Large hog feeding operation approved by Indiana county board

• The zoning board in Jackson County, Indiana, has given approval for a new large hog feeding operation in a rural area of the county.
  The board on October 15 voted 4-0 to approve a confined feeding operation site north of the community of Crothersville in Southern Indiana. The facility would house about 4,000 hogs.
  The vote followed a public comment period, where many opponents of the operation expressed worries about odors, truck traffic and possible water contamination to wells and the nearby Muscatatuck River from stored manure. An estimated 100 people attended the meeting.
  One neighbor, Trina McLain, said she had health concerns about the hog facility being about a quarter of a mile mile from her home and that it would harm the quality of life for nearly 500 homes in the vicinity.
  However, farmer Kyle Broshears said the hog facility would be built as far as possible from the closest home in the area.
  His plans call for spending about $900,000 on the facility that would include an 81-by-417-foot building housing the hogs and a concrete pit that would hold about 1 million gallons of manure. The facility meets all the requirements set forth by the county.