Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/2/18

More than 35 state and national ag leaders will convene Friday at the North Carolina State Fair to "discuss the threat that nuisance lawsuits pose to the U.S. agriculture industry, rural America, and farm families nationwide."

The stomping grounds for this event make sense in light of Smithfield Foods fighting dozens of nuisance lawsuits filed by residents living near industrial-scale hog farms who say the operations are so smelly and noisy they've ruined their quality of life. Those cases have resulted in several multimillion-dollar verdicts against Smithfield, and the third trial is currently underway.

The agriculture industry has argued that the litigation poses a major threat to businesses, farmers and local economies, and warned that copycat lawsuits are likely to follow as other residents eye the huge verdicts. Environmentalists, on the other hand, point to the neighbors' experiences that industrial farming poses a risk to the health and happiness of communities.

The event has a high-profile guest list: House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway, Sen. Thom Tillis, Rep. David Rouzer, USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall are just some of the RSVPs. Representatives from groups like the National Pork Producers Council and American Soybean Association will also be in attendance.