Is Sen. Kibbie carving out factory farm loopholes?

Former family farm champion Kibbie now appears to be doing the work of the corporate ag lobby

 We are blasting Sen. Jack Kibbie (D- Emmetsburg) for pushing Senate File 2172, a bill that carves out a loophole in factory farm permitting and manure management laws.The bill passed out of Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday on a unanimous vote (13-0) and is now eligible for floor debate.

Email your Senator today and say Vote NO on SF 2172.

 SF 2172 would allow factory farm operators to exempt replacement sows, bred onsite for farrowing operations, in their total head count at a factory farm site. Meaning they would not have to report these animals or their manure to the Iowa DNR on permitting documents or in manure management plans.At the Statehouse Wednesday, long time ally Senate President Jack Kibbie told us that he introduced the bill at the request of lobbyists for the Iowa Pork Producers under the guise of biosecurity issues.

“Sen. Kibbie is selling us out. Instead of working on bills that will benefit everyday Iowans and stop factory farms from polluting our air and water, our elected officials in the Senate are just opening the door for the factory farm industry to keep expanding,” said Jim Yungclas, an Iowa CCI Action member and retired county agricultural extension director, “This bill could potentially open the door for all kinds of loopholes from the corporate livestock industry like allowing extra cattle on feedlots, extra layer hens in chicken factory farms. Where would they draw the line?”

This is just one of many proposals stripping regulations for the factory farm industry. Several bills have been proposed this session gutting Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) funding and enforcement power and DNR’s authority to write rules, stripping citizens rights to report factory farm violations file nuisance lawsuits.“There’s already not enough DNR staff to do inspections on whether or not factory farms have too many animals or are following their manure plans.  This is a big fat handout to the corporate backed factory farm industry. It gives them yet another way to skirt oversight and cause more manure pollution,” Yungclas said.

Ask your Senator to stand on the side of people, not big monied corporate ag and stop SF 2172 dead in its tracks - email now.

 If you have any questions, contact us.Want to get action alerts like this delivered to your inbox, sign up for our email list today.Want to be a part of the group in Iowa pushing for an Iowa where people matter more than corporate polluters and their profits? Join as a CCI member today. Share this with your networks below!