N.D. OK's 'modern' agriculture

Voters make North Dakota first state in nation to protect right to farm in constitution

11/13/2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Doyle Johannes, who supports North Dakota constitutional amendment aimed at protecting the right to farm and ranch, stands next to his cattle feed lot on his farm in Underwood. N.D.
Doyle Johannes, who supports North Dakota constitutional amendment aimed at protecting the right to farm and ranch, stands next to his cattle feed lot on his farm in Underwood. N.D.

BISMARCK, N.D. — Voters in heavily agriculture-dependent North Dakota became the first to enshrine the right to farm in their state constitution, a move that some say could have far-reaching effects on genetic modification, land use, and the way animals are raised.

The amendment approved last week guarantees the right of farmers to engage in “modern” agriculture and bars any law limiting their right “to employ agricultural technology, modern livestock production and ranching practices.”

Supporters said it was broadly worded to protect farmers far into the future. But critics complained it was too vague, and officials in North Dakota said this week that they aren’t sure what the new right really means, how long it will take to define it, or whether it would survive a court challenge. Another big question is whether other states will follow.

“There’s certainly a lot of interest in the states in protecting agriculture and agricultural practices,” said Scott Hendrick, a program director with the National Conference of State Legislatures. “This takes a broader tack. I think some states will look at this.”

The North Dakota Farm Bureau collected signatures to get the amendment on the ballot after the Humane Society of the United States unsuccessfully pushed a measure two years ago to abolish fenced hunting preserves in North Dakota. Farm groups in other states also had become concerned about the Humane Society and other animal welfare organizations pushing laws to ban small crates for chickens and pregnant pigs, and what they saw as a heavier hand with federal regulation under President Barack Obama.

Farmers pushed back with social media campaigns and their own initiatives, such as a law passed this year in Iowa that makes it a crime to lie on a job application to get access to a farm to record video of animal treatment.

North Dakota’s constitutional amendment takes farm protection a step further.

“It's going to give us a big leg up on special interest groups that come in from outside and want to tell us what to do and what not to do,” said Doyle Johannes, president of the state Farm Bureau. “They're not going to stop. That was the big thing, to beat these people back. We don't need outsiders coming here and telling us how to do things.”

The amendment passed with two-thirds of the vote, the same day voters in California rejected a measure calling for labeling on food products containing genetically modified ingredients.

Joe Maxwell, a vice president with the Humane Society, said he wouldn’t be surprised if North Dakota’s constitutional amendment sparked similar efforts in other states.

“I think it will be a natural occurrence. I think some states will pause. I’m not suggesting it will pass everywhere,” he said.

One reason the amendment did so well in North Dakota probably is the big role agriculture plays in the state economy. North Dakota leads the nation in the production of eight commodities, from spring wheat to honey and navy beans, and it is among the top five producers of 15 crops.

However, the North Dakota Farmers Union, the state’s other main farmer group, opposed the amendment, saying it was too broad and could trump important local and state laws, such as those dealing with zoning and water drainage.

“It’s probably going to have to be challenged at some point through the court system, and we believe it will be at some point,” President Woody Barth said, adding the Farmers Union had no immediate plans to challenge the amendment.