Misleading Jurors & Spinning Tales in the Courtroom--What's Not Being Told in the Hog Nuisance Cases

The lawyer suing Smithfield Foods has a genius for creating villains in courtrooms – and he’s painted a picture of Smithfield Foods as an arrogant corporation driven by greed. For example, in the first trial Michael Kaeske told jurors Super Soils, which is one way to treat waste, was a ‘magic wand’ to cure all the problems caused by hog farms, and then he asked Smithfield executive Greg Schmidt, Why didn’t you implement Super Soils?

Greg Schmidt: It wasn’t economically viable.

Michael Kaeske: Did Smithfield do a study to determine how much it would cost to put Super Soils on its farms?

Greg Schmidt: No.

Kaeske made Smithfield look like a villain – it claimed Super Soils wasn't economically viable but it hadn’t done a study to determine what they cost. But Kaeske left out part of the truth. Smithfield didn’t do a study itself – instead it had funded a study by scholars at North Carolina State University to determine whether Super Soils was cost-effective. The research showed it wasn't. But Kaeske never mentioned that.

In the fourth trial, repeating the same point, Kaeske drew a bead on Wendell Murphy. Wendell Murphy, he said, was rich. He was the father of modern hog farming in North Carolina. And when he served in the state legislature he’d passed bills to make himself and other hog farmers wealthier. What did Kaeske leave out this time?

Wendell Murphy grew up on a farm in Duplin County, graduated from North Carolina State University in 1960, then returned to Rose Hill to teach high school. He also started raising hogs the old-fashioned way, outside in a field. Then, in 1969, a hog cholera epidemic hit and the Department of Agriculture destroyed his 3,000 pigs. He picked himself up, started over, and later he was one of the first farmers to raise hogs indoors.

Thirty-six years ago, in 1982, Wendell Murphy was elected to the State Legislature. He left the legislature twenty-six years ago in 1992. Michael Kaeske attacked Murphy for four bills that were passed decades ago. And Kaeske left out a key fact: “Those laws – adopted in the 1980’s and early 1990’s – often passed without a dissenting vote,” the News and Observer reported. Democrats voted for them. Republicans voted for them. The Secretary of Agriculture – a Democrat – supported them. The Governor – a Republican – supported them. For a simple reason: Tobacco was waning as a crop and the bills helped families continue to farm by raising hogs and chickens and turkeys.

Michael Kaeske didn’t mention any of that. In a courtroom, where the goal’s a fair verdict – based on the truth – Michael Kaeske spun a tale to mislead jurors.

This is the part 3 in a 6 part series about the hog nuisance cases.

A Farmers Biggest Challenge: Overcoming Perceptions

Although many are concerned with how living next to a hog farm can adversely affect a person (there’s even lawsuits over it), for the Overman family and many others, living next to a hog farm isn’t a nuisance or a concern. It is, as Lorenda Overman says, “the perfect spot for a home.” Not only that, but they are healthy and happy.

“We live here on the farm, and we are not sick. We work in the hog houses. We get lagoon water on us almost daily. We drink well-water that’s right here next to this farm, and we are not sick,” said Lorenda.

After raising three children on the farm, and now grandchildren, Lorenda can confidently say that “it’s not toxic to live on a farm.”

For Lorenda, the hardest part about farming isn’t just dealing with weather and markets, the hardest thing is the public’s perception. She is concerned that many do not understand how healthy and happy they are living on the farm. It isn’t just living on the farm, though. It’s also about being a farmer and what a farmer does.

“The hardest thing right now is probably the public’s perception of what we do is somehow wrong when we are trying very hard to do what’s right and make the best possible food source for our neighbors and for ourselves and our community and the world,” said Lorenda, echoing what many farmers are feeling these days.

In North Carolina, nuisance lawsuits have put family hog farmers out of business. That is scary for every farmer across the state and even nation. The agriculture community is anxious as attacks on farmers continue to come.

“I just feel like there’s a big x on our back. I feel like I constantly have to defend myself, and that takes a lot of energy and a lot of emotion. I’m just like they are. I’m just trying to make a living and do my very best,” said Lorenda who has been watching current events closely.

Farmers don’t have to do anything wrong. They may adhere to every regulation and restriction placed on them (NC hog farms are among the most regulated industries) and still be deemed a nuisance and be sued. It is a very frustrating time in North Carolina agriculture that has left farmers fearful, hurt, and confused.How is it that farmers like the Overmans can live years, raising children on the farm and have no complaints. Why would their children make the decision to move back to the farm if it was a nuisance? The Overmans have groups come out to their house for pool parties, and they don’t notice a thing. How can that be? It doesn’t make sense.

“I want people to understand that in my backyard is just like your backyard. Just because there’s a hog house behind there doesn’t mean that my backyard living is less enjoyable than their backyard,” said Lorenda.

Lorenda Overman in her backyard that overlooks their hog houses. Her pool and grandchildren's swingset is off to the right of the photo. Many evenings are spent enjoying their backyard with family and friends.

With another nuisance lawsuit approaching, eyes are on a Raleigh courtroom. The outcome is yet to be seen, but prayers once again go up for a positive outcome.

It isn’t hurricanes, droughts, malfunctioning equipment, or low markets that is the hardest part about farming. These days, the hardest part about farming is overcoming perceptions.

You can read about the Overman's story by clicking here.