Judge keeps corporate farm ban on hold

Judge keeps corporate farm ban on hold

	Published : Thu, 25 Jan 2007 22:38 By : Agencies Print this Story

OMAHA, Neb. (AFX) - Nebraska cannot enforce its ban on corporate farming while awaiting a review of a decision deeming the ban unconstitutional, a U.S. district court judge ruled Thursday.

The order by Judge Laurie Smith Camp came just days after state Attorney General Jon Bruning asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that struck down the nearly 25-year-old ban.

'Initiative 300 is dead in Nebraska,' said David Bracht, an attorney representing ranchers opposed to the ban. 'The only possibility is this being resurrected by the Supreme Court.'

Passed by voters in 1982, the constitutional amendment generally prohibits corporations and certain other business entities from owning farmland or engaging in agricultural activity, although there are numerous exceptions.

In December, the appeals court struck down the ban, upholding an earlier federal district court decision. The appeals court said the ban violates the federal commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution and unfairly burdens out-of-state economic interests.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by ranchers who argued that the ban prevented them from setting up corporations to keep their operations within their families or from combining resources with neighbors to control costs, among other things.

Shad Dahlgren, of Lincoln, who owns part of a feedlot near Bertrand and challenged the ban, said he was pleased by Thursday's ruling. 'Long-term, I think it's better for the state of Nebraska,' he said.

Bruning had considered asking the entire 8th Circuit to rehear the case but instead chose to appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, which he has described as 'our best option at this point.'

Bruning submitted a formal brief to the high court Tuesday. Among his arguments, he said the state should be free to regulate corporate entities that were created under state law.

'Family farms are an important part of Nebraska's heritage,' Bruning said Thursday. 'Nebraskans voted to make (Initiative 300) part of our constitution, and we'll defend the will of the people.'

Previous appeals in cases involving corporate-farming bans have faced difficulties. In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a decision declaring South Dakota's ban on corporate farming unconstitutional. That ruling, also from the 8th Circuit, said South Dakota's Amendment E was unconstitutional because it interfered with interstate commerce.