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Posted March 19, 2015
House lawmakers voted to relax North Dakota’s anti-corporate farming law, which could set the precedent for non-family corporations to own dairy and swine operations for the first time in 83 years, according to a Prairie Business article available here. Inforum also published the article hereand Grand Forks Herald here.
North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne condemned the vote and issued a statement that accused legislators of “ignoring the majority of North Dakotans who want farmland ownership and agricultural production to be in the hands of families making a living off the land.”
Rep. Dennis Johnson, R-Devils Lake, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, stressed that North Dakota is one of nine states with anti-corporate farming laws and the only state without a livestock exemption.
Johnson said the bill would encourage investment in the state’s struggling swine and dairy industries while also benefiting grain farmers by providing fertilizer and additional markets for their crops.
“We could do nothing and watch them fade away. But I think we have an opportunity here to try and help them.”
The House voted 56-37 to approve amended Senate Bill 2351, after the Senate first passed the bill 27-18 last month.
If the Senate agrees to the House amendments, the bill will go to Gov. Jack Dalrymple for his signature.
For more information on corporate farming laws, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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