Farm Act heads to Cooper

Bill to stop nuisance suits against hog farms and allow raw milk consumption wins final passage.

Posted 5:56 p.m. Jun 15, 2018 — Updated 6:32 p.m. Jun 15, 2018

Travis Fain

, WRAL statehouse reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — The legislature's farm bill, which would protect hog and other farmers from nuisance lawsuits, is headed to Gov. Roy Cooper's desk.

The final measure, amended significantly in the House, cleared the Senate Thursday night on a 32-9 vote. Three Democrats voted for the bill with the Republican majority.

Cooper will have 10 days to decide whether to sign the bill, and his office has said only that he will review it. The bill cleared both chambers by veto-proof margins, but that margin was razor thin in the House. (A number of legislators were absent during the vote, skewing the numbers.)

The legislation would limit new lawsuits like the ones moving through the federal courts now. The legislature has moved before to limit these suits, but a jury hit pork giant Smithfield with a $50 million judgment in April.

Republican leaders filled the House and Senate galleries with family farmers for chamber votes on the bill, which Lawmaker calls out House leadership, colleagues during farm bill debate}struck some GOP members concerned with the bill's{{/a} effect on property rights as a political gesture, given that these lawsuits target a multi-billion-dollar company.

The bill has a number of provisions in addition to tipping the balance on nuisance suits and declaring that the federal court misinterpreted existing law in this area. The House removed language from the final version that would have forbidden soy, almond and other plant-based milks from being labeled milk in North Carolina.

The bill as passed would take this step only if 11 other Southern states pass similar legislation, creating a regional compact. Supporters of this measure, meant to help the dairy industry, have said multiple other states are considering such moves, but the Senate's original preference was for North Carolina to be the first state to enforce the rule.

The final version would also legalize raw milk for people who own a cow, goat or other milkable animal. Raw milk couldn't be sold under the legislation, but it would be legal to buy a share in these animals and harvest the milk for human consumption.

This measure has been around for some years and it has been controversial due to the potential health issues from drinking raw milk.

Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, the bill's lead sponsor, said in a statement Friday that the measure will "guarantee a fair playing field for our family farmers and stop the malicious onslaught of unfounded lawsuits which threaten to put hundreds of farms out of business."

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