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Missouri Farm Bureau targets property rights as energy demand grows

The intersection of energy security and property rights had the attention of Missouri Farm Bureau members in the final day of resolutions at the annual meeting.

President Garrett Hawkins says an increase in electricity demand means “ultimately, people want green space or farmland to run new transmission lines.”

Missouri Farm Bureau members have been making updates to the policy book on eminent domain, and updated language on wind and energy storage, along with data centers.

Hawkins says farmers and landowners deserve to be respected and have a voice at the table when it comes to energy, especially utility easements, and that will be amplified in discussions with American Farm Bureau ahead of the annual convention.

Hawkins says a landowners bill of rights can be developed in Missouri.

“There should be some expectations about what happens before, during construction and then, maintenance of that infrastructure and easement.”

Missouri State Senator Jason Bean has previously supported eminent domain bills in the Missouri Legislature. He tells Brownfield…

“We want to make sure that if eminent domain is used, it is used properly and not improperly, and our land owners still have their rights, period.”

Brownfield interviewed Hawkins and Bean at the annual meeting in mid-Missouri.