State Rep. Caleb Jones, 50th District, served as moderator at a special Missouri AG PAC meeting Monday, July 21, at Centennial Hall, Moniteau County Fairgrounds.
The subject of the meeting was proposed Amendment No. 1 on the Aug. 5 ballot. The amendment, commonly called the Right to Farm Amendment reads: "Agriculture which provides food, energy, health benefits, and security is the foundation and stabilizing force of Missouri's economy. To protect this vital sector of Missouri's economy, the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state, subject to duly authorized powers, if any, conferred by Article VI of the Constitution of Missouri."
People representing a wide range of agriculture interests took part in the presentation, with all in agreement that passage of the amendment would be a good thing. The amendment was explained to actually give anyone involved in agriculture standing to go to court to challenge legislation, regulations, ordinances or other legal restrictions which would serve to infringe on the right of Missourians to engage in agricultural activity.
It was also pointed out that the goal of the proposed amendment is to be proactive, not reactive. There have been restrictions passed on agriculture activities in several states, as a part of a nation-wide effort by several large organizations. This amendment is expected to discourage the out-of-state groups from funding passage of restrictive laws and regulations in Missouri. One of the organizations was quoted as saying that no one should eat meat, that eating meat constituted animal abuse.
It was explained that, as the situation stands now, a small family farmer may find it hard to prove standing to challenge in court an effort to restrict some farming rights. Standing, or a right to challenge, is often very important.
The very large farms or ag companies are not likely to be affected by this amendment, since they usually have funds available for attorneys to challenge any restrictions on their own activities.
The question of how this amendment may affect foreign ownership was answered with the information that foreign agriculture ownership is restricted to 1 percent by the state constitution.
When a question was asked about how much input an organization called A.L.E.C. was involved in the writing of the proposed amendment, the answer was "none." This particular proposed amendment started with work by Rep. Tom Lerner, Osage County. The wording was worked on for three or four years. The A.L.E.C. referred to is the American Legislative Exchange Council, which apparently has been known to assist states in drafting legislation protecting individual rights.
Another person questioned that, if farming is an inalienable right, why additional protection is needed, since the right can't be infringed. It was pointed out that there are all sorts of restrictions placed on what are considered constitutional, inalienable rights.
The speakers included Cody Jones, a University of Missouri Ag Business student, and Missouri Soybean Programs intern; Shane Kinne, Director of Public Policy for the Missouri Corn Growers Association; Don Nikodim, Executive Director of the Missouri Pork Association; Alan Wessler, DVM, MFA Vice President of Feed Operations and Animal Health; Mike Deering, Executive Vice President of the Missouri Cattlemen's Association; and Dennis Feezor, Board President of the Moniteau County Farm Bureau.
Speaking briefly in favor of the amendment from the audience were former Sen. Larry Rohrbach and Chuck Massengill, DVM, retired from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.