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.
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