Between 1931 and 1982, the states of Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma, enacted statutes and Nebraska adopted a constitutional provision limiting corporate operation of farms and corporate ownership of farmland. Minor limits were adopted by Texas, West Virginia, South Carolina, Arizona and Kentucky. A few of the states enacted limits on limited partnerships and trusts.

Beginning in 1991, four states have enacted amendments of various types relaxing those limits. The amendments all relate to hog confinement operation and represent one manifestation of competition for the hog business as that sector goes through a veritable economic revolution.