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Reprinted from the 1/13/05 edition © The Heartland Spirit 2005. All rights reserved.

Hog Factories a Growing Concern forJefferson CountyThree-part series examines environmental impacts, farming economics, and potential solutions

by Nancy Pfoutz | Staff Writer

What used to be a common sight,hogs grazing in open lots and pasturesthroughout Iowa, has been replaced, toa large degree, in the last decade byCAFOs, Confined Animal FeedingOperations, which can house literallythousands of hogs in large-scale, con-fining structures.

While Jefferson County is not yet con-centrated with CAFOs, more are crop-ping up amid rising concerns abouttheir effects on the environment and onthe quality of life of rural residents.

This is the first of a three-part seriesexploring CAFOs. Part One will describehow the facilities work, and examine thethreats they pose to the environment. Itwill also describe the current storm hov-ering over Jeanette Lacey’s cattle farm offPleasant Plain Road, where a CAFO isbeing constructed within 200 feet of herproperty.

Part Two will discuss the hard eco-nomic realities facing local hog farm-ers, exploring why the trend is to moveaway from small hog operations to largeagribusiness conglomerates. Part Threewill provide an overview of alterna-tives, ways in which environmentalistsand farmers can work side by side inprofitable ventures that don’t tax thephysical surroundings or compromisethe quality of life. It will also explorehow communities can regulate and/orcontain CAFOs and assure compliancewith environmental regulations.

The Trend toward Factory Farming

Why are CAFOs on the rise? “The hog

market is very prof-itable right now,” saidState RepresentativeJohn Whitaker. “Lots ofpeople want to get intoit, because you cancontrol the environ-ment of the hogs andcut down on laborcosts [since much ofthe building is comput-erized]. It is perceivedto be an efficient wayto make a lot of moneyout of a small space,and further economicdevelopment.”

It’s also spreading,according to PatrickBosold, a member of theLeopold Group, a localchapter of the SierraClub, who has been researching theCAFO issue for the last two years, spurredon because Iowa’s laws regulating facto-ry farms are among the weakest in theMidwest. A report issued by theEnvironmental Integrity Project inWashington, D.C. in May, 2004 statesthat the Iowa Department of NaturalResources (DNR) has not been effectivein demanding that certain CAFOs obtainpermits, has not enforced adequateactions against violations by the farms,and has failed to implement and enforcethe federal Clean Water Act, resulting ina degradation of Iowa’s waterways.

Jefferson County in particular is beingtargeted for CAFOs, some feel, becausecurrently it has a low concentration ofthese factory farms compared to other

counties, such as Henry or Davis.Francis Thicke, owner of Fairfield’s

Radiance Dairy, is a member of theEnvironmental Protection Commission(EPC), a nine-member panel providingpolicy oversight over Iowa’s environ-mental protection efforts. “The FarmBureau [a national farming trade associ-ation] and hog producers have con-vinced legislators that [CAFOs] are theway to go,” he said.

Structure of a CAFO and Factory Farms

Typically, a factory farm giant such asTri-Oak Foods in Oakville, Iowa orChristensen Farms of Minnesota willfind farmers or young people interestedin the business and make a contractarrangement. The corporation will pro-vide the hogs and feed, while the farmer

Hogs in a confinement operation are raised in metal and con-crete pens. They live in close proximity with little room or moveuntil they reach their slaughter weight of 250 pounds at sixmonths old. Photo: Farm Sanctuary

takes out a loan and has the buildingconstructed, assuming all financial andlegal responsibility. The corporationadvises on raising the hogs and gettingthem to market. Depending on its size, aCAFO costs up to $500,000 to build.

Large agribusinesses have developedin the last 30-40 years as more empha-sis has been placed on chemical controlof weeds and pests, mechanization,short-term efficiency, and enhancingyields. Farmers have tried to maximizeproduction volume (often at the expenseof quality) and externalize costs asmuch as possible. The net result ofagribusiness is that fewer and fewer cor-porate entities control the market,wielding power over local farmers.

The CAFO itself is a highly computer-ized building maintaining specific tem-peratures and feed allotments for hogs.The animals are put very closely togeth-er, in small confined compartments forthe whole of their lifetime; they neverbreathe the outside air or see sunlight.The buildings themselves are either nat-urally or mechanically ventilated. Thehogs stand on slatted floors, so that theirwaste products fall into “pits” below,from where it is pumped out, either tobe knifed into the ground or spread onland via a tank-type vehicle. “The pitsare anaerobic with no oxygen comingin,” noted Thicke, “so the matterbecomes putrid quickly.”

Environmental Effects of Hog Factories

The environmental issues are far-reaching, tied mostly to the tremendousamount of manure generated by factoryfarms. A report from the Iowa Citizensfor Community Improvement (ICCI)notes that three Iowa-based corpora-tions produce about four million pigsannually, who generate waste equiva-lent to 10 million people, three timeslarger than the population of Iowa. Andmost of these facilities are in justP 15 ofIowa’s 99 counties, producing a con-centration of manure that “greatlyincreases the risk of ground and surfacewater pollution.”

