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MO bill limits inspection authority on farms
A bill aimed at limiting inspection authority of agriculture facilities has passed the Missouri house with support from Missouri Cattlemen’s and the Missouri Pork Association.
HB 574, sponsored by State Representative Kent Haden, limits the power to inspect ag facilities to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, USDA, county sheriff and state and federal agencies with statutory authority.
“The parties that are listed as parties who can inspect do have people who are trained, depending on who they are, [in] engineering, veterinary medicine and biosecurity,” Haden said.
Haden tells Brownfield it’s not uncommon for groups to attempt to ‘inspect’ farming operations without the authority to do so.
“I ran into it three times when I was a district veterinarian for the state,” Haden said. “Where, people would come and say, ‘I want to look at your livestock’ and actually, try to impound them or take them who didn’t have authority to be there.” He said unauthorized inspections can be harmful to livestock and cause disease risk. Haden said the bill received push back from environmental groups.
