LONG GROVE, Iowa (KWQC) — More of the so-called ‘factory farms’ are cropping up around our area. A Long Grove woman says she’s against it and a local farmer says the topic is misunderstood.
More of the so-called ‘factory farms’ are cropping up around our area. A Long Grove woman says she’s against it and a local farmer says the topic is misunderstood. (KWQC)
Driving around rural Long Grove, Iowa. Michele Lowry is bound to pass a factory farm. She currently lives around 4 large hog operations.
“To me, a factory farm is a farm that is confined. The animals are not allowed to roam on the range and the number of animals there is, is more than the land can support,” she said.
That’s why she wants a stop to them.
‘This isn’t farming. That’s why we call it factory farming. It does not generate jobs,” she said.
Lowry believes the manure produced by the livestock is being released and polluting the air and water.
“I don’t care that somebody wants to raise hogs. That’s not my issue, but I don’t want their by-products affecting where I live. I don’t want it affecting my air or my water,” she said.
John Maxwell is a farmer and sits on the Scott County Board of Supervisors. He and his wife run a farm that’s a corporation, but he believes his business is still a ‘family farm’.
“We are family farms. We are doing the same thing we have always done. Granted we farm more acres than we used to,” he said.
Maxwell says as a farmer he believes in the sustainability of the planet, taking care of the livestock, and following the rules and regulations when it comes to releasing manure.
“We only put the manure and the fertilizer out when we know it’s going to stay where we put it. So if it’s really rainy or it is susceptible to washing into a waterway, the stream, or the river. We don’t put it out at those times. We are really cautious of all the things that we do,” he said.
Lowry says she has voiced her concerns to the Scott County board of supervisors and hopes by talking more about this. People will be aware of it.
“The environment is a big deal. This is our neighborhood, this is where we live, and we have to take care of it, she said.
Des Moines non-profit Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is holding a lobbying day on January 23rd at the statehouse; calling for an end to factory farms.
