 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Letter to the Editor on the Livestock Advisory Task Force ReportPrinted in the Fillmore County Journal Online on September 3, 2004 and DL-Online (Detroit Lakes) September 7, 2004 To the Editor, When Governor Pawlenty released his Livestock Advisory Task Force Report in July, the League of Women Voters of Minnesota was pleased to hear him say that the report was intended to "have relevance for all Minnesota livestock operations regardless of size, location, business structure of livestock species." The League agrees with the Governor that animal agriculture is a vital part of Minnesota's economy. However, upon reading the report we find recommendations that would undermine both local democracy and environmental considerations in the feedlot permitting process. We found the recommendations to be mainly for the benefit of the largest feedlot operators. The Task Force report has fallen short of the mark. Most troubling is the report's first recommendation concerning local siting of livestock operations. The current right of townships and counties to have a say in where feedlots are located in their communities is part of the tradition of local control that Minnesotans believe in. But the report suggests these rights should be weakened. We are concerned that the Governor could propose that we emulate the "siting" process in Wisconsin, where a state appointed panel has the power to overrule decisions made by elected township officers. Also troubling are recommendations made concerning permitting and environmental review. Serious weakening of environmental review and undermining of local control have already been achieved in the past two legislative sessions. Legislation passed two years ago removed the right of citizens and local governments to initiate environmental review of large feedlots. The right of citizens to file a nuisance complaint against a feedlot that was polluting the air or water, even if it was harming their health, was removed last year. The report's suggestion that raising the state's threshold for how large livestock operations can be before environmental review is required is another step in the wrong direction. The current threshold of 1,000 animal units applies to less than 5% of the livestock operations in our state and should not be further weakened. The League's position on agriculture adopted in 2001 supports a system of sustainable agriculture production that is also protective of the environment. We support family-owned and operated moderate-sized farms. According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 96% of Minnesota dairy farmers have 200 or fewer cows. Recommendations in the Task Force report, on the other hand, are designed to benefit the largest operations of seven hundred cows or more, with little, if anything, for the rest. The Governor's Task Force was comprised almost entirely of people with direct ties to large corporate agriculture interests. All citizens of Minnesota, not just industry representatives, are stakeholders in decisions that affect the economy, the environment, public health and food safety. We believe that the Governor's Task Force report could have been greatly strengthened had there been broader input from people who will be affected by Minnesota's agriculture policy - namely, all of us.
Helen Palmer |
|