A number of citizens in Becker County, population 35,219 or so, don't want their home to become a feedlot hub as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) move north.
Nathan Bowe reports for the Detroit Lakes Tribune in Becker County slaps 1-year moratorium on new feedlots:
Becker County on Tuesday put a temporary freeze on confined animal feedlots over 200 animal units.
The moratorium on new concentrated animal feeding operations will last for up to one year, giving the county time to rework its agricultural zoning rules to avoid becoming a feedlot hub.
Commissioners approved it on a 4-1 vote, with Richard Vareberg voting in opposition. . . .
At least one Spring Creek Township resident was worried that the wave of big animal feedlots in Iowa and southern Minnesota is now heading north. “I don’t think we want to be the next animal livestock hub in the United States,” Nelson said at a county board meeting earlier this month. He suggested the possibility of a moratorium to give the county time to catch up on its agricultural zoning rules.
White Earth Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks was also at the meeting earlier this month, and spoke against large concentrated animal feeding operations within the boundaries of the White Earth reservation.
The concern about becoming a feedlot hub had perplexed the board for weeks. Earlier in the month, Bowe had reported in Becker County approves feedlot, but a moratorium looks likely:
Concerned about a possible onslaught of requests for confined animal feedlots, Becker County is looking at declaring a moratorium on new permits until it can upgrade its agricultural zoning ordinance.
“I don’t think we want to be the next animal livestock hub in the United States,” Commissioner Barry Nelson said at a county board meeting Tuesday. “Our ordinances are kind of behind. At our next meeting I’d like us to look at a moratorium on CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations).”
Commissioner Larry Knutson agreed.
The catalyst for the moratorium was a proposed 3,000-pig feedlot in Spring Creek Township, a lightly populated township in northwestern Becker County.
Applicants Erica and Eric Zurn of rural Callaway asked Becker County for a conditional use permit for three barn sites for 2,000 adult pigs and another 1,000 growing animals, for the purpose of weaning pigs. . . .
The feedlot will be operated by the Swine Vet Center of St. Peter, Minn., which manages about 18,000 sows at five sites in Minnesota and Iowa.
Although the Zurns applied for the permit, they are not the majority owners of the new feedlot. The owner’s name has still not been released, although he is a Minnesota farmer and a client of the Swine Vet Center, according to discussion at the last board meeting.
“We still don’t know who owns this facility, that’s a huge concern with this project,” said township resident Kimberly Jirava. The wave of feedlots that started in Iowa moved to southern Minnesota and now appear to be heading to northern Minnesota, she added. “They call us a ‘sacrifice township,” in southern Minnesota,” she said. That means a township given over to feedlots. . . .
The commissioner’s meeting room was overflowing with people on Tuesday, and after hearing from several opponents — and a few supporters — the County Board ultimately went ahead and approved the feedlot permit, with a number of conditions.
That approval came largely because the application met existing county zoning requirements, and a denial could have been challenged in district court. “We had an application we had to deal with, so we had to do something with it,” Knutson said.
Leading the opposition were Troy Gilchrist, an attorney for Spring Creek Township, and because the township is within the borders of the White Earth Reservation, tribal attorney Antonio Solorzano.
White Earth Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks also was there, and spoke against the feedlot.
“We don’t need this here — I don’t want this on my reservation or within our borders,” Fairbanks told commissioners. “The water is the main thing — 54% of waters across the state are impaired, and this is something we have to address. I always bring up our kids — we have to protect what comes after us, for the next seven generations. We can’t leave them a big cesspool.”
Commissioner Nelson told Fairbanks that the county hopes to see improved relations with White Earth, and welcomed tribal input on the ongoing feedlot zoning issue. . . .
Read the entire article at the Tribune. Fergus Now reporter Dave Bishop was more succinct in Despite Pushback Becker County Approves 3,000-pig Feedlot:
This week, Becker County advanced a large-scale hog feedlot project. Opponents argued such operations are not what rural communities want, and worry corporate agriculture has too much of an advantage in getting approval.
The 3,000-pig feedlot in Spring Creek Township was approved by the Becker County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday. The feedlot will be operated by the Swine Vet Center of St. Peter, MN, which manages five other sites in Minnesota and Iowa.
The approval of the feedlot came largely because the application met existing county zoning requirements despite opposition from county residents and White Earth Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks.
Sonja Trom Eayrs, a lawyer, family farm manager and grassroots activist, says local residents should pay attention to industrial farms, “Industrial animal agriculture is like a cancer upon the land, and it spreads from community to community.”
Despite Becker County’s approval, commissioners there warned about future requests and are considering a moratorium. Meanwhile, concerns about confined animal feeding operations range from water pollution to crumbling roads in townships. Eayrs notes the industry changes the complexity of rural communities by fueling a number of supply businesses.
“Most of these small towns look tired,” Eayrs observed. “They’re worn and everything is tied into the hog industry.”
According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, several Midwestern states lead the nation when it comes to the number of large confined animal-feeding operations within their borders, including Minnesota and Iowa.
Minnesota has roughly 1,500 such operations. Iowa has nearly 4,000.
We'll keep an eye out for news of other proposed CAFOs the region.
Photo: Hogs in a CAFO. Via Aging Capriciously.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments