Some people lament where and how livestock is raised in Iowa. To create an industry more to their liking, they call for additional regulation. In doing so, they ignore the market realities of agriculture, the reams of legislation already in place and the negative impact more laws would have on farmers and communities.
Livestock farming has changed. High land and energy prices, affordable feed, global competition and changing demographics have reduced farm numbers, increased herd sizes and created a variety of new management practices including the use of controlled animal feeding barns.
The changes have also ushered in a variety of new laws regulating how livestock is raised. Since 1995, three new rounds of legislation in Iowa have been implemented. Separation distances between livestock farms and neighbors have increased. Permit thresholds have been lowered. Many people who incorporate manure, including all commercial applicators regardless of the source or size of operation they haul from, are required to be certified. Manure management plans must be prepared and updated. Farmers building most new barns must also file permits, adhere to concrete standards, schedule DNR inspections and contain storm water runoff. And counties have been empowered to offer input on where new farms are built.
For some, that’s still not enough. More regulations, they say, are needed to regulate prosperity in the competitive livestock industry. The facts tell a different story. In Nebraska, a mountain of new regulations including county zoning authority has decimated dairy, cattle and hog numbers. The state's hog inventory has declined 36 percent while construction permits for new farms have slowed to a trickle (9 so far in 2005 compared to 52 in 2001). The regulations are so complex that authors of one livestock "guide" wrote that "It's impossible to describe here each of these ordinances but we can generalize about what livestock producers might encounter."
In the capital-intensive, ever-changing business of livestock farming, generalizations don't work.
In Minnesota, an advisory group was created to study the downward spiral in livestock numbers shortly after a cheese plant closed due to insufficient local milk supplies. Nearly $100 million in regional economic activity vanished along with 100 skilled jobs. The advisory group said a significant impediment to new livestock farms was the lack of regulatory uniformity, adding that the uncertainty has "a chilling effect on growth of other livestock sectors."
Iowa can't afford to duplicate these examples. Livestock accounted for 50 percent of all farm cash receipts in 2003 - or $6.3 billion - and is the core of Iowa's ag and agri-food industries - an economic powerhouse that employs one of 10 Iowans, creates 25 percent of the state's industrial output and generates 8.22 percent of Iowa's gross state product.
That’s why the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers was created. The collaborative, solutions-oriented effort involving Iowa's corn, cattle, soybean, poultry and pork associations and Farm Bureau brings regulatory and issues management assistance -- not more regulation -- to the farm gate. Since its start in May 2004, the Coalition has helped more than 300 families responsibly grow their farms by meeting and exceeding existing regulations, effectively managing animal nutrients, identifying ideal locations for new barns and enhancing neighbor relations through proactive communications.
Trying to regulate prosperity in livestock farming decimates rural communities and sends livestock farming elsewhere. We can do better. We must do better. The Coalition is a good example.