“The County Department of Healthregulates septic tanks and other mecha-nisms for handling human waste, yetwe tolerate massive quantities of excre-

ment from pigs that has the potential forgenerating all kinds of health prob-lems,” noted Bosold.

Manure spills, leaking manure pits andlagoons, and the over-spreading ofmanure are a major threat to Iowa’swater sources. Millions of fish have beenkilled, drinking wells have been contam-inated in the over 140 spills reported inIowa and three surrounding states in thepast two years, according to a report bythe Iowa Citizens for CommunityImprovement (ICCI). In addition, ICCIclaims that antibiotics fed to livestockare washing into streams, where “theycould contribute to a rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pose serious healthrisks to humans.”

Health problems for those living nearthe factories range from headaches,coughing, sore throats, burning eyesand diarrhea, according to a 1999University of North Carolina study.Ammonia is another toxin causing sick-nesses. A study just released by theUniversity of Iowa College of PublicHealth has shown increased incidenceof asthma among Iowa children livingon hog farms. And the MinnesotaDepartment of Public Health declaredin 2000 that after two years of monitor-ing the air around a factory farm, emis-sions pose a risk to public health.

In Iowa, ten monitoring stations trackthe concentrations of manure gases nearhog, poultry and cattle farms and in thelast two years, have shown only a fewoccasions when concentrations ofammonia and hydrogen sulfide exceed-ed “safe” limits. But critics and state reg-ulators are concerned about health risksbecause of a new state law that forcedthe placement of the monitors closer topeople’s homes, further from the con-finements. Some advocacy groups, suchas ICCI, report gas levels 10 times high-er than what some scientists considersafe.

One Landowner Fights Back

“CAFO owners are just trying to surviveas farmers,” said Representative JohnWhitaker, himself an owner of a tradition-al, small hog farm. “It’s very difficult thesedays to earn a living as a hog farmer with-out the security of a guaranteed market

that the CAFOs have.” Sixty-five farms house 58,000 pigs in

Jefferson County, according to the 2002USDA census. Tom Miller, Swine Specialist atIowa State University, estimates that there aresix or seven CAFOs in the county. But thatnumber is growing.

Just six weeks ago, Jeanette Lacey noticedtiny flags adjacent to her property andlearned that Dale Robertson, a hog farmerwith eight CAFOs already in operation inand around Jefferson County, is putting up a1200-head building within 200 feet of hercattle farm and woodlands. His son RyanRobertson already has a 2,400-head facilityjust down the hill from her, directly in thefloodplain of Walnut Creek, an environmen-tal concern for neighbors. Ryan’s is about1,000 feet from the building Dale is erecting.Both are raising hogs for Tri-Oaks.

When Lacey approached the DNRand County Board of Supervisors, shewas told nothing could be donebecause the hog farm is under 2500heads, and therefore not required tohave a permit.

In addition to coping with the odorand fumes, Lacey has health concernsabout her cattle from previous experi-ence. “They often won’t eat the hayonce it has the pig odor on it and they’llbe exposed to E. coli from the manureand pink eye from the flies. Hygiene isvery important for calves.” She alsosponsors carriage rides for 4-H groupsregularly and knows that will end withthe odors so close. “[These CAFOs] aredevaluing my property, ruining every-thing I’ve ever worked for,” she said.

Lacey is working with Fairfield attor-ney Tom Makeig to attempt to halt con-struction, based on several counts ofviolations. Makeig said, “County-wide,residents should promote compliancewith law (watching for violations ofmanure spreading, for example), andcreate a social climate that’s unrecep-tive to the proliferation of CAFOs.CAFO operators are pressured by theircorporate masters to cut corners to saveon operating costs, and therefore oftenavoid compliance.” He emphasized theneed for grassroots efforts to deter facto-ry farming from ruining family farms,property values and rural quality of lifein Jefferson County.

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To date, the DNR has done a site visitand made readings of the distancesbetween the CAFOs and nearby resi-dences. They intend to issue a report intime for the EPC meeting on January 18.

Residential Homeowners Concerned

For residents living in the vicinity of hogfactories, the potential consequences aredire. Dave Pacha has a residential homeon six acres near Lacey, and noted, “I’veworked hard to build a nice place andthen something like this comes along. I’veheard of people who can’t even go out-side.” Alan Marks, also a rural landowner,observed, “For individuals who’ve builtestate-type homes specifically to enjoy

the rural environment of clean air andopen space – their properties will beworth practically nothing if more of thesefactories are built here.”

Anyone with environmental concernsare welcome to attend future meetingsof this ad hoc group of concerned citi-zens. For information contact PatrickBosold at 472-1691 or Kari Carney atkari@iowacci.org or 515- 282-0484.

Next week: Why farmers are not thebad guys – the economic realities offarming today.

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