Iowa and Right to Farm: An Analysis of the Constitutionality of Right to Farm Statues Across the United States

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|This Note will discuss the Iowa Supreme Court’s conclusion in relation to the constitutionality of Iowa’s right to farm statute in Bormann v. Board of Supervisors ex rel. Kossuth County, Gacke v. Pork Xtra, L.L.C., and Honomichl v. Valley View Swine, L.L.C., and why the court’s decision is not applicable in most applications of right to farm laws in other states. First, this Note will provide a general description of right to farm statutes. Next, this Note will describe the facts and holdings of the right to farm cases that have gone before the Iowa Supreme Court. This Note will then discuss other state courts’ holdings related to the application of those state’s right to farm statutes. Finally, this Note will argue that the Iowa Supreme Court’s holding is not applicable in an analysis of other states’ right to farm laws.