State Ex Rel. Nixon v. Premium Standard Farms, Inc.

HAROLD L. LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

This case pivots on the construction of Missouri’s statutory declaration which restricts corporations from engaging in farming, Section 350.015, RSMo 2000, and a specific exception that such a restriction does not apply to corporate utilization of agricultural land located in three counties in Northeast Missouri for production of swine, Section 350.016, RSMo 2000. The pertinent parts of both statutes, as well as the definitions are printed below, and repeated in this opinion. 1

The facts in this court-tried case are not in dispute. The appellant, the State of…