The Nov. 16 editorial in The Hays Daily News regarding the Kansas Department of Agriculture's proposed rules restricting labeling of milk without artificial growth hormones had some inaccurate information that I'd like to correct.

It's true that all cows' milk has growth hormones. But no cows naturally produce recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST). The "recombinant" means a genetically engineered version produced in a laboratory, which is quite different from natural growth hormone.

Therefore, cows not injected with it must be "rBGH (rBST)-free." Banning these labels, which are allowed in every other state in the nation, would make it illegal for farmers and processors to simply tell the truth. This is nothing less than censorship of free speech.

It's accurate that there is no commercial test to detect the presence of rBGH. The current industry standard is an affidavit or similar written documents that farmers sign to attest their rBGH-free status with their processors. There would be no additional personnel required by the state to simply check these documents when they do their regular dairy inspections, and no additional costs for the farmers, the state or consumers.

We must put the proposed Kansas rules in a national context to recognize what serious problems it could create. Our state would stand alone in banning "rBGH-free" type labels and requiring the FDA disclaimer, which says there are no significant differences between rBGH and rBGH-free milk. Regional or national processors can't have one set of labels for Kansas and one for all other states. Many would simply choose to stop any kind of rBGH-free labeling altogether, taking away the ability of consumers to make an educated decision on what kind of dairy to buy.

Different people have different views on the risks of rBGH, but numerous surveys have shown that 80 percent to 90 percent of consumers want the dairy packages labeled so they can make a choice.

For the last 14 years, FDA and FTC guidelines have allowed the rBGH-free type of labeling and not required the FDA disclaimer. This system has worked well for consumers, processors and farmers. The Kansas Farmers Union sees no reason for Kansas to be out of step with the rest of the country, especially when more and more consumers want rBGH-free dairy products.

We strongly urge the Kansas Department of Agriculture to rescind or change these proposed regulation changes.

Donn Teske, president,

Kansas Farmers Union