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‘King amendment’ is part of House bill

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Farm Bill passed Wednesday night by the House Ag Committee includes the “Protect Interstate Commerce Act”, which would bar states from imposing their own animal-welfare standards on eggs, meat and other ag products brought in from other states.

The amendment is aimed at preventing farmers in other states from having to comply with measures such as California’s Prop 2 initiative that requires farms to provide more space to hens, hogs and other livestock. 

The amendment was introduced by Iowa Representative Steve King.

“I’m fine if California wants to say ‘if you’re going to bring an egg in here, it has to be egg-shaped—and if you want to bring some beef in here, it needs to be produced with the idea of the regulations of the USDA in mind’,” King said.  “But I’m not fine if California—and it isn’t just California, it’s other states–it’s a patchwork quilt of these issues and we need to draw the line now while we still can.”

California Representative Jim Costa objected to the amendment.

“Congress does not have the authority to regulate interstate commerce in a way that strips states—I believe—of their sovereign state authority,” Costa said. “In effect, it’s a federal takeover of a long-standing state’s internal legislative authority.”

The president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, warns that the King amendment could essentially “nullify” California’s Prop 2 and all state and local laws designed to protect farm animals.

AUDIO: Excerpts from House Ag Comm debate on King amendment (14:38 MP3)

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‘King amendment’ gains approval from House Ag Committee

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

In Wednesday’s House Ag Committee Farm Bill markup session, Iowa Representative Steve King was successful in attaching his “Protect Interstate Commerce Act”, which would bar states from imposing their own animal-welfare standards on eggs, meat and other ag products brought in from other states.

The amendment is aimed at preventing farmers in other states from having to comply with measures such as California’s Prop 2 initiative that requires farms to provide more space to hens, hogs and other livestock.

Here are some excerpts from the debate that took place Wednesday evening.  Speakers include King, Rep. Jeff Denham of California, Rep. Jim Costa of California, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, as well as committee chair Frank Lucas.

AUDIO: Excerpts from House Ag Comm debate on King amendment (14:38 MP3)

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Tennessee governor vetoes “ag gag” bill

May 13, 2013 By 1 Comment

Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has vetoed a bill that would require images documenting animal abuse to be turned over to law enforcement within 48 hours.  According to The Tennessean newspaper, the Republican governor said he is vetoing the bill because “it appears to be constitutionally suspect and urged the state legislature to reconsider the measure.”

Haslam’s office reportedly received more than 5,000 phone calls and 16,000 emails on the bill, most of which opposed the bill.  In addition, an online petition calling for a veto received more than 34,000 signatures.

Dubbed the “Ag Gag” bill, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States says the bill is part of a national movement to silence whistleblowers and cover up animal abuse. 

As Haslam announced the veto, he also condemned hidden-camera investigations.  “Agriculture is the number one industry in Tennessee,” he said.  “Farmers play a vital role in our state’s economy, heritage, and history.  I understand their concerns about large-scale attacks on their livelihoods.  I also appreciate that the types of recordings this bill targets may be obtained at times under false pretenses, which I think it wrong.”

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Human Interest, Livestock, News Tagged With: , , ,

‘Egg bill’ not part of Senate Farm Bill draft

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The initial draft of the Senate Farm Bill, released on Thursday, does not include the so-called “egg bill” language dictating cage size for egg-laying hens. 

It confirms earlier speculation that Senate Ag Committee chair Debbie Stabenow would drop her plan to include the controversial provision in the farm bill markup. But National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) vice president of government affairs Colin Woodall expects it to come up again during the farm bill process.

The president of the United Egg Producers (UEP), Chad Gregory, has been highly critical of NCBA and other ag groups who are fighting against the egg bill.  But NCBA’s Woodall maintains the legislation sets “a dangerous precedent”.

“And in Washington, D.C., precedent is everything,” Woodall says. “So even though this is a deal between UEP and HSUS, HSUS didn’t make any deals with us or the pork producers or anybody else in livestock—and they will use that precedent to eventually come after all of us.”

UEP’s Gregory says the egg bill is critical to the egg industry’s survival.  Woodall argues federal legislation is not UEP’s only option.

“If this is really what the egg industry wants, then there are other mechanisms that they can use to push for adoption among their members—other than making Congress do the dirty work and force it upon their members,” Woodall says.

UEP represents farmers who produce nearly 90 percent of the eggs in the U.S.

Link to earlier story and interview with Colin Woodall

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Missouri Right to Farm gets new life

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The proposed right-to-farm constitutional amendment has been revived in the Missouri legislature after it stalled in the Missouri Senate earlier this week.

Kansas City Senator Jolie Justus had helped block the bill saying it needed to not only give farmers the right to farm but give local governments the authority to act on health, safety and environmental issues related to farming and ranching.  Now, she’s working to get that back into the proposal.

“Constitutionally we’ve set up political subdivisions under Article Six, so why don’t we refer to those in this thing and then have a streamlined sentence that basically says, ‘anything that the local political subdivisions already have they will continue to have,” says Senator Justus.

The bill has been sent back to a conference committee to add the local-control language.

Senate sponsor of the right to farm measure, Mike Parson, says that change can get the bill to next year’s ballot. If it passes in the remaining week of the legislative session, the amendment will go before Missouri voters in 2014.

