Petition support quizzed
A group of citizens voiced concerns over the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors support of a petition regarding the state’s control of confinement agriculture facilities.
At their Aug. 8 meeting, the supervisors approved signing a letter of support for a master matrix rulemaking petition to the DNR. Among the items on the petition was greater distance between dwellings and confinement operations, and more stringent rules overall.
At the Sept 5 board meeting, the approval letter was questioned by 15 local farmers and landowners, including Clayton Renander, John Pruss, Will Frazee, Roger Carlson, Dennis Carlson, and Jim Dunbar. Frazee, who owns a farm outside Emerson, said the current master matrix, he felt, needed no changes.
“It was designed by a group of legislators, livestock producers, and hog producers, and gives us a statewide mechanism to properly site livestock facilities. The proposed changes to the matrix system in the petition would basically eliminate livestock production not only in Montgomery County, but many counties in the state. With the changes to the point system of the matrix, it would make a confinement operation nearly impossible in Montgomery County,” Frazee said.
Frazee added, livestock production adds a great deal to the bottom lines of corn and soybean producers. According to his numbers, 45 cents was added to the price of corn just from exported beef.
Frazee also questioned the decision to approve the letter of support, as the petition was coordinated through an activist group – Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
“Why would you support an activist group and their efforts to potentially eliminate the expansion of any livestock in the state,” Frazee asked.
Supervisor Bryant Amos and other supervisors said they weren’t aware the petition was coordinated through an activist group, though Amos said he agreed with a re-evaluation of the matrix.
“I do believe that some of the rules should be strengthened. Everything the petition is going after? Not necessarily. However, I think some of the things could help protect property owners,” Amos said.
Frazee said they were requesting the supervisors withdraw support for the petition and look for other avenues to see what needed to be done.
“Thirteen counties signed onto the petition, and Cedar County has sent in a letter withdrawing their support of the petition,” Frazee said.
Supervisor Mike Olson, whose house is located near a new confinement facility, not only felt the distance of the facility was too close to his home, but cited the unfavorable smell generated by the facility.
“Who lives on, or within three quarters of a mile of a confinement facility with 2500 head that was put up by someone else? Not many. I have a building southeast of the facility that you probably can’t even work in because the odor is so strong. I think the question is that people don’t like it. The pressure is coming from citizens who have lived in places for 50 or more years and can’t stand to be outside in the summer because of the stench. It’s not the farmers dealing with this, it’s the citizens,” Olson advised.
Olson added he feared the confinement facilities impacted prospective residents from moving to Montgomery County or other areas of the state.
“I don’t think anyone is out to destroy the pork and livestock industry. I know we the supervisors are not. The petition may be from an activist group, but they bring up some things I think need to be looked at. It takes this, in our society, to get someone to look at it,” commented Olson.
Supervisor Steve Ratcliff said he was guilty of not examining the petition closely, and said he would be willing to reconsider his support of the petition.
John Pruss said he felt their were other ways the supervisors could seek modifications to the matrix, rather than supporting the proposal of an activist group. Amos said he had yet to see one.
“This was the only way we had to voice that we wanted things examined. There wasn’t an option to send a letter of support to something lesser,” Amos said.
Pruss asked if a proposal was drafted by local farmers to have the matrix examined, if the supervisors would support the new proposal and remove their letter of support for the petition. Amos said he would be open to the option, depending on what was in the new proposal.
All the supervisors present made it clear they were not opposed to livestock and hog production.
The supervisors will re-examine their support of the petition and vote on whether to rescind the support at their next meeting, Sept. 15.