Missouri Supreme Court upholds state law prohibiting local regulation of animal operations

The Missouri General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 and 2021 to restrict counties from imposing regulations on industrial livestock operations.

A state law prohibiting counties from imposing regulations on industrial hog facilities does not violate the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The unanimous ruling upholds a Cole County Circuit Court judge’s decision to toss the case before trial. It says county ordinances attempting to set rules for industrial farms are invalid.

At issue is Missouri’s policing of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, which are industrial facilities capable of raising thousands of hogs, cows or chickens at a time.