Ricketts backs Nebraska right-to-farm proposal protect agriculture from outside extremist groups’ – Smithfield’s man …
Legislature
REBECCA S. GRATZ/THE WORLD-HERALD
Ricketts – showcase
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 1:00 am
By Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau The Omaha World-Herald
LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts endorsed a proposal Tuesday that would ask Nebraska voters to create a constitutional right to farm.
The governor expressed his support for Legislative Resolution 378CA while announcing plans to fly around the state next week promoting National Ag Week.
If the Legislature adopts the resolution, voters will be asked in November whether to amend the State Constitution to protect the right to farm and ranch.
“I think it’s important to protect agriculture from outside extremist groups,” Ricketts said.
Senators probably will debate the resolution this year, although it will face opposition from those concerned that it could be used to shield farmers and ranchers from environmental and animal welfare regulations.
The resolution has the support of grain and livestock groups, but it is opposed by the Nebraska Farmers Union. The Nebraska Farm Bureau, the state’s largest ag group, took a neutral position.
Next week, during National Ag Week, the governor will make appearances in Omaha, Falls City, Hasting and McCook. He will be accompanied by Greg Ibach, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and Sen. Jerry Johnson of Wahoo, chairman of the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee.
“Agriculture is fundamental to our state,” Ricketts said. “It is the heart and soul of who we are.”
Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan