The Rural Lobbyist: SDFU seeks compromise on farm reporting in HB 1038

January 20, 2017 – By #South Dakota Farmer UnionCurrently farm LLC’s are required to file two separate annual reports. Some believe the two forms are redundant in the information they require. As a result, the office of the Secretary of State has offered House Bill 1038 that repeals the requirement for filing an annual farm report. In this report, a farm LLC is required to provide additional information required by the Family Farm Act passed in the 1970s. Under HB 1038, farm LLCs would only be required to file the annual report for all LLCs. SDFU sought compromise in opposition of HB 1038. While SDFU does not believe that farm LLCs should have to file an additional report not required of all LLCs, we believe there is a way to merge the two reports to maintain the transparency that was laid out in the Family Farm Act. We live in a world where people are demanding more information, not less. Eliminating the requirement for all of the information in the annual farm report weakens transparency could potentially weaken the public perception of agriculture. The bill however received a due pass recommendation from the House Ag and Natural Resources committee. As of this writing, HB 1038 awaits action on the House floor. Going forward, SDFU will continue to seek a potential compromise.

Last Modified: 01/20/2017 8:29:07 pm MST