A U.S. district court judge in Nebraska ruled Thursday that Initiative 300, Nebraska's ban on corporate farming, can no longer be enforced by state officials.

That decision by District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp in effect means the state is without one of the country's toughest anti-corporate farming measures.

Camp initially ruled, in December 2005, that I-300, passed as a constitutional amendment by Nebraska voters in 1982, was unconstitutional because it violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating out-of-state business differently than those in state. It also violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, she ruled.

In December 2006, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Camp's ruling.

That led Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court of the original ruling by Camp and the court of appeals affirmation of that ruling. By mid-April, the high court will decide whether to hear the case. Many in Nebraska legal circles believe it is unlikely the court will do so.

In a short statement, Bruning said the state will continue to "pursue all avenues of appeal. Nebraskans voted to add I-300 to their constitution, and we remain committed to defending it."

Six plaintiffs, including farmer and former state senator Jim Jones of Eddyville, brought suit against I-300 in December 2004.

Should the Supreme Court not take the case, as many expect, that would be the demise of I-300.

One impact of that possibility may be more cattle feeders looking to locate in Nebraska, to take advantage, among other things, of the availability of the large supply of ethanol byproducts. However, county zoning regulations will remain a key factor in livestock development across the state, perhaps more so than I-300 ever was.

Will Nebraska enact a state law on corporate farming? That will be difficult to craft, considering the reasons the constitutional amendment was ruled unconstitutional. One state senator, Philip Erdman of Bayard, has proposed a measure in the Unicameral this year to form a committee to study issues surrounding corporate farming.