HB0504 Leake, Sam et al

P R E F I L E D

HB 504 -- Agriculture

This bill requires the Department of Natural Resources to promulgate rules regulating the safe cessation of wet-handling animal waste facilities. Such rules are to require concentrated animal feeding operations with wet-handling animal waste facilities that have a design capacity of equal to or greater than 17,500 hogs per site to provide a financial assurance instrument to guarantee safe cessation of the animal waste lagoon.

The bill also contains provisions relating to animal production including:

(1) Corporations and cooperatives engaged in farming are not eligible for any state tax credits or deductions, state grants, loans or other financial or economic assistance, unless independent agricultural entities, including family farm corporations, are eligible for the same.

(2) Corporations engaged in farming which offer a written contract to farmers, but retain ownership of the commodity, are to annually file with the Department of Agriculture a report including the number of agricultural contracts entered into in the state and a sample of such contract. If the corporation is a processor of pork, the report is to include the percentage of animals acquired for processing pursuant to contractual agreements where the ownership of the animals is retained by the reporting entity, animals produced by the reporting entity, and animals purchased from all other producers of hogs.

(3) The Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Extension Division of the University of Missouri, is to provide information and technical assistance which will include education about terms of contracts, liability considerations, financial, and other aspects of agricultural contracts.

(4) Prior to purchasing real estate in any county, any concentrated animal feeding operation is to provide to the county recorder of deeds and the largest public library in the county, the number of hogs in the anticipated facility and a copy of the waste handling plans.

(5)The Department of Natural Resources may not issue any permit or licensure to animal feeding operations in violation of reporting requirements.