Buffalo National River Bend
JFAN ANNUAL MEETING!
STOP THE CAFOS!
How the Buffalo National River Did It
(And how Iowa can do better)
Thursday, October 16
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Via Zoom – Register Here
GORDON WATKINS
President and Co-founder
Buffalo River Watershed Alliance
DR. CHRIS JONES
Retired University of Iowa Research Engineer
Author of The Swine Republic, and President of Driftless Water Defenders
FREE!
A $5 donation helps JFAN protect Jefferson County’s quality of life
Imagine a state that works with a community to shut down a large CAFO then establish a permanent moratorium in a valued watershed.
Crazy pipe dream?
This actually happened in Arkansas in the Buffalo National River watershed. On Thursday, October 16 you’ll hear the whole story during the JFAN Annual Meeting.
Gordon Watkins, Co-founder and President of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, will unfold the inspiring story of how the local and broader community came together to oppose C&H Hogs, a 6500-head hog factory farm permitted in 2012. C&H Hogs was built in the watershed of country’s first national river. Its 2.5 million gallons of manure per year threatened the recreational opportunities and aesthetics of this valued resource.
The community’s outreach and perseverance over a 12-year period drew a wide range of allies working to protect the scenic 135-mile Buffalo National River, a major tourist destination and economic driver in Newton County, Arkansas, where C&H Hogs was located.
Watkins will describe how this coalition came together how it pushed the Hutchinson administration to close the CAFO and enact a temporary moratorium in 2019. Its continued efforts resulted in the Sanders administration recently declaring the moratorium permanent.
And then we have Iowa. Could something like that ever happen here?
It could if water quality advocate Dr. Chris Jones had his way. Jones knows all too well how Iowa’s political system bends to the will of agribusiness to the detriment of water quality and public health. He will first provide an overview of why it’s so difficult getting the Iowa state legislators to properly regulate CAFOs and protect water quality.
But Jones recently developed a comprehensive vision for a progressive food and farm policy that could start to heal the land and better protect water quality and the health of Iowans. He’ll share this vision, providing a roadmap of how we can improve the state’s circumstances.
About our Speakers
GORDON WATKINS has lived in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas since 1973 where he and his wife, Susan, operate an organic farm and a tourism business catering to visitors to the Buffalo National River.
In 2013, Gordon helped co-found and is current president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (BRWA), a non-profit organization created in response to the sudden appearance of the 6500-head confinement C&H Hogs.
DR. CHRIS JONES, President of Driftless Water Defenders, is a retired research engineer from the University of Iowa and former manager of the Iowa Water Quality Information System that provides real-time monitoring and reporting of water quality data throughout the state.
Jones is the author of The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality writes a popular Substack column also titled The Swine Republic. Jones is an avid water quality advocate and speaks frequently on Iowa’s water crisis throughout the state.
REGISTER HERE
The JFAN Annual Meeting is free; a $5 free-will donation helps JFAN protect Jefferson County’s quality of life. Registration is required, and you can sign up here.
One Final Thought
We’re $4100 away from our $30,000 match. Can you help us get there with a tax deductible donation today? Thank you for all you do!
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Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc.
PO Box 811
Fairfield, IA 52556
jfaniowa.org
641-209-6600
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JFAN is funded by grassroots support and gratefully welcomes your donations. jfaniowa.org/donate-today
JFAN is a member of the Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture (IARA)
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