A statewide referendum in North Dakota tomorrow will let voters decide whether to make an exception for hog and dairy farms from the state ban on corporate farming. It may not be the final word, however, since the state Farm Bureau filed suit in federal court early this month in hopes of overturning the 1932 law that bans corporate farms altogether.
The North Dakota Farmers Union, the largest farm group in the state, has led the campaign against corporate livestock farming. The Republican-controlled legislature passed, and Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed, a law in 2015 allowing corporate hog and dairy farms of up to 640 acres, or one square mile. Nine states restrict corporate farming and most of those exempt livestock operations of some sort, says The Associated Press.
“While the debate is very much focused on maintaining the character of North Dakota, it also taps into widespread fears about the disappearance of family farms throughout the United States and the spread of big corporations and their farming methods into rural America,” said the New York Times.
The Farmers Union, which organized a petition drive that led to Tuesday’s referendum, says corporate ownership of livestock farms will push family farms out of business. Proponents say the exemption will bring investment money into the state. The state Farm Bureau says the state ban is discriminatory and ripe for challenge on constitutional grounds. “Our family farmer members should not be excluded from the benefits of a corporate structure for estate planning, tax management and liability issues associated with managing a family business,” the bureau said in announcing the federal suit.
North Dakota was the first state, in 2012, to add a “right to farm” to the state constitution. Missouri narrowly approved a similar amendment in 2014. Oklahoma has a “right to farm” amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot. Besides protecting the right to engage in farming and ranching practices, the Oklahoma amendment says the legislature cannot take away the right to employ agricultural technology and livestock production without a compelling interest.