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Fri, 02 Jun 2006

Update on the CAFO Fight, Jefferson County, IA

This is an update to the April 20 post on the fight by JFAN against CAFO's in Jefferson County IA. Local community organisation and activism was fruitful, and the proposed CAFO was denied a permit by the Iowa DNR. In response, the Iowa Legislature immediately passed a bill stripping the Iowa DNR of it's power to regulate CAFO's.

The legislation would have:

• Eliminated virtually all of the DNR’s authority to deny or modify a factory farm construction permit or manure management plan
• Made it illegal for the DNR to inspect a construction site for potential problems
• Forced the DNR to take factory farms at their word when they submit construction permit applications

Well, it must be an election year, because Governor Vilsack has vetoed the bill, which stank worse than any CAFO.

Coming Next:

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement wants to ensure that the Iowa DNR’s water protection rule takes effect. The Water Protection Rule – also known as the discretionary rule – spells out the Iowa DNR’s authority to deny or modify a factory farm construction permit or manure management plan in order to protect Iowa water (now that the hog is out of the barn, so to speak).

Iowa has some of the dirtiest water in the nation, with over 450 illegal manure spills and the list continues to grow. Iowa's rivers and streams feed two major rivers - the Mississipi and the Missouri. Factory farm groups strongly oppose the water protection rule, which will be voted on at an Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) meeting on June 19th.

Closer to home, a group of rural citzens is pursuing mediation to try to stop a local farmer from building a CAFO three miles from Fairfield, IA, where I live. There are over 50 homes within 2 miles of the site. The farmer is a family man, who is doing what he can to earn a living and keep his farm. The rural homeowners don't want their quality of life destroyed. It's a situation that repeats itself daily across the country.

One of the main causes of this situation is the destruction of small farms since the 2nd world war A lot of agricultural land has either been rolled into large farms, turned into suburban housing tracts, or sold to non-farming land owners. The farmers who are left struggle to survive in the corporate farming world. They have enormous debt, they and their spouses work full time jobs in addition to farming, and they have one of the highest suicide and cancer rates in the nation. Going organic is one way for them to win, but it's not an easy transition. Government grants would help, but there is almost no government support for organic agriculture at any level of government.

I've mentioned before that strong local community activism can bring about big changes. It's a shame when environmental activism pits neighbor against neighbor, with a lot of strong feelings on both sides. It would be great if everybody could win, if farmers and environmentalists could join in the fight against industrial agriculture. How, is the big question. Farmers for the most part have a good idea that's where the problem lies, but the majority think that this is present and future reality and that they have no choice but to play the game.