The North Dakota Farm Bureau has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the state’s corporate ag ownership ban. That’s separate from the upcoming vote on a measure passed by the state legislature to allow corporate ownership of swine and dairy. That measure has been referred to a vote June 14. North Dakota Farm Bureau President Daryl Lies says they were planning to challenge the ban prior to the ballot issue coming up.

He says it doesn’t make sense to discriminate against agriculture when it comes to corporate ownership.

Lies says his group is asking the court to answer the question about whether the ban in constitutional or not.

Nine states have corporate farming laws and most of those have some exemptions. North Dakota’s corporate farming law has been in place for 84 years.