By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill that would create a 14-member Kentucky Livestock Care Standards Commission has passed through the state Senate unanimously, but now awaits action and possible changes in the state House Agriculture and Small Business Committee.

Senate Bill 105 was introduced by Senate Ag Committee Chair David Givens (R-Greensburg) and cosponsored by 18 other senators, both Democrats and Republicans. The legislation would set rules for the treatment of animals and poultry on the farm, be administered by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and chaired by the state’s agriculture commissioner.

The bill would also prevent local governments from passing standards that are stricter than those set by the commission.
But at the heart of the proposed law is the intent to keep other organizations out of farmers’ affairs when it comes to their animals; groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Both organizations have worked in other states to get laws passed to define more clearly just what animal abuse entails.

Some farmers and ag industry leaders view the moves as a way to infiltrate animal agriculture and do away with it.  Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, who supports the bill, said in a statement last week that legislation should be based on acceptable practices and research.

“These guidelines should be based not on emotion, but on scientific research and widely accepted practices,” he said. “The commission would develop standards at the state level, taking the pressure off local governments and creating consistency throughout the Commonwealth.”

Givens expressed the same feelings and said the commission would be comprised of people knowledgeable about standard animal care practices and practical approaches that are common throughout agriculture. “We want those sorts of minds driving the conversation, rather than the conversation being driven by emotional elements that can sometimes overshadow our farm practices,” he said.

Heavy-hitters in the farm industry have come to the support of the bill as well, including the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation (KFB), Kentucky Cattlemen’s Assoc., Kentucky Pork Producers Assoc., Kentucky Soybean Assoc. and Kentucky Corn Growers Assoc., to name a few.

One group that has inadvertently been left off the list, according to its president, is the Community Farm Alliance (CFA). In fact, Adam Barr said the KFB has listed the organization as an opponent along with the likes of the HSUS and PETA, something that is not true at all.

In a statement posted on the KFB website, the group states, “The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Sierra Club and Community Farm Alliance (CFA) continue to oppose this legislation.”

Barr said the CFA would like to see some language in the bill changed and have a say in those changes, but in no way opposes it. “We’re not threatening this bill, we support this bill, but we want to have a seat at the table,” he said. “The bill surprised us. Nobody let us know it was coming up in this session, so we really didn’t have much input before the bill came before the House committee.”

Barr also said upon talking to CFA members, he found many agreed with the bill fully, in principle, as he does.

“We need to protect Kentucky livestock producers. Our number-one priority at CFA is to keep farmers in business, and we think farmers are the best at knowing how to take care of their animals and shouldn’t be bothered by outside influences,” he said. “We just wanted some time for consideration of what the bill actually does.”
One major sticking point with the CFA is within the proposed commission itself, or at least the members that would comprise the body. Barr said more representation by farmers is needed in such a commission, if it is needed at all, since a State Board of Agriculture (SBA) that has the authority to change regulations related to animal care already exists.

“Right now, (SB 105) takes away the regulatory authority from the SBA, which has specifically written in statute that nine members have to be practicing agriculturalists,” said Barr. “Senate Bill 105 does not have that explicit language.

“If you read the bill right now, any member, representative, paid professional staff, lobbyist even, could be appointed to that board. We would like that to be cleared up with explicit language saying farmers have to be on there. I think that is a fairly simple request.”
Barr added he thinks the current SBA does its job well and maybe with some “tweaking” it could write the regulations needed to protect state livestock producers. “We think the commission could be extremely useful and we support it fully as an advisory commission,” he said.

Some of that tweaking may come by way of House Bill 571, which slightly alters the makeup of the SBA and is sponsored by Rep. Tom McKee (D-Cynthiana) who chairs the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee.