MATTHEW WILDE, Courier Staff Writer | Posted: Saturday, March 11, 2006 12:00 am
Americans covet freedom of speech. The country's military history proves the right is worth dying for.
But a bill in the Iowa Legislature seeking to curb false complaints against farmers, according to some, is trying to take that right away. I don't agree.
Dubbed the "Chronic Agriculture Complainer" bill, people could face penalties for making unjust complaints against grain and livestock producers if the law is passed. Supporters say it's needed to protect farmers from unjust complaints that waste time and money. Opponents feel the bill would scare people from speaking out against factory farms.
"That means we don't have freedom of speech anymore," said Gary Larsen, a crop farmer from Exira and bill opponent.
Several state activist and environmental groups have banded together to defeat the bill, which is in the Iowa House for consideration. The House Agriculture Committee, which introduced the bill, approved it 16-5 in January. The House Judiciary Committee passed it as well, 12-8.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a Des Moines-based group opposed to livestock confinements, calls the bill reprehensible and believes it puts the well being of large, corporate farmers ahead of citizens.
"The point of this legislation is obvious; it's designed to intimidate rural Iowans who report factory farm environmental problems into silence," said ICCI member Kurt Kesley of Iowa Falls. "… We need to start addressing the real issue - the problems factory farms are creating in our countryside."
I've talked with ICCI officials enough to know the group is not just out to stop large corporations like Smithfield Foods or Iowa Select Farms that raise hogs, but the use of confinements period. That means a farmer wanting to contract feed or farrow-to-finish 4,000 hogs in these buildings to earn more money so a son or daughter can come home to farm is the enemy as well. Right now there's no protection for this family from a person who moves to a nearby acreage, and objects to the plan and files false complaints to stop it.
That's why passing the bill is important.
Grain and livestock producers should be held accountable for knowingly polluting the environment and making bad decisions. But they deserve protection from people who simply object to the way they farm. Claiming laws are being broken when they are not, with the hope of shutting down an operation, is wrong and needs to be stopped.
The proposed law states a person will be labeled a "chronic complainer" if they file three or more complaints in a two-year period with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that don't eventually turn up a violation. The person would be liable for the government's costs and damages and costs to the farmer accused of wrongdoing. The DNR would not investigate claims from a "complainer" unless they put up a financial bond for the investigation.
According to the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers, producers tell the organization that people are filing unfounded complaints for the sole purpose of inconveniencing the farm family. In fact, some neighbors have complained about odor coming from a new livestock barn, only to accompany the farmer to the building in question and find out the building was empty.
"A growing number of farmers say chronic complainers are abusing the system," said Aaron Putze, coalition spokesperson. "They cost farmers time and money and divert the time, energy and resources of environmental officials … resources that could be used to investigate credible situations."
I don't believe the bill violates anyone's rights. If someone tells the DNR manure from a hog operation is polluting a stream and killing fish, the proof better be there. If the complaint is valid, the farmer needs to be punished. If it's not, then the person making the complaint needs to be held accountable.
The law is a two-way street - it should protect everyone. Hopefully, lawmakers will realize this and pass the measure.
Matthew Wilde is the Courier's agriculture writer. He can be reached at (319) 291-1579 or matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.