Bismarck-House lawmakers followed their Senate counterparts Monday in voting to relax North Dakota’s anti-corporate farming law, a landmark decision that could soon clear the way for non-family corporations to own dairy and swine operations for the first time in 83 years.
North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne immediately condemned the vote, issuing a statement accusing 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, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, repeatedly stressed during a 23-minute debate on the House floor that North Dakota is one of nine states with anti-corporate farming laws and the only state without a livestock exemption.
Milk production dropped more than 41.5 percent from 2002 to 2012 in North Dakota, while neighboring states such as South Dakota – which exempted dairy farms in 2008 – have increased production, he said.
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,” he said.
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.
As amended by the House, the bill would allow a domestic corporation or limited liability company to own a dairy farm or swine production facility on 640 acres of land – 1 square mile – or less. The facility must begin operations within three years from the date the land is acquired, and it must be permitted as an “animal feeding operation” or “concentrated animal feeding operation” by the state Department of Health, with a minimum of 50 cows or 500 swine.
The current anti-corporate farming law was adopted by voters in 1932 and allows for family corporations and LLCs with up to 15 related shareholders.
Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, who had earlier tried unsuccessfully to add beef feedlots to the bill, said it’s hard to imagine how the current law isn’t going to end up doing the same thing it was meant to protect farmers from.
“And that is allowing huge families to generally gather up all the land, and they’ll own it themselves. Because how is a young person in today’s world, with the profit that is provided for most commodities, going to compete with his neighbor who has acquired thousands and thousands of acres?” he said.
Headland also called arguments that the bill would allow out-of-state corporations to swoop in and buy up land “somewhat disingenuous.” Johnson said the bill provides the same opportunity to in-state and out-of-state interests.
“It could be a group of neighbors that can go together with an investment like this. I don’t believe we’re talking about the large, evil corporations we’re referring to them as here,” he said.
Rep. Marvin Nelson, D-Rolla, said requiring the farms to be permitted as animal feeding operations or concentrated animal feeding operations “creates a whole series of problems for a lot of our small producers across the state, people who have not been required to get permits.”
House Minority Leader Kenton Onstad, D-Parshall, also opposed the bill, saying it weakens the existing law. He questioned whether it will foster greater investment in the two industries, which face higher marketing costs and a lack of processing that he said should be the real focus.
“I think it opens up a loophole,” he said.
Watne said a number of amendments were made to the bill to address loopholes within the 640-acre limitation, but Farmers Union is “not convinced by a long shot” that they fully address their concerns.
“It’s a sad day for North Dakota. We strongly urged Gov. Dalrymple to veto this legislation,” he said.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, said he anticipates the Senate will concur with the House amendments.
Source: Dickinson Press