Neighbors wary of hog confinements in rural Scott County

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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Tuesday, April 3, 2007 12:11 PM CDT | () comments

Workers pour concrete for a new hog confinement building on 290th Street, or St. Ann’s Road, between 130th and 140th avenues in rural Donahue, Iowa.

DONAHUE, Iowa — New hog confinement facilities west and north of Donahue are being watched by wary neighbors, but the farmers say they are building environmentally friendly, safe and quite legal structures.

The hog confinement planned about a mile west of Donahue, for instance, will have an educational component and be open for tours to school groups and visitors, said farmer John Maxwell, who will put up the structure in cooperation with pork producer Tom Dittmer of Eldridge.

Dittmer is now building a 2,400-head wean-to-finish structure on St. Ann’s Road, about one-half mile from several residences.

“If it doesn’t stink, I’m a happy camper,” said Craig Belk, who lives in a new home east of the area. “But if it does stink and I have to move, that’s when I have a problem. We hope to retire here.”

Oversight of livestock confinement operations is in the hands of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Dittmer has satisfied the state’s permitting process and is placing the new building as the law requires.

Scott County officials have little to do with the process. Farmers are exempt from the normal building codes, said Tim Huey, the county’s director of planning and development. The county does review construction permits to enforce state rules, he added.

The status of the livestock confinement rules is being debated in the Iowa Legislature. One bill would set limits on where the buildings may be constructed, but that bill’s fate is uncertain as it faces a legislative funnel deadline this week.

Maxwell’s hog building is planned for a site about one mile west of Donahue, but the actual location may be farther away, he said. Maxwell, locally known as a dairy farmer and owner of Cinnamon Ridge Farm, said he is expanding into hogs with Dittmer. He will speak to the Donahue City Council on Wednesday night to clarify his position on the confinement issue.

Urban and agricultural interests can co-exist and both be happy in the process, Maxwell said. “I’m not trying to bring anything negative to Donahue,” he said, noting he is a fourth-generation farmer and native of the area.

Maxwell also runs a sizeable tour operation and his new hog confinement building — also a 2,400-head wean-to-finish operation — will incorporate glass windows and space for guests. Visitors come from school districts as well as throughout the United States and other countries.

Donahue Mayor Ken Schoenthaler has dealt with numerous rumors and residents upset about the hog confinements. He said he will support construction of a structure that is the “poster child” of how rural and urban interests can work side-by-side, adding that he’d prefer the buildings be at least two miles from city limits.

Dennis Bash, who lives near Dittmer’s structure on St. Ann’s Road, has few problems with farmers who follow the letter of the law. The hog confinement building is going on agricultural land, which he pointed out existed before the houses were built.

“I’m all for anything that benefits this area, but I’m not sure that’s what we would really want,” he said.

Belk and his wife, Beth, are raising three young children in their five-year-old home. Beth Belk believes that even new confinement facilities have an odor. “Pig poop stinks, and there are other toxic health hazards,” she said.

Latest technology used

Dittmer responded that he is using the latest technology to site the buildings. Engineers from Iowa State University, Ames, have completed a “community assessment model” on wind patterns, which show farmers how to plan building locations.

The St. Ann’s site has been termed “excellent” by the Iowa State engineers because of its wide northerly exposure, Dittmer said. It will be situated in a north/south manner to take advantage of the southerly wind direction in March through October. When the windows are opened, air will move south to north through the confinement with the aid of a ventilation system.

The least effect will be to the east or west, Dittmer said. He will also plant fast-growing Aus trees to help the process. The trees are a willow hybrid which can be found on his home farm. They grow up to 25 feet in two years and last about 60 years.

The manure is protected from the groundwater as it is collected in concrete pits, which are 8 feet deep. The pits are emptied yearly and sold for fertilizer to corn farmers in the region. The hogs are sold to Tyson Foods, Dittmer said.

As a fourth-generation farmer, Dittmer said he has designed his Grandview Farms operation to be modern and efficient. He has faced public concerns about the hog confinement process in the last few years, most recently when he built new confinements on the grounds of his home.

“I’ve found that reality squelches perception,” he said. The neighbor closest to his large home operation is about one-quarter mile away. Pricey residences are in this area west of Eldridge, and there are second-generation neighbors as well.

Ned Mohr lives about two-thirds of a mile from one of Dittmer’s hog confinements. “He runs a good operation, at times with some odor, but not very often,” Mohr said. “He tries to do anything he can to minimize the effect on neighbors.”

Meantime, the Belks, Bash and others are keeping a concerned eye on the process. “I grew up on a farm,” Beth Belk said. “Right now, I’m having a hard time eating another piece of bacon.”

Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com.

Donahue council hears from farmer

John Maxwell, a farmer and owner of Cinnamon Ridge Farm in rural Donahue, Iowa, will speak to the Donahue City Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 106 1st Ave., Donahue.

Maxwell is on the agenda to discuss a proposed hog confinement operation he will build about a mile west of the city limits.