CAFO Debate Heating Up
As part of the proposed Rural Indiana Strategy for Excellence (RISE) program, the state hosted an community input session in WInchester, Indiana, the county seat for Randolph County. Remember, Randolph has 6 pending pig CAFO’s:
The meeting was attended by about 100 people, the majority of whom made it clear that their vision for the Indiana countryside does not include an influx of industrial-size hog farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Link (Star Press)
“These pigs farms are going to destroy what (economy) we’ve still got left,” one member of the audience told facilitators Nancy Kinder, director of Eastern Indiana Development District, and Joe Pearson, staff associate at Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development.Others in attendance complained that the swine CAFOs “being pushed down our throats” would pollute Randolph County’s air and water and make the county unattractive to new business.
“Your local land-use laws are what can protect you,” Kinder told the crowd. (In an interview after the meeting, Kinder criticized Randolph County’s Area Planning Commission for not addressing concerns about CAFOs raised by the public in recent years. “No planning is bad planning,” Kinder told The Star Press).
Andy Miller, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Agriculture issued a response to the concerned residents:
This administration does not support a moratorium on large livestock farms. Most farmers are good managers and protect the environment.
Over in Jackson County, another location where CAFO’s have been in dispute, those running for county government do not seem to think that local regulations are necessary:
I think as long as we keep the hog operations in the agricultural segment and we don’t put them down on the courthouse square, and as long as we use the good science that is given to us by the universities and the ag engineers, I think they are fine. Then it comes to regulations. We have to make sure they are followed.
Link. the candidates fear that sexually oriented businesses pose more of a threat to their community: “If I’m elected commissioner, I would do everything in my power to make sure those businesses are not in our county.” It seems amazing to me that potential county leaders are more concerned over businesses that cater to interests of consenting adults to be conducted in the privacy of their own homes than a business that proposes to an industrial operation that threatens the water of the community, as well as the well being of its neighbors.
I know a few folks that went to Earlham College at the same time I did who now make their homes in rural Randolph County. These are college educated professionals with kids trying to make their homes in what was once a quiet, rural setting. Over the past couple of years, they have been beset with expanding landfills, a confined dairy operation, and now 6 new confined pig operations. As they pull their drinking water from the ground, and breath the air out there, it cannot be long before they seriously question their choice of homesteads. Now they have invested serious capital in real estate that has become significantly less appealing in the eyes of most home buyers.
One of these friends recently reported that a friend of his, who had planned to relocate to Randolph County, has now reconsidered, in part due to all of the industrial development in the area. This friend was a doctor. Doctors, teachers, consultants, these are folks with the ability to choose their place of residence. Randolph County’s inability to control the development of its rural landscape (and that is most of the county) will mean that the only folks will remain in the community are those without the option of leaving.
April 15th, 2006 15:09
With CAFO’s proliferating and the enactment of DST for the whole state, Indiana is becoming an undesirable place to live. Most youngish professional types are not going to move to a state that has so little regard for protecting its air and water.
It is a shame that the Randolph County commissioners don’t understand that CAFO’s are not at all comparable to existing agriculture. Maybe they will realize that when they have a hard time attracting other types of businesses to the county. Not that they were having an easy time of it in the first place.
March 1st, 2007 06:03
If you have looked into solar energy as a method for heating your home, panels are usually the first things that come up.
There are, however, other unique methods.
The Solar Heating Aspect You Have Never Heard of Before
The power of the sun is immense. The energy in one day of sunlight is more than the world needs. The problem, of course,
is how does one harness this power. Solar panels represent the obvious solution, but they have their downside. First,
they can be expensive depending upon your energy needs. Second, they do not exactly blend in with the rest of your home.
Passive solar heating represents a panel free method of harnessing the inherent energy found in the sun for heating
purposes. If you come out from a store and open the door of your car in the summer, you understand the concept of passive
solar heating. A wide variety of material absorbs sunlight and radiates the energy back into the air in the form of heat.
Passive solar heating for a home works the same way as the process which overheats your car in the parking lot.