Jackson County CAFO push and poke
Via a local correspondent, word that Rose Acre Farms, the Seymour Indiana poultry company, has set around a letter urging Jackson County voters to pressure local elected officials to reformat the Jackson County BZA with members who are more friendly to large scale agriculture. Here is the letter (PDF).
Jackson County has seen numerous CAFO’s come in over the last year (see here, here, and more info over here).
The Rose Acres letter portrays CAFO opponents as being a minority of extremists. A recent letter to the editor in The Jackson County Tribune reflects what I think is the reality: No one wants to live next to a CAFO, regardless of backgrounds:
To the Editor:Many farmers and rural residents of Jackson County have been trying to understand the recent letter sent to them by Rose Acre Farms. The letter focuses on a “vocal minority” and their purpose. As a member of the “vocal minority,” we would like to set some of the allegations straight.The Redding Township residents are concerned about the location of one 8,000-hog confinement animal feeding operation, or CAFO.We are concerned about our quality of life, our health, our property and our community environment. These concerns have not changed and more than 400 residents of northeastern Redding Township agreed when they signed the petition presented to the Jackson County Board of Zoning Appeals on Oct. 11. We are farmers, retired farmers, children of farmers and rural residents, just as we stated at the BZA meeting Oct. 11.We have not opposed all CAFOs nor have we directed any energy toward Rose Acre. Many of our members have sold grain to Rose Acre and some may continue to sell to them. We are unsure as to why Rose Acre is concerned about one hog confinement animal feeding operation.We are opposed to a planning board and a BZA that ignores the voting public. We were not taken seriously by the plan board or the BZA, although more than 200 people attended two BZA meetigs.Gordon and Genevive Ruddick
Redding Township, Ind.
