Corporate owned farms tend to be large-scale operations that produce food for consumers who are widely dispersed geographically. They are also operations whose profits are more likely to end up in corporate headquarters than back in the local economy. And when corporate farming expands, those who farm the land become tenants rather than independent producers.

To counter corporate ownership, nine states have placed some sort of restrictions on corporate-owned farms. Only two, however--Nebraska and South Dakota--have anti-corporate farming restrictions written into their constitutions. The other seven--Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wisconsin--have statutes restricting corporate involvement in agriculture, though most include loopholes that dilute the impact of the ban. Kansas, however, does allow counties to vote on whether to oppose corporate farming, and over 20 have done so. The following section lists these laws that ban or limit corporate ownership of agricultural production.

RULES

• Anti-Corporate Farming Constitutional Provisions
  Nine states place some sort of restriction on corporate-owned farms. Only two, however--Nebraska and South Dakota--have anti-corporate farming restrictions written into their consitutions. More...
• Corporate Farming Laws - Minnesota
  Minnesota's corporate farming law passed in 1973 to "to encourage and protect the family farm as a basic economic unit". The law states that "No corporation, limited liability company, pension or investment fund, trust, or limited partnership shall engage in farming...directly or indirectly, own, acquire, or otherwise obtain any interest, in agricultural land". However, several exceptions exist. While the law applies to all livestock, poultry is completely exempt. For other livestock a corporation can retain livestock ownership for one production cycle or 18 months. Other exemptions exist for timber land, nonprofits, and farm trusts. More...
• Anti-Corporate Farming Referendum Enabling - Kansas
  Kansas law allows counties to vote on whether to oppose corporate farming and many have done so. Over 20 counties have voted to keep corporate hog farms out of their county and more county votes are occurring all the time. More...
• Corporate Farm Ownership Ban - Southhampton, PA
  The Southhampton ordinance is modeled after the language of the constitutional amendments passed in Nebraska and South Dakota that ban corporate farms in those states. The Southampton legislation is still pending, but two very similar laws have passed in Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania and Wells Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. There are several exceptions to the ban: Family farm corporations, cooperatives and nonprofit corporations are exempted. Existing corporate farms are "grandfathered" under the ordinance. More...

More:

• Anti-Corporate Farming Laws Benefit Rural Communities - Friends of the Constitution, February 2002
  The results of this analysis indicate that, in general, agriculture dependent counties in states with anti-corporate farming laws fared better (less families in poverty, lower unemployment and higher percentages of farms realizing cash gains) than agriculture dependent counties in states without such laws.
• Anti-Corporate Farming Laws in the Heartland - the Law, History, and Facts on the Anti-Corporate Farming Laws in Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa, by Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, 1997
• Corporate Agribusiness Research Project
• Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
• Familyfarmer.org
• Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC)