Winds Are Changing on the Hog Confinement Issue

It seems the winds are changing on the hog confinement issue.

Earlier in the summer, I wrote about 2 proposed hog confinements in Dallas County that the county supervisors opposed. The DNR later denied the permit for those hog confinements. Then last month the DNR another hog confinement in Appanoose County.

From Iowa CCI...

On August 13, The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) denied a 4,900-head hog factory proposed for southern Appanoose County . According to DNR, the permit application did not meet legal requirements, nor did their master matrix pass muster. Although the applicant for this proposed confinement is a local resident, the 4,900 hogs would have been owned by Cargill. Cargill, one of the largest privately-held corporations in the world, has been behind a number of proposed factory farms around the state, including two proposed 7,440-head hog factories in northwest Dallas County.

In July, as a result of overwhelming public opposition, the Appanoose County Board of Supervisors recommended that DNR deny this hog factory proposal.

“I would like to thank the County Supervisors for using what few tools are at the counties’ disposal to represent the people of their County and to stop hog factories from being built,” said Appanoose County resident Allen Lakner.

Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), the newly-formed Iowans Down Wind, and other local residents opposed the proposed hog factory for a number of reasons. They challenged the permit application based on the potential for water pollution to nearby wells and water sources and the likelihood of the underground manure storage pit developing cracks and leaking into underground water sources. In addition, several nearby neighbors raised serious health concerns, concerns for loss of property value and decreased quality of life.