Late Wednesday HSUS, the OFBF and “The Gov” announced a compromise to keep the HSUS petition off the November ballot. It has been lauded (by OFBF) as a compromise that validates the voters’ decision to pass State Issue 2 last year.
While OFBF and the governor’s office said it’s a “good deal” for Ohioans, the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board that Issue 2 authorized is nowhere to be found in this agreement.
The press release also provides no details on what our elected and appointed officials “gave up” on our behalf. However, it did give us platitudes and praise for each other for their “efforts to create an agreement that will be good for Ohio farmers and consumers.”
If you’ll pardon the pun… “hogwash!”
This morning some local farmers and related industry specialists put their two-cents worth in…
Locals respond to HSUS agreement
By Bob Robinson
“Well, they got what they wanted and they never even had to go to the polls,” said one frustrated farmer Thursday morning. “What will it do to us?” He gave a “thumbs down” sign, then said “higher food prices.”
Discussion was intense over the late Wednesday afternoon press release from Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s office that a compromise had been reached between The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Strickland and Jack Fisher, Executive V.P. of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF).
Wednesday was the day HSUS was scheduled to turn its petitions over to the Secretary of State for the November ballot.
The announcement was a primary topic at the monthly Darke County Combined Ag Breakfast meeting. It was not one-sided, however.
“It gave us some breathing room that we might not have had if we hadn’t voted for the Ohio Livestock (Care Standards) board last year,” said one member of the group. Ohio has been given as much as 16 years to make the changes HSUS wants, where other states were only given a flat six years.
While the agreement addressed other areas like cock fighting, breeding kennels and exotic animals, the impact on agriculture was focused in four areas:
Veal crates will be phased out by 2017.
Pork gestation crates will be phased out by 2026. As of Dec. 31, no new permits will be allowed.
Poultry battery cages will be phased out. No specific timeline was given, but no new permits will be issued.
Standards must be set for downer animals and how farmers will be allowed to euthanize livestock.
The view was expressed that neither side wanted to spend millions on their campaigns for a November ballot issue. HSUS can now “claim victory” and direct its $60 million plus to other states, while the Ohio ag industry can “devote its resources to research.”
It should also be noted that support for the potential election battle had been eroding… those who helped pass the 2009 initiative said, “We were supposed to be stopping this last year.”
The long-term goal of HSUS is to phase out all livestock confinement, according to one member of the group. This leads to less efficient food production and higher prices. While HSUS agreed to longer term phase-outs than it had forced in other states, the inability to get new permits will have an almost immediate impact on the ability of the industry to meet consumer demands.
“I was a human resources manager in Mexico for several years,” said one member. “Eventually we’ll be getting our food shipped up from there… you don’t want that to happen.”
It was also noted that the compromise was a “gentleman’s agreement” as nothing was signed.
“That’s just the beginning. We’ve started down the slippery slope… now there’s no stopping these guys.”
He said the ag industry is the number one industry in the state and it still wouldn’t challenge this group.
“You fight them now or you wait and fight them when they are stronger.”
HSUS has won ballot initiatives in California and Florida, and reached an agreement with Michigan last year. HSUS success in California is already impacting its poultry industry… poultry and egg producers are leaving the state for nearby Idaho.
HSUS is not affiliated with local humane societies. According to its critics, it uses commercials with abused dogs and cats to seek funding from consumers, which it then uses to target large agricultural states. It gets its support from urban areas where most voters don’t understand where the food they buy in the grocery store comes from.
The press release was distributed at 3 p.m.; the press conference held at 4:30 p.m. The Farm and Dairy Association, in its press release, stated it was unable to participate in the actual conference due to the governor’s office not having a call-in line available and the late notice prohibiting staff from attending the meeting.
Strickland said it was good for Ohio agriculture and for animal welfare. He said it was a common sense solution and did not think it was in Ohio’s best interest to proceed with the proposed ballot initiative.
Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive notification of his comments, opinions and reports when they are posted, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.
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