Transparency is essential for farmers to gain the trust of the public. Unfortunately recent policies passed by the Iowa Supreme Court have made it very difficult for farmers to complete this task. We were able to meet Mr. Roger McEowen – an agricultural lawyer – who explained the limitations that farmers are now facing.

In Salle v. Stewart, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that farmers can be found liable over any injuries that occur to an individual during an educational tour. The impending fear farm owners will face is whether they can afford financially to let the public onto their farms to see the farmer’s operations. How are farmers going to be able to fortify a trust between the consumer and their farm if the public is kept out?

Since the numbers of educational tours will diminish in Iowa, citizens will become less informed about farming and agriculture. Iowa is known for its hog farms – an already controversial topic in agriculture – and misinformed citizens will chime in on an already overheated controversy. The only way to truly understand what occurs in these hog barns is by seeing them in person; then a person can form an opinion. With citizens being unable to gain the educational experiences I have had, advocacy groups will continue to gain momentum. People will only see a piece of the puzzle, rather than the whole puzzle.

Mr. McEowen was deeply displeased with the outcome in this recent case, and he believes this could cause for a deeper misunderstanding of a farmer’s work. With advocacy groups able to manipulate and cherry-pick the statistics they want, farmers will be unable to counter these attacks. Farmers would have no longer been able to offer a hay ride through their fields, fearing a person could turn around and sue the farmer for opening their farm out of the goodness of their heart. Luckily a last minute remedy provided by the Iowa Supreme Court appears to have fixed the potential problems arising from this case. The Iowa legislature passed a revision to “assure” farmers they should not fear the public.

I can not blame farmers for having a fear of being sued moving forward, as people are often looking for a quick buck. While I am sure Salle was happy with the outcome of this case, I have only one question. Could this situation have been resolved before going to court? That question could have been the difference between a consumer understanding agriculture or being unaware of what occurs on these farms.