CAFO’s Today
The Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce this week gave its support to the proposed re-zoning of 800 acres near the community of Shideler for an agricultural bio-enterprise park. It appears that the chamber is echoing the governor’s vision:
“The administration (of Gov. Mitch Daniels) has pledged to make Indiana a global leader in the production of bio-based products,” the chamber said in a position paper. “Our community has the opportunity to position itself at the forefront of this initiative by adoption of the state’s first agricultural bio-enterprise business park.“The state of Indiana is wanting to do a ‘pilot ag park and AB’ zone somewhere in the state. Delaware County is in the lead to take advantage of this initiative if we act now.”
Critics of the proposal note that the creation of the Ag park would pave the way for the installation of a CAFO, and many feel that Shideler is to densely populated for such activities.
The article points to the work of the BioCrossroads group in supporting the growth of ”agri-biotechnology” businesses in the state. The group came from a collaboration between the state’s leading educational institutions, healthcare providers and Lilly. Most of its focus is on medical developments, but part of their mission focuses on modernizing state agriculture:
The BioCrossroads Agriculture Advisory Board has released a report for a statewide ag strategy. The report recommends that Indiana establish a central authority to drive economic development, focus priorities on specific ag clusters and implement cluster-specific strategies. The State of Indiana has adopted the strategies outlined in the BioCrossroads report.
