While public calls for moratorium, 19 new factory farms coming to North Central Iowa

Onslaught of new factory farm applications

Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) in eight Iowa counties this week caught wind of at least 19 new pending factory farm applications submitted by Iowa Select.  Together, the new hog factories would add 87,430 more hogs to Iowa, which already has more hogs than any other state, which directly contribute to Iowa's water quality crisis.Join 700+ Iowans that have said no to Iowa Select's proposals.  Click here to sign the petition and tell Jeff Hansen to withdraw his applications.

Iowa needs a break

According to Iowa State University's Swine Manure Calculator, the 19 new CAFOs would generate an estimated 36.7 million gallons of manure each year – waste that operators dump untreated on nearby fields. Iowa CCI members calculated it to be enough manure to fill 55.6 Olympic-size swimming pools. The vast majority of applications are in counties surrounding the new Prestage slaughterhouse: Hamilton, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Humboldt, Franklin, Palo Alto, and Bremer counties.“Enough is enough.  Iowa Select is trying to slip these applications under the radar at the end of the year as counties and environmental groups across the state are calling for a moratorium on new and expanding factory farms,” said Rita Andersen, CCI member from Woolstock.  “I’d rather see 19 new independent family farmers in my community than 19 big factory farms that will ruin my quality of life.”

Applications come as public calls for a moratorium

Iowa Select is Iowa’s largest pork producer and the 8th largest factory farm corporation in the country.  The agribusiness corporation also has a long violation history, including at least 150 manure or ammonia releases polluting air and water, according to DNR’s facility spill database.“Iowa Select is abusing loopholes with the factory farms in my county,” said Stacy Hartmann, farmer in Dallas County and CCI member.  “They are building these factory farms 10 hogs under the threshold that would trigger more oversight and regulations. In Iowa, we're good neighbors, and Iowa Select is not.”CCI members warned of an onslaught of factory farms if the Prestage slaughterhouse was built in Iowa, given Iowa’s weak regulations and enforcement.  This is part of the reason why CCI, along with Food & Water Watch, petitioned the DNR to strengthen rules that would give community members more protections from factory farms. However, the Environmental Protection Commission failed to make these commonsense changes last month.“I’m sure Jeff Hansen, President of Iowa Select, doesn’t want 19 factory farms in his gated community lined with mansions in West Des Moines.  Why does he think it’s ok to do that to rural Iowans?  He gets the profits and we get the pollution,” said Hartmann.

Enough is enough

CCI members already organized to stop two Iowa Select factory farms in 2017 – one in Wayne County and one in Clay County.“We’re calling on Iowa DNR to extend the permitting period for these 19 sites to give community members and county supervisors at least 90 days to review this onslaught of factory farm proposals.  We need to tap the brakes,” said Erica Blair, organizer with Iowa CCI.People impacted by the influx of Iowa Select factory farms or concerned about a factory farm in their community are invited to call the CCI office at 515-282-0484 to learn more about what action steps they can take to stop these factory farms from building.