Farmers, their partners in the pork industry and the North Carolina Pork Council are grateful to the N.C. House for voting today to override Governor Cooper’s veto of HB467. We hope the Senate will quickly concur.

This law will protect farmers from predatory lawyers. We were extremely disappointed last week when Governor Cooper vetoed the bill after it passed the legislature with support from Republicans and Democrats. The members recognized the threat that predatory lawsuits pose to farmers, the pork industry and the entire agriculture community. Without passage of this law, farmers could face bankruptcy from high legal fees alone. And thousands of jobs are jeopardized.

The pork industry employs more than 46,000 people in North Carolina. It contributes $11 billion a year to the state’s economy.  And 80 percent of the 2,100 hog farms in the state are family-owned. We all work to be good environmental stewards and good neighbors.

We thank members of the House for their support of agriculture.