An Open Letter in Opposition to HB4118

May 2, 2024

Dear Oklahoma Legislators,

My name is Nate Beaulac, and I am a farmer in Creek County, Oklahoma. My friends and I raise five species of livestock on 240 acres of beautiful Oklahoma soil and deliver our products to families and restaurants around the state. Our farming practices dictate a soil-first approach; rotating herbivores and omnivores through the pastures as we build soil resilience, sequester carbon, and provide an ecologically responsible alternative to the large-scale industrialized food system.

In recent weeks, it has come to my attention that a bill is making its way through various committees, excluding under some pretense, poultry operators from being held liable for environmental damages to our soils and waterways. HB 4118 is being marketed as some relief for the Oklahoma farmers, freeing them of the fear of frivolous lawsuits assuming they adhere to state guidelines. I’ve read the bill and its various revisions, and I write to you now in staunch opposition to HB4118.

In 2005, former State Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed suit against several large poultry companies, including Tyson, Cargill, and Simmons Foods, accusing these companies of polluting the Illinois River and associated waterways. In January of 2023, the federal court ruled that the state was correct to place the blame for excess phosphorous in the watershed on the poultry companies. No farmers were sued in this action – only the huge, industrialized poultry companies were named.

A year later, we are witness to a truly divine agricultural miracle; a bill has appeared before our legislators to protect these poultry companies from the horrifying consequences of their own pollution.

After reading what I can only assume is legislation designed by the lobbyists working for these companies, I find it hard to fathom why any Oklahoman would support it.   Does this protect farmers? It seems to only serve as a hall pass for corporations who have repeatedly shown disregard for our land and waterways. It does so by, (I quote here from the bill itself) “creating a presumption that compliance with a current Nutrient Management Plan insulates poultry growers, operators, integrators, and waste applicators from any private right of action or any collateral enforcement; establishing that the Oklahoma Registered Poultry Feeding Operations Act grants statutory immunity from nuisance liability; and declaring an emergency.”

‍As I write this today, there is a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico spanning more than 6,000 square miles. The manure runoff from upstream Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) has reduced the oxygen in the water beyond the point where life can sustain. Industrialized farming practices create significant and proven risk to our land and waterways, to our fish and wildlife, and to our citizens’ wellbeing. Those that run those operations should be held to account if they mismanage, neglect, or abuse their responsibilities as members of Oklahoma’s agricultural community.  If someone accidently kills all the life in one of our lakes, will we Oklahomans be relieved that the company can’t be held liable? I contend no relief will be shared amongst our communities, our fisherman, our local businesses or families. But, oh, what a warm blanket HB4118 would be for the boardrooms at Tyson and Cargill.

In regards to the generous offer to use this bill to help Oklahoma farmers, we respectfully decline. The cost is far more than we can bare.

Sincerely,

Nate Beaulac, Farmer

Prairie Creek Farms

24962 W. 141st St.

Kellyville, OK 74039

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