~Missourinet News Director Bob Priddy contributed to this report~

MISSOURI RIGHT TO FARM HITS SNAG

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Missouri Right to Farm hits snag

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

In a state where ag industry groups and legislators have successfully fought off animal rights activist measures, legislators are now stalled on a “right to farm” proposal designed to block any future activist threats.

Missouri House and Senate negotiators have advanced a proposed right-to-farm constitutional amendment which would go to the voters next year if passed. The Missouri House passed the measure on Wednesday.  But Senate Sponsor Mike Parsons has been unable to get a final vote and sooner or later, he says, the court system would decide what the right to farm means.

Parsons said, “We’ve tried to talk to corporate lawyers, to attorneys, to judges, everybody we could possibly think to say – ‘What does this mean? Is this good/bad?’ And, at the end of the day you could throw all the answers in a hat and nobody really knows.”

Senate Minority Leader Jolie Justus says she is FOR the right to farm but is opposed to the measure because it removes county control.

Senator Paul LaVota of Independence says he agrees, “Let’s not put something in the constitution that ties the hand of local control that a CAFO or any other type of operation can pollute the land, upset the neighbors, and then hide behind the constitution saying ‘I’m doing farming.’”

Senator Parsons promises to keep trying to advance the right to farm measure. The Missouri legislative session ends next Friday.

~Missourinet contributed to this report~

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NCBA official: Egg bill fight not over

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Even though Senate Ag Committee chair Debbie Stabenow has apparently backed off on plans to incorporate the so-called “egg bill” language into the Senate Farm Bill markup, Colin Woodall of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) says the battle is far from over. 

“Late word is the language has been removed,” Woodall says. “But now we are worried about an amendment situation where an amendment could be offered either during the committee markup of the farm bill, or possibly on the floor of the Senate, that would also try to get that agreement put back in.

“So even though we’ve had kind of a short-term victory, it looks like, we’re still prepared to fight this as we move forward with the Senate Farm Bill process.”

Woodall disagrees with arguments put forth by United Egg Producers and the Humane Society of the United States that the egg bill only involves the egg industry.

“This sets a precedent of Congress dictating, or mandating, a production practice to all of us in livestock—and all of us in production agriculture—and that’s just unacceptable,” he says.

According to Woodall, who is vice president of government affairs for NCBA, the Senate Farm Bill markup is expected to take place this Thursday.

AUDIO: Colin Woodall (8:14 MP3)

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Stabenow backs off, but egg bill fight is not over

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Senate Ag Committee chair Debbie Stabenow has apparently backed off on plans to incorporate the so-called “egg bill” into the Senate farm bill markup. 

But Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, tells Brownfield that the battle is far from over.

“Late word is the language has been removed,” Woodall says. “But now we are worried about an amendment situation where an amendment could be offered either during the committee markup of the farm bill, or possibly on the floor of the Senate, that would also try to get that agreement put back in.

“So even though we’ve had kind of a short-term victory, it looks like, we’re still prepared to fight this as we move forward with the Senate Farm Bill process.”

The Senate Farm Bill markup is expected to take place this week.

AUDIO: Colin Woodall (8:14 MP3)

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Johnson Smith: videos misrepresent animal agriculture

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

2013_Kay_Johnson_Animal_ag_summitThe president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance concludes that undercover videos should not be the last word about livestock farmers.

The Alliance’s Stakeholder’s Summit ended Thursday with a string of personal stories from people who have been affected in one way or another by activists. As the conference concluded, Alliance CEO Kay Johnson Smith told Brownfield that through the summit, the alliance tried to convey ways to deal with the consequences of activists.

“We wanted to provide tools, not to hide things from the public, but tools to help the farmers understand how to better connect with the consumer, how transparency is important and they can share their story and not feel afraid,” Johnson Smith told Brownfield Ag News as the 12th annual summit ended. “Because if they’re not sharing their story, the only thing the consumer sees are those awful videos that come out that are very misrepresentative of the industry.”

Johnson Smith says that among farmers’ biggest challenges are people and organizations that want to put an end to animal agriculture.

AUDIO: Kay Johnson Smith (2 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2013 Animal Ag Summit, 2013 Events, Featured, Special Reports Tagged With: , , ,

Stabenow to include egg bill?

May 1, 2013 By 1 Comment

Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow reportedly plans to include the so-called Egg Bill, supported by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers (UEP), in her markup of the Farm Bill.

Agri-Pulse reports that the chairwoman’s staff told staff members of pork, beef, and turkey groups, and the American Farm Bureau on Tuesday that she was aiming to include Senate Bill 820, sponsored bya bipartisan group of senators, including Stabenow herself and Democrat Dianne Feinstein. A companion “egg” bill was introduced in the House, HR 1731. The ag groups are strongly opposed to the legislation which would set federal standards on cages for egg laying hens.

Stabenow worked last year to shut down similar legislation in the Senate-passed farm bill. Agri-Pulse says Stabenow has been at the receiving end of political pressure from the Michigan Agri-Business Association and others who support the bill. The Association says the bill is supported “by every commercial egg producer in Michigan.”

Stabenow has indicated markup of the farm bill in her committee could begin as early as May 9th.

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