MO Senate Action Alert

[Dan Pemby]

I sent my email through the website, then emailed him directly. I just got off the phone with his office. His aide tells me he is Open on the issue but does not see it passing as it is written.

He made some good points Pro Farming i.e. Guys is cutting his hay until late in the evening, his neighbor does not like it and brings a suit against him. But understands my point on water quality. (True politician)

Anyway, it is in debate this week so time to pick up the phone guys and girls. This is the reason you elected these folks, to be your voice. If they don't hear from you they will make their own choices.

[SilverMallard]

Dan, there are already "nuisance suit" laws in place in MO to protect farmers from such lawsuits. That's BS. He just didn't want to tell you he's voting for it. Under current MO law, if a farm has been in place for over ONE YEAR, they cannot be sued for disturbance related issues, city/county ordnance violations, etc. for common ag practices. Common ag practices are determined by the county extension agent and/or private lands conservationist for that county.

There were some cases in St. Charles County a few years back where towns had grown up around long-standing farms and neighbors were harassing the farmers over things like not mowing their crops to meet city/county ordnance lawn grass regulations and noise ordnance violations. So MO passed a common sense law prohibiting city and county ordnances from being enforced in that manner against ESTABLISHED farms. Furthermore, these laws also apply to long-standing drainage discharges that are within certain parameters and so forth.

So they fed you a line of BS.

[Dan Pemby]

Silver Mallard

Are you implying a politician would lie to a constituent? I am shocked, no, Appalled, no, …Ok never mind, what I was trying to convey is that I picked up the phone and TOLD someone how I felt about this. I am encouraging everyone else to do the same. Whether or not you get a straight answer from your state rep is a whole other subject. But if you tell them, they just may hear something that they have not heard or just may actually do their jobs and vote the way the people they represent wish them too.

Maybe I am naive who knows, but you could to liken this to “Alice’s Restaurant” If 50 people a day were to call they may think it’s a movement

[SilverMallard]

I agree completely, and did not mean to distract from your shining example of how to effect change in gov't. I was trying to illustrate just how disingenuous some of these rascals can be. Even my own very plain-spoken and forthright Senator Champion said via her CoS that she GENERALLY opposes ALL attempts to reduce local control and increase state control in the legislature and that is precisely what this bill would do, that "the Senator would be highly UNLIKELY to support this bill." It's hard to back a politician into a corner until the vote is taken. Even then, they were apparently often "for it before they were against it" or "if they had known then what they know now, would not have voted in favor of the resolution."

[Wayne SW/MO]

Mo Farm Bureau is more than a big insurance company. It is THE agri-business lobby in MO. Behind the Dem and Rep Party apparatus, Mo Farm Bureau is the most powerful organization in state politics.

There's a lot of residual sympathy for farmers in this state, it was big business at one time fueled by family farms. That is not the case anymore and I thought it important to point out that the Bureau doesn't necessarily represent the farmers that made up our family members, but is more corporate in its representation now.

[SilverMallard]

Ah, very good point! We're not talking about "family farmers." We aren't talking about Uncle Bob's 50 head of cattle on 200 acres. We're talking about Consolidated Animal Feeding Operations where 60,000 chickens sit in huge egg factories or 20,000 pigs occupy less than 200 acres. We're talking about Cargill, ADM, ConAgra, and MFA...companies whose stock is mostly owned by the likes of Al Gore and Prince Charles, The Duke of York. These guys are NOT Missouri farmers! They are the guys for coerce and force Missouri's farmers into taking shortcuts, despoiling our natural resources, and accepting less than ideal wages for ever-increasing workloads per man in order to help these super-rich financiers get even richer. THAT is the cabal behind Mo Farm Bureau and they couldn't care less about Missouri farmers or Missouri natural resources.

[SilverMallard]

SB 364 is set for a vote on 3/22/07, gang. If you still haven't had confirmed contact with your state senator, CALL THEM.

[Snow Fly]

Hey Silver!

Just heard from someone from Ozark Flyfishers and they have been in contact with a Rhonda Perry of the "Rural Missouri Crisis" group ? I will pm you!

[troutchaser]

Are you sure about the voting date? The Senate is recessed for spring break this week. The offices are closed.

[SilverMallard]

Are you sure about the voting date? The Senate is recessed for spring break this week. The offices are closed.

If you look up the bill on the Senate website, that's what it says.