Rep. John Atkins

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Update on House Bill 63 – “Right to Farm”

Representative John Atkins and Senator Bruce Ennis have filed House Bill 63 in the Delaware General Assembly. As mentioned in a previous post, it’s modeled off North Dakota’s Right to Farm bill. It was released from the House agricultural committee on March 27 and heads to the House Agenda. No telling when it will actually appear on the agenda but I’ll be watching. More to come.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 63

 AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO AGRICULTURE. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend Article I of the Constitution of the State of Delaware by making insertions as shown by underlining as follows:

§21. Right to engage in agriculture.

The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state.  No law shall be enacted which abridges the right of farmers and ranchers to employ agricultural technology, modern livestock production and ranching practices.

SYNOPSIS

                This bill is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that forever guarantees the right of farmers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices.

It’s considered a “constitutional amendment”, which means it takes longer to pass.

Article XVI defines the paths by which the Delaware Constitution can be amended:

  • The Delaware General Assembly can amend the constitution. Unlike in any other state, the state legislature can amend the constitution without a vote of the people. For the legislature to amend the constitution:
  • Two-thirds of all the members elected to each chamber can vote in favor of a proposed amendment.
  • The Delaware Secretary of State then must publish the proposed amendment(s) three months prior to the next general election in at least three newspapers in each county.
  • The subsequent General Assembly then votes again on the proposed amendment(s) and if an amendment receives the two-thirds approval of all members of each chamber, it becomes part of the constitution.
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A Right to Farm & Ag Certainty

Most of Wednesday’s House Ag Committee meeting was devoted to housekeeping of harness racing regulations. But at the end, two preliminary-but very optimistic-ideas surfaced. Here are the highlights:

  • Rep. John Atkins, Chair, called the meeting to order at 12:05pm and immediately turned the floor over to Secretary Ed Kee. Representative’s in attendance were Peterman, Outten, Kenton, Wilson, Spiegelman, Q. Johnson. Other guests were lobbyists-Scott & Rebecca Kidner and Debbie Hamilton, Hettie Brown-HSUS State Director, Mark Davis-DDA, Austin Short-DDA.
  • The Secretary went straight into draft legislation related to harness racing such as jockey welfare, harness racing fines, and investigations related to illegal substances.
  • Related to Ag Lands Preservation, the Secretary said he is requesting $2 million for the program in the Governor’s budget, which will be presented this week on Jan. 24. See updated info on Ag Lands here.
  • The Secretary announced that DDA, the Nutrient Management Commission, DNREC, USDA, and the Conservation Districts are exploring the use of an “Ag Certainty” program related to those with a nutrient management plan.  Here is the draft review circulated in committee:
DE's Ag Certainty Program Review Draft circulated in House Committee meeting on Jan. 16, 2013

DE’s Ag Certainty Program Review Draft circulated in House Committee meeting on Jan. 16, 2013

It looks to be an incentive program for farmers to implement best management practices (BMP’s), which other states have adopted (Florida, Louisiana, and Michigan). I also found a blog post by Lara Moody, a promoter of nutrient stewardship in D.C., which cites the discussion of Ag Certainty related to the Chesapeake Bay back in Nov. 2011.

“The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state. No law shall be enacted which abridges the right of farmers and ranchers to employ agricultural technology, modern livestock production and ranching practices”.

Legislative counsel in DE may also suggest this be a Constitutional amendment, which could be a lengthy process because it must pass both chambers (House & Senate), not once, but two years in a row. As soon as I heard this, my mind went straight to Rich Barczewski’s “Pig Tales” column in the Jan.15th Delmarva Farmer. He mentions right-to-farm laws in his column titled “Agriculture Under Fire”. The article is impossible to find on the web so I’m posting it below. Awesome article.

Pig Tales, "Agriculture Under Fire", by Rich Barczewski, columnist for Jan. 15, 2013 Delmarva Farmer

Pig Tales, “Agriculture Under Fire”, by Rich Barczewski, columnist for Jan. 15, 2013 Delmarva Farmer

It’s your turn! Which do you think should be implemented to help Delaware farmers in 2013? Answer the poll below!

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Joint Agriculture Committee Update-Part II

A week later, on March 28, the committee came together again. This time the agenda covered two extremely sensitive topics: animal welfare and nutrient management.

Dr. Carolyn Orr from the Council of State Governments (CSG) reported that a university study showed that the EPA overestimated the amount of nutrients from the poultry operations coming into the environment by about four folds.  THIS IS HUGE FOR DELMARVA FARMERS!!! Apparently the EPA was using a model that relies on feeding practices that are 25 years old. Poultry farmers are much more efficient in their feeding practices today.

Dr. Orr went on to address animal welfare issues and the animal rights movement, which she singled out as the biggest threat to ag in the US today. She stated the movement is emotion backed, not science backed. Several fast food chains have required their pork suppliers and egg suppliers to use gestation free facilities. She also reported that several states have made it illegal to get false employment in a facility for the purpose to video tape. Witnesses are also required to report videotaping within 72 hours.

Several guests were present such as Gary Warren of the DE Farm Bureau  and Cooperative Extension representatives. Important to note, there was also a  representative of the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) in attendance. House members present included Chair Atkins and Chair Bunting, Representatives Quinn Johnson, Harvey Kenton, Bobby Outten, Jack Peterman, and Dave Wilson. Senate members present were Bruce Ennis, Bob Venables and Gary Simpson.

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All committee meetings are held on Wednesday afternoons, when in session, at Legislative Hall in Dover. They are open to the public. You can check the DE General Assembly website for updates on Committee meeting times and rooms (click on meeting schedules on left side tool bar). It’s updated daily and often you will see bills sneak in on committee meeting agendas or time changes at the last minute.  The Ag Committee for each chamber meets sporadically, either when a bill is introduced or when updates are needed. For example, there is a House Ag Committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Wed., May 9 at 4pm. See the agenda here. 

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DE House Agriculture Committee Update

As a quick follow-up to my previous blog, “Proposed Changes to DE Nutrient Management Commission”, House Bill 282 was released from the House Agriculture Committee meeting last Wednesday, April 25. In order to be released, it required a majority vote from the House Agriculture Committee members. Rep. John Atkins called the meeting to order. Rep. Dave Wilson, sponsor of the bill, quickly introduced the bill. Rep. Bill Carson made the motion to release this bill from committee. Rep. Quinn Johnson seconded. There was no discussion and no opposition. Other elected officials present were Rep. Bobby Outten, Rep. Harvey Kenton, and Rep. Jack Peterman. Secretary Ed Kee was in attendance as well as the Staff Administrator of the DE Farm Bureau, Ms. Pam Thornburg-Bakerian.  The bill will now be placed on the ready list or on the agenda, to be worked on the House floor. The meeting was adjourned.

Hopefully this won’t hurt poultry representatives in the long run when an important decision is made. However, I should share an article I read in the News Journal this week titled, “High prices, slow sales ground Delmarva poultry”…..

Check back for an update on DE Joint Agricultural Committee minutes soon.