Open data on farming serves public purpose

By Bill Bitzenburg
Monday, February 19, 2007 3:52 PM CST

House Bill 59 is back. HB 59 was withdrawn for rewording and has been resubmitted to the House Agriculture Affairs Committee. The original bill closed to the public all results from state laboratories. The reworked bill is reworded, but the intent is the same.

Often when bills are passed with broad language, the impacts reach far beyond the bill’s sponsors intended targets. It appears the impetus for passing this bill is to shield companies or individuals submitting tests to the state labs from the prying eyes of competitors who misuse the information for unfair business advantage or environmental watch dogs. The reaction or overreaction is to have a bill closing all results, except those with enforcement actions, to public view.

The intended results will be achieved but with what collateral damage? The unintended results could shield numerous "bad actors" from public scrutiny. Unscrupulous characters could be emboldened by the cloaking of lab results into pushing the limits -- knowing full well that if marginal seeds, animals or soil tests don’t pass, they will be protected from the eyes of the public and, thus, preserving a possibly undeserved reputation.

Generally it is not in the public’s best interest to shield the guilty along with the innocent. If unscrupulous dairymen, elk breeders or seed companies are using public information obtained from state labs for personal advantage, it can easily be side-tracked with the caveat no negative results will be released. Therefore, only the "bad actors" that submit tests resulting in positive tests for regulated or non-regulated diseases or tests yielding levels outside of the allowable range would be released.

As written, the bill relies on the Idaho State Department of Agriculture director to police the results and only release those deemed necessary. While Director Celia Gould is highly respected, this is still a politically appointed position answerable only to the governor. To think it is unlikely the director would not yield to political pressure applied by the IDA or others is naive.

An informed and knowledgeable citizenry is the most effective weapon against those who would endanger the environment or health of Idahoans.

Bill Bitzenburg is a member of the Times-News editorial board and lives in Filer, where he owns and operates a farm. He is also a member of the Idaho Bean Commission.

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