Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Sarah Vogel Investigates Bill Gates’ North Dakota Land Purchase

News | August 17th, 2022

By Laura Simmons

laurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu

The former North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculturehas still not received the Red River Trust documentation she requested in late June.

Sarah Vogelsaid she can’t determine if Gates’purchase of North Dakota land through the Red River Trustis legal under the Anti-Corporate Farming Lawwithout seeing proper documentation. This comes about a month after North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, on News & Views with Joel Heitkamp,said Vogel was “uninformed” and claimed the documentation was either in his office or on the way.

“My ire is directed at the Attorney General and his office because it's their job to enforce the Anti-Corporate Farming Law and I'm certainly not seeing any diligence or eagerness to enforce it,” Vogel said.

Vogel said she became curious after reading Mikkel Pates’Agweek articles investigating the Red River Trust and Gates’ purchase of land.

If Gates is not the sole beneficiary of the Trust, then the sale could potentially violate North Dakota’s Anti-Corporate Farming Law, Vogel said.

Gates would have been able to own land without going through a trust. Vogel said North Dakota law allows an extremely wealthy person to buy land and own it in their own name. North Dakota law also allows the land to be held in the name of a trustee who would manage it on behalf of a trust beneficiary who is allowed to own farmland in North Dakota, Vogel said.

An attorney for the Red River Trust claims the trust’s sole beneficiary is Bill Gates as an individual, but Vogel says that assertion cannot be verified without seeing and reviewing the trust document.

Vogel said Gates’ lawyer suggested the use of a “certificate of trust,” under which the trustee, Peter Headley, would make various sworn statements about the trust and its terms.

“I don't think even an affidavit from Peter Headley is enough,” Vogel said. “You’ve got to see the trust. What does the trust say?”

Vogel said she has a problem with the hidden nature behind the Red River Trust.

There are barriers to taking further action, Vogel said. For example, in order to do a private enforcement action, the person challenging the sale must be a resident of the county the land is in and if they lose the case, they’d have to pay the other side’s attorney fees. In this situation, they’d potentially be paying the attorney fees of one of the richest men on earth.

“So it's the Attorney General or nobody who's going to enforce the [Anti-Corporate Farming] Law,” Vogel said.

The Anti-Corporate Farming Law was created in 1932 to keep corporations out of North Dakota by preventing them from owning North Dakota farmland. This was to protect local, family farms.

Dakota Resource Council Executive Director Scott Skokos said corporations can be worse for the environment.

“Once corporate farms come in, you have degradation of landscape,” Skokos said. “The land is thought of more like a resource to be extracted from rather than the landscape that a family's gonna live on for generations. So you lose that stewardship because it's more about profits and about appeasing their investors and shareholders.”

North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne said corporations can be disruptive to local farmers. Watne said corporations might make decisions not in the interest of the local community in order to minimize expenses.

“[Corporations] sometimes compete at a level that's not fair with the people that are living on the land,” Watne said. “And they tend to bring a whole lot of capital to the situation which enables them to be extremely competitive and it makes it less likely that the next generations of farmers and ranchers can come to the land.”

Skokos and Watne’s views are backed by University of North Dakota Professor Emeritus Curtis Stofferahn and current The Ohio State University Professor Linda Lobao’sresearch. They used a pool of 51 studies to assess the negative effects of industrialized farming in their paper “The community effects of industrialized farming: Social science research and challenges to corporate farming laws.”

Their research found that 82% of cases had adverse effects, including higher income inequality, loss of local autonomy, greater influence of outside agribusiness and environmental problems impacting the air, water and human health.

However, the study did show that 22% of studies found evidence of benign or beneficial effects within socioeconomic conditions.

Stofferahn told the High Plains Reader through email that this study was used in five court cases that challenged North Dakota’s Anti-Corporate Farming Law.

One case was the 2018 North Dakota Farm Bureau v. Stenehjem case where the Farm Bureau challenged the constitutionality of the Anti-Corporate Farming Law. Then-North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and the North Dakota Farmers Bureau both claimed victory.

North Dakota Farmers Bureau President Daryl Liessaid by restricting the kind of structures allowed to have corporations in North Dakota, the government is picking winners and losers.

“We've had a longstanding policy in opposition to the Anti-Corporate Farming Law in North Dakota,” Liessaid. “We think that all farmers should have the opportunity to do business with who they wish and utilize any kind of economic structure or business structure that they wish. A corporation just happens to be one of them.”





Recently in:

MayFargo MarathonNow - May 20Youth run Thursday, 5K Friday night, 10K, half and full marathon, entertainment along route on Saturday. fargomarathon.comKids to Park DayMay 20Bring the kids to Theault Farm in Fargo for crafts,…

By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comHuman rights is a subject that often comes up in the media. One has only to tune in to any of the major news broadcasters to hear heated debate and discussion regarding the treatment of…

Event by Moorhead Parks & Recreation and Swing Barrel Brewing Company, LLCW. H. Davy Memorial Park, 1st Ave & 8th St N, MoorheadTuesday, June 27, 5:30-8pmThe Gina Powers Band + Petting ZooHeather & Thistle Pipes and DrumsArt…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comOur opinion: Keep your chins up, class of 2023As the school year draws to a close, this seems to be the time of year when most editors offer up their best advice to the most recent graduating…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comCan Someone Tell Me Why Sneakers Sell for $1.5 to $2.2 Million a Pair? It has to be something other than quality. I shop for used books in thrift stores because I have discovered thick books given…

We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comSpring has finally sprung. It’s time to bounce out of the house and try a few new places to eat. Let’s explore what restaurants are trending on the Fargo-Moorhead Eats Facebook page. With nearly…

Event information provided by Morgan Thompson, Marketing and Sales Associate, FARGODOMEMThompson@fargodome.comIt’s the official kickoff of summer, and the return of the best BBQ around and look who’s going to be there! Getting…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comUntil I saw “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” I really thought the cinematic expression of the multiverse concept had peaked with the triumphant Best Picture Academy Award for…

Hjemkomst Center 202 1st Ave N, Moorhead  April 25, 3:30-7:30pmPaint a rock, make a stranger smile and be a part of the movement! Keep your rock or add it to the pile to be labeled, sealed and…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

By Traci Sethre  traci.sethre@gmail.comAn integral piece of fencing is your mask. Its integrity keeps you safe. It’s typically painted black to hide your face…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…