Department of Animal Science
Date of this Version
1-1-2000
Abstract
Article 8 §12 of the Nebraska Constitution (popularly referred to as Initiative 300) establishes several requirements for corporations to legally qualify as family farm or ranch corporations in Nebraska. Under one requirement, a majority of the family farm or ranch corporation’s shareholders must be family members, “at least one of whom is a person residing on or actively engaged in the day to day labor and management of the farm or ranch.” On Sept. 16, 1998, Otoe County District Court Judge Ronald Reagan ruled in Hall v. Progress Pig that where no family member resides on the farm or ranch, a family member must perform agricultural production labor on a daily basis on the farm or ranch in order for a corporation to legally qualify as a family farm or ranch corporation. The decision has significant implications for swine production in Nebraska, as many swine operations are organized and operated similarly to Progress Pig Inc., as family farm or ranch corporations.
Comments
Published in 2000 Nebraska Swine Report, compiled by Rodger Johnson, Professor, Department of Animal Science. Prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating Departments for use in Extension, Teaching and Research programs. Published by Cooperative Extension Division, Agricultural Research Division, and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Swine reports website: www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/swine/pigpdf.htm