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Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
It is not a crime to lie about your intentions to take a job at an animal or other livestock facility, says a federal judge.
Reporters and activists who take a job with the intent of exposing practices are OK according to the ruling. You can lie about your reasons for taking the job because of your First Amendment rights.
Well, it seems there are a number of lessons to be learned.
First, of course, treat your agricultural activities according to law and best practice. That includes establishing and enforcing standards. Secondly, do a careful background check of anyone hired to clean out your hog house. Or anything else, for that matter.
This "right to lie" ruling applies to more than just people checking to see if animals are abused. It could be grounds for someone to take a job baling your hay in order to get access to your land to see if you have violated your FSA agreement on tillage practices. It probably OKs someone to fly a drone over your farm to see if you have an adequate dam around your fuel barrels. Let a hunter on your ground? You've just permitted someone to walk around and see if you have anything the DNR would call a bait station.
There are dairies that are entirely automated. No humans are needed to be around the cattle as they are milked. Sound enticing?
Hey, wait, would illegal aliens be good hires? They have a direct interest in not outing you. Hmmmm. Of course, that assumes you don't get busted for the alien somehow or other.
Pardon if my tongue is in my cheek.
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
I see both sides of it, but better or worse I agree with the judges and in the long term, I think it`s better for the agricultural community. Because to "gag" employees, you are handing the issue to Peta on a silver platter, they can then run ads "What are they hiding????" Even if you stop "legal spies" you still would have reporters for Vice or the Rollingstone go undercover as a worker in a CAFO and write an anonymous story and you could bet that would be sensationalized and cherrypicked.
Let`s say there`s a factory that abuses the women employees, I would hope none of us would be against a reporter going undercover to write and document the abused ladies stories.
But with illegal aliens hired, the "DeCoster" outfit really gave industrial agriculture a blackeye.
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
Seems the word ''' transparent '''' is likened to be ''' cherry picked ''' - during interesting times - - -
Also the words ''' gray area ''' and ''' exploitation ''' are first cousins - maybe ?
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
It`s hard to know what`s staged or real these days. I`m an extreme Dog Lover, so when those Humane Society commercials come on asking for "$19 a month" I didn`t think I could stand watching, but one time I did and they have a not fat Dog shivering in front of a dilapidated doghouse and a chainlink fence and little snowflakes falling down. Truth be told anyone`s Dog could be staged to look pathetic like that, if a Dog goes out 2 minutes to potty and it`s 20 degrees, he`ll shiver if he`s used to being inside.
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
Think about it. How is this agriculture’s problem?
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
SW, the problem is the business model for some large dairies, egg crackers, sow units and such is to hire below what most Americans would work for. In the Eagle Grove, Iowa chicken factory, those illegal aliens were taken advantage of, paid in all the eggs they could eat and the halfway "legal" foreman would take advantage of the women workers for not turning them over to ICE.
But, it`s agriculture`s baby because it isn`t Fred McMurray and Claudia Colbert as chicken farmers in a Ma & Pa Kettle movie. It`s changed and specialized and labor costs are where the money is made. I Love capitalism, however in agriculture there`s many examples of the dark side of it.
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
More of the ( cheaper ) labor $$$$ costs , saved or expended , by local governments and the ? are numerous - - -
Seems agriculture experts are quick to jump at cost saving illusion momentary moment , UNTILL the under - thought repercussions appear - then are no where to be seen or heard from - - -
Stumbling, while over accelerated growth spurts , becomes unwelcome'd headlines , few want the responsibility to discuss - - -
Large intense, operations , have intense obligations that have initiated this undesirable conversation - - -
Transparency being a 4 letter word at times , and Karma has yet to find expiration date - - -
Malfeasance, misfeasance and, or nonfeasance - will eventually make an untimely appearance - maybe - - -
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
Neighbor guy got fired last week. He is good at everything. Has his own cows. Wanted more $$$ Was getting 60k and taking two months off to care for cows in winter. Needed less hours and more $$
So I’ll see if he wants to go work chickens and eggs
Stop defending US labor..
There isn’t a farm left that works it’s kids and doesn’t hire labor. I can’t name one lift here that doesn’t hire foreign labor (legal or not legal).
It is the worst kind of denial. “We don’t pay enough”.
It’s like saying the US doesn’t have a drug problem.
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Re: Iowa Ag-Gag Law Overruled
I seen in a publication a LARGE DAIRY for sale - north of I-10 in the state known as the land of enchantment - - -
The sale info states Court Order on the listing display - - -
Labor co$t$, poor marketing, input co$t$ , location , AG-Gag , tight margin$ , unnerved tariff talks , interest rate$, - WHAT cause and effect$ ?
Economics of scale , could be + or - , maybe , although a several thousand head heifer facility and several thousand + - lockup , and numerous milking parlors was stated - - -
As for the $60 K - 60 days a year sabbatical hiatus cow - calf guy - could irrational exuberance be a factor - maybe ?