Rep. Smith touts state's 'right-to-farm' proposal

If U.S. Rep. Jason Smith and a number of agriculture groups have their way, farming will be a state right protected on the same level as speech and religion.

The Republican congressman said during a visit to Cape Girardeau Tuesday that Constitutional Amendment 1, the "Keep Missouri Farming" Amendment, is an issue he's felt passionately about since his time in the statehouse.

The proposed amendment will be on the Aug. 5 ballot and will ask voters whether the rights of farmers and ranchers should be "forever guaranteed" in the Missouri Constitution. Smith calls the measure he helped initiate "right-to-farm."

He recognized local legislators such as state Reps. Kathy Swan and Donna Lich­tenegger and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford for their help in bringing the issue to voters, but said the agriculture industry played the biggest role.

"Whenever the ag industry in Missouri unites, you see great things happen," Smith said.

A number of farmers spoke after Smith, each advocating for the measure and sharing the benefits it would offer.

Butch Meier is a fourth-generation farmer in Jackson who hopes to pass the family business to his children and grandchildren. He raises beef cattle and said the industry is a big one in Missouri, but pointed out it's only one piece of the puzzle.

"Beef cattle cannot stand alone ... as a commodity group," Meier said. "All the commodity groups in agriculture have got to work together. I have to have corn, I have to have soybeans, I've got to have feed. ... That's why it's so important that we all gather together."

Smith said a measure such as right-to-farm is necessary because it provides protection to the state's biggest industry. The state's 106,000 farms and ranches produce about $11.5 billion in revenue, according to the Missouri Farm Bureau.

"It's a basic right of our rural way of life, and believe it or not, it's being targeted by many different groups and individuals," Smith said.

Farm groups and rural Republicans began pushing for the amendment after a 2010 conflict surrounding an initiative petition dealing with dog breeding.

Smith and Larry Miller of the Cape County Farm Bureau both put the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals among groups that have made it difficult for farmers to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

The congressman also pointed out urban areas will benefit from the measure if passed, because it will allow more options for food at grocery stores and farmers markets.

"It's nice to buy that produce nice and cheap, but if you make it more difficult for the farmers, it's going to be more difficult for your pocketbook," he said.

Smith also warned that advertisements likely would air on TV soon, claiming right-to-farm allowed for mistreatment of animals or protected "big corporate" farms. He called those implications "hogwash" and said the goal was simply to provide uniform protection to farms across the state.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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265 S. Broadview St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.