It is not uncommon for The Observer to receive letters to the editor from outside the area. Occasionally they’re from former residents who want to weigh in on a local issue, and we try to publish them the same way we would those from current residents. More commonly the letters are from activists trying to get their message out to as many people as possible, so they send the letter to a lot of newspapers in hopes some will run it. If such a letter addresses a subject we think has local interest, we’ll run it too

On Feb. 20, we received two letters addressing opposite positions on House Bill 545, the Georgia Legislature’s effort to update the Right to Farm Act. 

According to reporting by Capitol Beat News Service, the 2020 act would “make it more difficult for property owners living in areas zoned for agriculture to sue nearby agricultural operations such as poultry houses or cattle ranches for offensive smells or runoff from sludge lagoons. In order to sue, property owners would have to be located within five miles of the source of the alleged nuisance. The bill also would require lawsuits to be brought within two years after a nuisance occurs, compared to four years in the current law.”

One of the letters, from Gerald Long, president of Georgia Farm Bureau, said this change would help protect farmers from residents upset about living so close to the smells of a farm operation. 

The other letter was signed Jenny Crisp of Lee County, Ga., but came from the email address of Jim Quinn at the Lee County Ledger, a newspaper in Leesburg, Ga. In the letter, Crisp opposed the changes to the law, claiming it gave preference to large farming operations to the detriment of small, family farms. From her perspective, the law made it difficult for small operations to sue larger ones if the larger ones damage the soil or water that the smaller operations depends on. 

Agriculture is a huge business in Colquitt County, so we figured a discussion of the Right to Farm Act would have local interest. We posted both letters to our website Feb. 22 and published them in the Feb. 23 print edition.

On March 1, Quinn sent us another letter, this one from Margie McRee of Smithville, which is a town in Lee County. McRee said the changes being considered for the Right to Farm Act were like taking away firearms — a violation of the rights of landowners to protect their property. We published it online March 3 and in the March 4 print edition.

All this time we were hoping local farmers or residents would join the conversation. We’d much prefer to hear what you think that someone three counties away. But no one did so.

On Monday, The Observer received two more letters about the issue. One was another message from Quinn, a letter signed by Dr. Robert Clay of DeSoto, Ga., a small town in Sumter County a short way north of the Lee County line. It describes a personal experience with a large farming operation and why the Right to Farm Act is so important to protect landowners. 

We haven’t run it yet — and we may not because of the other letter that came Monday.

The other letter came by mail with no return address. It was signed “Mrs. Silence Dogood,” and it directed our attention to a pending federal court case, Cornwell McRee et al v. Leatherbrook Holsteins LLC. 

We looked it up on the federal court’s website. In the case, a number of plaintiffs — including Jenny Crisp and Marjorie Cornwell McRee — allege Leatherbrook Holsteins introduced manure into local waterways after expanding a small Lee County dairy into a 12,000-head operation. The dairy, of course, denies wrongdoing, and the most recent filing in the case indicates the sides are working toward a settlement.

Dogood’s letter doesn’t include any way to verify her identity, so we won’t be printing it. She alleges the plaintiffs oppose changes to the Right to Farm law in hopes of improving their chances in the court case. Since the case is in federal court, we can’t see how a change in state law would affect it. On the contrary, the plaintiffs seem to have personal experience with the issues covered by the Right to Farm Act that gives them much to add to the discussion — but it also seems their letters should have disclosed their roles in the lawsuit.

Our opinion page is not where they need to fight their battle.

Colquitt County opinions, though, are very much desired. If you have thoughts about the changes to the Right to Farm Act, please share them with us. Please include your name and hometown, which will be published, and a phone number where we can reach you. Your number won’t be published; that’s just so we can confirm who you are and ask any questions we need to about your letter.

The proposed changes to the law could have a significant impact on local residents and local farmers. Let us know what you think.