Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho dairy industry group has sent a letter to all its members urging them to deny media requests for tours and on-farm interviews. The letter from the United Dairymen of Idaho was sent anonymously to the Associated Press late last week. In it, co-chairs Tom Dorsey and Tony Vanderhulst advise dairy producers that there's been an increase in requests from media groups seeking to film on-farm footage in the wake of an Idaho law that makes it illegal to secretly film animal abuse at agricultural facilities. The letter says that for the protection of the Idaho dairy industry, people seeking tours or interviews should be turned down or referred to United Dairymen officials or another industry group. Spokeswoman Cindy Miller confirmed the letter was sent to about 500 dairies.

Click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone, and a statement from the dairy group.

Idaho dairy group urges farmers not to give tours 
By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho dairy industry group has sent a letter to its members urging them to deny media requests for tours and on-farm interviews in the wake of a new law that makes it illegal to secretly film animal abuse at agricultural facilities.

The letter from the United Dairymen of Idaho was sent anonymously to The Associated Press late last week.

In it, co-chairs Tom Dorsey and Tony Vanderhulst advise dairy producers that there's been an increase in requests from media groups seeking to film on-farm footage since the law was passed earlier this year.

Several groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho are suing the state over the law, which they contend curtails free speech rights. Ag groups say the law is needed to prevent animal rights groups from unfairly targeting certain businesses and to protect private property rights.

The letter was dated Aug. 13 and labeled confidential.

"We are working to confine and contain the nature of the requests, but encourage you to remain alert for unexpected visits to your farms," the men wrote in the letter.

The letter also provided four suggested responses if dairy farmers are contacted by the news media, including three ways to turn down requests and one way to refer reporters to the industry groups.

"Animal hygiene and farm safety are critical to my operation. We simply don't conduct tours like the one you're requesting," reads one response.

Miller, the spokeswoman for United Dairymen of Idaho, confirmed Monday that the letter was sent to about 500 dairy families statewide.

"We had some requests for dairy tours by some groups, and we just wanted to let our farm producers know what we could do to help them," Miller said.

Bob Naerebout, director of the Idaho Dairymen's Association, said the letter wasn't intended to block news media from covering the industry. Rather, he said, the industry groups wanted to let members know they had options.

"Our dairymen need to focus and want to focus on what they do best: Producing a high quality work product," Naerebout said. "And they're not, shall we say, comfortable with the media."

Ritchie Eppink, an attorney for ACLU-Idaho, said the agriculture groups that pushed for the law frequently told lawmakers the dairy industry has nothing to hide.

Eppink hasn't seen the letter but was read portions of the letter during an interview with the AP.

Eppink said the suggested responses are troubling because many dairies offer tours to school children or other groups, and the letter appeared to encourage dairy farmers to misrepresent whether they give tours when speaking to the press.

"If there's really a problem with the press and others visiting these farms, then the IDA should be figuring out why that's a problem," Eppink said. "There shouldn't be anything that they're scared to show people — this is our food supply."

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press

Late Tuesday, the United Dairymen of Idaho issued this statement in response to the article:

"In hindsight we understand how our Aug. 13 letter to United Dairymen of Idaho members might make someone think otherwise, but it is not the intention of the United Dairymen of Idaho to deny media access to Idaho dairies. In fact, our dairy farm families often host dairy tours for media, school students, health professionals and others. We welcome requests for dairy tours for the purpose of educating the public about our industry and, in fact, organizing on-farm tours is one of our primary roles. Our goal is to do so in a coordinated way and provide assistance to our farmers in support of the Gem State’s dairy industry." -- Karianne Fallow, CEO, United Dairymen of Idaho

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