Farm Bureau
Hear no evil, see no evil? Senate committee limits public comments on controversial farm bill that would limit public comments
A Senate committee on Wednesday shut down public discussion of a contentious portion of the Farm Act, which coincidentally, sharply curbs public input on swine farms that install biogas systems and anaerobic digesters. The hog and energy industries support biogas, arguing the systems help alleviate climate change by capturing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, that would otherwise be released into the air.
A federal appeals court judge’s remarkable speech is the latest surprise in NC’s hog nuisance lawsuits
Last Friday morning in Richmond, Va., midway through oral arguments in the hog nuisance case of McKiver v. Murphy-Brown, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III removed his glasses and briefly rested his cheek on his hand, as if burdened by the content of thousands of pages of case documents he had read.
“What troubled me...
Fact-checking the allegations lodged about hog farms at the National Ag Leaders Roundtable
The language was bellicose, the atmosphere hostile. The statements, sometimes hypocritical. With less than 24 hours’ public notice, US Rep. David Rouzer convened a “National Agriculture Leaders Roundtable” at the state fairgrounds on Friday morning. To a room packed with contract swine growers, representatives from the USDA, farming interest groups and state elected officials — including […]
Charlotte Observer condemns legislative plan to end protection for people with preexisting conditions
In case you missed it this morning, there was an excellent editorial in the Charlotte Observer condemning the last-minute scheme by Republican leaders at the General Assembly to undermine one of the most important and popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Under the last minute bill, the state Farm Bureau would be empowered to […]
In surprise revision to school safety bill, Senate Republicans seek insurance overhaul that may threaten NC’s Affordable Care Act marketplace
A bipartisan-backed proposal to help North Carolina schools recruit campus psychologists received a major makeover in a Senate committee Thursday that may destabilize the state’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, advocates say. Senate Republicans unveiled the new portions of House Bill 933 at a committee meeting Thursday morning, potentially clearing surprise provisions aimed purportedly at […]