Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) have released a poll that revealed 75 percent of
North Dakotans would vote against the bill, if given a chance.
The NDFU
sponsored the poll, and DFM Research of St. Paul conducted phone interviews of
400 North Dakotans.
Approximately
86 percent of respondents said they thought the state’s agriculture economy is
best left in the hands of farmers. The poll has a 5 percent margin of error.
Mark
Watne, NDFU president, said the poll reflects his organization’s “long-held
belief that when it comes to production agriculture, family farmers and
ranchers should be the ones who farm and own the land in North Dakota, not
corporations.”
The poll also
identified respondents by political party with 39 percent Republican, 26
percent Democrat, and 34 percent Independent.
Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairman Joe Miller, R-Park River, predicts the bill will
pass and will be signed by the governor,
according to Grand
Forks Herald.
“It’s
logical to make this move because it’s the only notable barrier, in the law
anyway,” said Miller. “I don’t look at it as discriminatory legally because
these two operations are similar in how they care for animals, in enclosed
situations, where a (cattle) feedlot is much more open.”
For
more information on corporate farming laws, please visit the National
Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
