State Agricultural Interests Teaming Up For Pac Punch As Urban Areas Grow, Farmers, Ranchers Fear Losing Clout

Idaho farmers, ranchers and dairymen, fearing that agriculture is losing clout as the state becomes more urban, are considering the formation of a political action committee to further farm interests.

Money pumped into the new PAC would not be used to lobby legislators but to help with the political races of candidates who support agriculture.

The idea was tested this week on delegates at the annual Idaho Ag Summit.

“As we move to a state more concentrated in urban areas, much like Oregon and Washington, farmers need to be a major player in the political system,” said Republican state Rep. Dan Mader, a Genesee farmer.

Mader said farm groups are using a “shotgun approach” to political races, contributing small amounts of money to many different candidates.

“To be the most effective, farmers need to narrow their focus to a few races where the money will do the most good and contribute larger amounts,” he said.

There is some evidence that the farmers who have dominated the Idaho Legislature for decades are losing political muscle. Last year, after fending off the change seven times, agriculture lost its 79-year exemption from the state law requiring employers to provide workers’ compensation insurance for employees.

However, farm interests have enjoyed victories in this legislative session as well. A so-called right-to-farm bill passed the Senate last week. The law allows counties to require homeowners to sign nuisance waivers, giving up all rights to complain about nearby farm practices.

The bill - which still needs House approval - could help silence controversy in Kootenai County, where the annual debate over grass seed field burning pits residents against farmers who torch fields.

Idaho law already states that no local government may declare a recognized farm practice to be a nuisance. Local governments also cannot adopt zoning rules that force a farm to shut down.

Farmers and ranchers may lose clout when legislative district boundaries are changed in 2002. Redistricting likely will give more political power to urban areas such as Ada County.

Idaho agricultural interests already have several political action committees. The Idaho Cattle Association, the Idaho Farm Bureau and sugar beet groups already influence legislation through the use of PACs.

“Because of PACs that are already in place, there’s a lot of interest from small growers that produce things such as mint and alfalfa seed to get involved,” said Rick Waitley, president of Waitley Associates, which represents several agriculture groups.

“We need to look at an overall umbrella PAC that supports agriculture as a whole,” Waitley said.

PACs can be effective in protecting growers’ interests, said Luther Markwart, chairman of the American Sugar Beet Growers Association. The group, which has members in 14 states, successfully lobbied Congress to retain the sugar program in last year’s farm bill.

Farmers were receptive to the idea of a unified PAC, but some feared it might not be feasible.

“I think it’s a good idea to have a unified voice in politics,” said Wulf Lebrecht, who farms 3,000 acres near Blackfoot. “But the agriculture industry can be very fractionalized with competing interests.”

, DataTimes