The first day of the session greeted us with some other great news. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals announced their decision that the agricultural trespass laws the legislature passed in 2019 and 2021 were constitutional and could be enforced in Iowa. (The news media loves to call these the “ag-gag” laws, which is a lazy and dishonest characterization intended to discredit the laws.)
As many Iowans know, radical anti-agriculture activists, typically from left wing enclaves like San Francisco and Portland, work constantly to undermine production agriculture. These extremists invade Iowa, gain access to Iowa farms in deceptive ways, and try to create false narratives about Iowa farmers.
These actions are a threat to Iowa farmers and to the Iowa economy in a number of ways. Trespassing on Iowa farms carries the risk of spreading infectious diseases from farm to farm because these extremists care nothing about disease prevention. Damage to reputations, buildings, machinery, and other property also frequently occurs during these invasions and is often the very goal of these intrusions on farmers.
Previously we’ve witnessed activist judges ruling that similar versions of these common-sense laws prohibiting trespass and surreptitious surveillance violated the First Amendment rights of the extremists. The Iowa Legislature responded with new laws in both 2019 and 2021 to address the issues raised by the court and still protect Iowans from the intrusions that were illegal and could successfully be prosecuted by law enforcement.
Agriculture is the backbone and lifeblood of Iowa’s economy. It is part of our heritage, our culture, and our shared identity. The successful legal defense of Iowa laws prohibiting radical anti-agriculture extremists from invading farms, disrupting production, and threatening our way of life is vital to continued success of the industry. Iowa family farmers and those involved in production agriculture can celebrate a big win last week in the defense of their property and livelihoods.
