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NW Indiana farmer withdraws application to build hog CAFO

 

 

By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

 

VALPARAISO, Ind. — Citing a huge public outcry and the need to coexist with neighbors and the community, an Indiana grain farmer has withdrawn plans to raise 5,600 hogs – at least for now.

John Sands on May 18 announced he is backing away from his request at this point, a decision applauded by the onslaught opponents who felt the operation would be too close to a residential area. "Obviously, we’re all happy, but we’re not sure it’s really over," said Rebecca Tomerlin, who started an online petition that drew 1,500 signatures in less than a month against plans for a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) four miles south of Valparaiso in the northwestern part of the state.

Plans called for two buildings that would have housed 5,600 hogs, with a capacity for 7,000. The amount of opposition was so great that a May 27 hearing before the Porter County Plan Commission on a request for a change in zoning from general agriculture to high impact use was going to have to be moved to the Porter County Exposition Center, which is large enough to host circuses, conventions and other major events.

Sands wanted 40 acres of his farmland rezoned to operate a hog farm, citing a desire to provide his son, Brandon, a career opportunity once he graduates from Purdue University where he’s studying agriculture. Mike Veehuizen of Livestock Engineering Solutions in Greenwood worked with Sands on the proposal, which he felt met all of the requirements for high-impact use.

Veehuizen said the closest residence to the site was a half-mile away and belonged to the Sands, while the remainder of the homes in a fairly dense residential neighborhood are 1-2 miles from where the CAFO was proposed. He cited studies from Purdue that show odors from a hog farm are barely detectable a half-mile away, increasing only slightly under certain weather conditions such as wind direction.

The homes within a two-mile radius of the site would hardly ever notice a smell, he said. "If we had a worst-case scenario we might know the farm is there from an odor detection 70 days out of a year," said Veehuizen.

A recommendation from the Plan Commission that the CAFO be served by municipal water was a factor in the decision to withdraw the rezoning petition due to cost, said Veehuizen.

Sands was hoping to use a well to supply the operation with water. In a prepared statement, Sands said most of the residents, when he first approached them, seemed agreeable to the plans. He blamed outside groups opposed to agriculture in general for turning his neighbors against the plan using inaccurate data.

"Activists, misinformation, untruths and fear-mongering has no place in what should remain a local discussion," said Sands, who added, "in the end this is the community where we live. We want to be sensitive to the concerns of our neighbors."

Veehuizen said Sands might reapply for a zoning change after going over the plans more thoroughly with nearby residents, and if changes such as added cost efficiencies can be worked into the project. Tomerlin, a member of the grassroots group Oppose the CAFO, said her organization will stay focused so it learns right away if Sands comes back with another request for a zoning change.

"’We don’t want something else like this slipping under the radar," said Tomerlin, whose parents reside close to the Sands’ property. "They just might be reorganizing."

5/27/2015