Statement in support of the Utah Family Farm Protection Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the proposed Utah Family Farming Act.

First, of course, I’d like to thank Chairman Skibine for his thoughtful and understated leadership during this latest legislative session; I know I speak for us all when I note that without his presence, none of us would be here today. So, thank you Mr. Chairman.

Second, I must direct your attention to a quiet epidemic. Across America, the family farm – that is, agricultural operations that are owned and operated by people, not corporations – are being wiped out. In the last 25 years, 750,000 family farms have disappeared; as transnational corporations have taken over, they have eliminated over a million rural jobs in farming. And for what? A few cents saved on a pound of chuck roast? The convenience of strawberries in February? I submit to you that some things are more important than a bottom-dollar hamburger and access to exotic fruits year round, and primary among them is the quality of life that family farms provide – not just to the farmers and their families, but to all of us who live in this state.

The proposed Utah Family Farm Act will prohibit further corporatization of agriculture in Utah. Current corporately-owned operations will, of course, be allowed to continue. But no new corporate farming or ranching operations will be permitted. Additionally, incentives will be established to encourage startup family farms and ranches, as well as for the conversion of current corporate operations to locally-owned businesses. It’s time to retake our farmlands back from out of state, even out of country faceless corporate boards who couldn’t care less about the health of local communities – both rural and urban – here in Utah.

I should note that we are not out on a huge limb here: at least nine other states have enacted similar legislation, and one – Nebraska, that radical bastion of lefty nuttiness – added a strong family farming provision to its constitution. And while Utahns are certainly not interested in further government regulation of their businesses, this proposed Act only strengthens our citizens’ rights as in-state business owners and community members by protecting them from amoral out of state corporate invasion.

Furthermore, by saving family farms, we save ourselves. Centralized agribusiness operations are vulnerable to widespread contamination – eaten spinach lately? – and, as outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson noted in his final address, particularly to terrorist attack. Decentralized, locally-oriented farms are far more responsive to their communities both in terms of human health (who’s going to be able to tell you exactly what kind of fertilizer is being used on the leafy greens you eat, your neighbor the farmer or the multinational corporate executive overseeing millions of tons of production a month) and economic vitality (a dollar for your neighbor’s pork chops stays in the community, supporting local schools and other local businesses and their families).

This bill is, I hope, the first in a series that will provide state leadership for local agriculture in Utah. It strikes at one aspect of the problem: out of state, shareholder-driven, Wall Street-obsessed agribusinesses that are increasingly dominating the state’s agriculture. By making additional non-family corporate ownership of farms illegal, this bill brings hope to Utah families that are the backbone of both our culture and our existence. Because, after all, without food, there is no life.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and in doing so, yield the floor.