Local Control Off The Radar
One of the bits of unfinished business from this legislative session –
and every legislative session of the past ten years – has been to
address the issue of local control of siting livestock operations.
A particularly tough situation came up this month in Cerro Gordo county, when the Board of Supervisors approved a variance for the Weaver family to build a 4,500 head livestock confinement operation.
Cerro Gordo county approved a moritorium on the building of new
livestock confinements in 2002, looking to protect both public health
and the quality of life of rural residents – mainly from the predatory
operations like those owned by DeCoster Farms.
I will agree with Chris Petersen, Iowa Farmers Union president here:
“Everyone needs to get along. We need
to strike a balance in the city and the countryside between health,
quality of life and economic,” Clear Lake farmer Chris Petersen said.
“We need to be good neighbors and the Weavers are good actors. Give
them a variance. But I still believe local government should have some
form of filtering, something to protect health.”
The problem as it exists is that local governments have no
power to act as a regulatory body when it comes to the siting or
monitoring of livestock operations. The law at the moment makes
no distinction between family farmers like the Weavers and the
corporate predators. That's something that needs to be fixed.
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