House Bill 1371
Relating to corporate farming
What will this bill do?
Allow corporations to own and operate farming businesses in the state of North Dakota.
Remove swine, dairy, poultry, and cattle feeding from the definition of a farm or ranch.
Reasons to oppose this bill
Governor Burgum believes that opening a window for corporations to partner with farmers can reverse North Dakota's decline in livestock production and complement its other agricultural output. However, overturning the longstanding anti-corporate farming laws in ND would deplete the number of independent producers around the state while pushing profits to out-of-state companies. There are solutions to revive the agriculture industry that will not pit powerful corporate interests against independent family farmers.
Billionaire investors with ulterior motives are buying up farmland across the country with the purpose of disrupting and destroying agricultural industries as we know them.
What is the current status of the bill?
Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee hearing was on March 24th.
Click here for latest actions taken on HB 1371.
How can I share my opposition to this bill?
Email Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee and urge a do not pass recommendation for HB 1371.
lluick@ndlegis.gov, jmyrdal@ndlegis.gov, khogan@ndlegis.gov, rlemm@ndlegis.gov, markweber@ndlegis.gov,
Spread the word and encourage others to do the same. Write a letter to the editor, share on social media, send this link to friends and family.
Additional Context
Why are our current laws in place? What is generally referred to as “corporate farm law,” North Dakotans passed an initiated measure in 1932 that would outlaw corporations to own and operate farm land. This was put into place during the Great Depression and has been held up for almost 100 years. The point of passing this legislation so long ago was to counteract the negative consequences of the Great Depression when out of state entities were buying farm land cheap all over North Dakota. It is said that history repeats itself, and here are again, defending our current laws that protect North Dakotan farmers and ranchers.
In 2015, the North Dakota Legislature fell victim to clever lies from corporate lobbyists. They passed a piece of legislation which would allow for corporations to own and engage in the diary and pork industry in North Dakota. The following election in 2016, North Dakota voters voted with 76% majority to appeal this decision and say no, yet again, to corporate farming in North Dakota.
So the question is – do we preserve our heritage of family farms in North Dakota or legalize corporations to take over our industry? If we want to support the growth of agriculture in ND, why wouldn’t we support our current family farms or first-generation farmers? The Bank of ND (BND) could look into options such as low to no interest farm loans (first five years), breeding stock loans, family farm loan programs, ag pace loans, and so much more. The BND is a wonderful tool set up to support business, industry, and agriculture in our state in order to fuel our economy and allow for the benefits of capitalism. Currently, the BND’s profit is used to balance out North Dakota’s State Budget when it could be used for other programs such as operational loans to farmers in our state. How has BND’s mission become so misdirected? Would we even being having this conversation of legalizing corporate farming if we were actively supporting the industry in our state?
Resources
Why Farmers Are Worried About Bill Gates (And Other Non-Farming Land-Owners)
Court sides with the people of North Dakota upholding ban on corporate farming
Judge upholds 86-year-old agriculture law as both functional and constitutional
Is House Bill 1371 a Trojan Horse? Yes!
Bill Gates, Sustainable Agriculture Champion, Is America's Biggest Farmland Owner