Missouri voters narrowly approved a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to farm, said the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. “Given the margin of victory was 2,528 votes out of nearly 995,000 cast, a recount is likely.” Opponents said Amendment 1 “was a shill to corporate farming.” The amendment “was prompted by rural legislators who said farm culture needed protection from attempted infringement by environmentalists and animal-rights activists — an argument spurred in part by the 2010 Missouri fight over dog-breeding regulations,” said the Post-Dispatch.
The Associated Press said the amendment “appears to have prevailed in a close election” that split along urban and rural lines. North Dakota also has a right-to-farm constitutional amendment.
According to KFVS-TV, the vote was 498,751 in favor of the amendment and 496,223 against with all precincts reported. The wording on the ballot was: Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure that the right of Missouri citizens to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices shall not be infringed?