The American Farm Bureau along with the North Carolina Farm Bureau have filed court briefs due to concerns on gag orders placed by a Judge that doesn’t allow ag to weigh in on nuisance lawsuits filed against pork operations in North Carolina. Nebraska Farm Bureau National Affairs Director Jordan Dux says the gag orders on the nuisance lawsuits has ramifications for agriculture throughout the country and even in Nebraska.
He says the nuisance lawsuits will lead to the loss of business and cause economic damage to agriculture in North Carolina and that will translate to losses across the country.
Dux says the North Carolina cases will effect landowner and neighbor relations throughout the country and could impact how agriculture operates nationally.
The gag orders are related to civil litigation tied to at least three verdicts against Murphy Brown LLC, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. Last week a North Carolina Jury awarded six plaintiffs $473.5 million in their nuisance lawsuits.
