Missouri House Ag chairman stands by ballot proposal on farming

JOPLIN, Mo. — After backing out of a debate posed by the same group last week, state Rep. Bill Reiboldt appeared before a tough crowd Wednesday night at the Southwest Missouri Democrats’ meeting in support of his “right to farm” amendment that will be on the Aug. 5 ballot.

“It’s an honor to be here tonight,” the Neosho Republican said to a chilly reception at the Construction and General Laborers’ Hall in Joplin. Reiboldt, a Newton County Republican who farms cattle, said the constitutional amendment he sponsored last year “is necessary to give farmers some additional protections.”

The ballot measure, Amendment No. 1, would enshrine in the state’s constitution “the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices.” The wording is broad and has drawn opposition from environmentalists and small family farmers who believe it could harm their operations in favor of large corporate farms.

Speaking on the other side of the issue this week was Bob Glenn, a fellow cattle farmer who is a Democratic candidate for Dade County presiding commissioner. He was critical of the amendment for being too vague and contended it could actually harm small, family farmers such as he and Reiboldt.

“It looks like an open-ended contract,” he said. “It does not say what will happen later.”

In Dade County, he said, corporate farmers have taken a stronghold. Near him, several corporate CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, have set up shop, and he believes the county is not enforcing current health regulations that could restrict them.

Glenn said he believes the amendment would seal the status quo for current county regulations, which he said could give corporate poultry farmers and their large operations an upper hand over him and other small farms.

“Where does that turkey litter go?” he asked. “It runs off and goes into your groundwater. I’m looking at 200,000 neighbors back home.”

Another issue raised by critics of the proposal is foreign ownership of agricultural land. After the sale of Premium Standard Farms to Smithfield Foods, the state Legislature last year enacted legislation that would allow one percent of the state’s agricultural land to be owned by foreign entities.

Of that 1 percent, most is owned by Italian and New Zealand farmers, but Chinese companies have begun to take notice. Opponents to Amendment No. 1 have been critical of foreign owned farms in other states who they say have taken advantage of American land, leaving polluted plots in one state for greener pastures in another.

“Read stories from hog farms in Iowa or turkey farms in Arkansas,” he said, noting allegations of pollution and water contamination in other states. “If Amendment 1 goes into place, you can’t fight that.”

The crowd Wednesday night — made up mostly of local Democrats — was expectedly sympathetic to Glenn and openly skeptical of Reiboldt. He had backed out of a debate last week with former Democratic Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell at the request of Missouri Farmers Care, a group supported by many of the commodity groups and big agricultural companies criticized by the local Democrats at the meeting Wednesday night.

“I haven’t taken any money from these companies or their lobbyists,” Reiboldt said to a question. He said his amendment would help small farmers fend off criticism by animal rights and environmental groups such as efforts in 2010 to regulate the pet production industry.

Reiboldt said he opposed foreign ownership of Missouri agriculture land, too, and shrugged off the criticism that the constitutional amendment would extend the opportunity for corporations to take hold of more Missouri agricultural land.

“This is not to promote corporate agriculture in any way,” he said. “They will come whether this law is in place or not.”

Local Democrats

Following the forum Wednesday night, Democrats voted 41-4 to announce their opposition to Amendment No. 1. The group also voted to oppose the four other state ballot measures voters will consider Aug. 5.

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