Hillandale Farms expansion project denied by board

Plans for a proposed Hillandale Farms layer facility and feed mill have been denied by The Codorus Township Board of Supervisors in York County, Pennsylvania.
Plans for the Hillandale Farms expansion projects, proposed by the company and farm manager James Bailey, were initially proposed in April. Around that same time, a group known as Friends of York County Family Farmers formed with the intent of stopping the expansion.
According to a report from the Evening Sun, more than 150 township residents attending the board meeting, prompting the board to relocate the meeting from the municipal offices to a larger room. The board then approved three ordinances related to agriculture and zoning, one of which specifically aimed to place public health regulations on large farming operations like Bailey’s.
In addition to the plans for the new layer facility and feed mill, Bailey later in July had submitted a proposal to have a new barn build, also in Codorus Township. That barn, according to the submitted plans, would have been capable of holding 60,500 chickens.
Hillandale Farms, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is the seventh largest egg producer in the United States, housing an estimated 9 million laying hens. The company has production facilities in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast and supplies retailers and distributors throughout the eastern half of the United States.

Permits for large UK pig farm denied by environment agency

• 

  Andrea Gantz

  The U.K. environment agency has denied permits for a large pig farm in Foston, Derbyshire.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Midland Pig Producers’ plan to build a 24,000-head pig farm in Foston, Derbyshire, has hit a snag after the U.K. environment agency rejected permits for the operation, saying the farm would have resulted in “significant pollution due to odor.”
  Midland Pig Producers had planned to build the facility on a plot of land near the Foston Hall women’s prison. Its proposal included an anaerobic digester and a biogas combustion plant for treatment of manure and slurry at the site, which would have been situated yards from the prison.
  The proposed project had seen a large number of opponents, including more than 34,000 people that signed a petition against the farm. The Soil Association had earlier said it had concerns for the health of prisoners at Foston Hall and for nearby villagers.
  Midland Pig Producers accepted the outcome of the agency’s recommendation, but added that it will continue to pursue building such a farm.
  "While not wishing to second-guess any decision by any other body, it seems inevitable that this outcome will provide others with the reason to refuse any application connected with our plans,” a spokesman for Midland Pig Producers said.
  "However, now that we have an actual decision, we can move forward. This is not the end of the matter, but the beginning of the second stage."

ND bill would exempt hog, dairy farms from anti-corporate ag law

• 

  Andrea Gantz

  A bill under consideration in North Dakota would exempt hog farms from the state's anti-corporate farming law.

  From WATTAgNet:
  A lawmaker from North Dakota is advocating a piece of legislation that would exempt dairy and swine operations from the state’s anti-corporate farming law.
  Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, says that hog operations and dairy operations are in a serious decline in North Dakota, and is hopeful that the new legislation may save those industries and give a boost to the state’s agricultural economy. Dairy production in North Dakota has dropped 42 percent in the past 10 years, and swine operations are on a similar decline, according to the Bismarck Tribune.
   In addition to being a state senator, Wanzek is also a farmer.
  Under the legislation, domestic corporations and limited liability companies would be allowed to operate dairy and hog farms, as long as the operations do not take up more than 640 acres of land.
  North Dakota's law against corporate farming dates back as far as 1932. The law currently allows corporations with as many as 15 shareholders to own farms or ranches, under the stipulation that the shareholders are related.
  Wanzek began his legislative career in 1993 when he was first elected to the state’s House of Representatives. He was elected to the Senate in 1995 and served in that chamber until 2003. After a four-year hiatus, Wanzek returned to the Senate in 2007.

Poultry density, well-being research pre-proposals sought

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative is requesting pre-proposals for the determination of the interaction of density and well-being in broilers and turkeys. Various countries and welfare certification groups have established guidelines on grow out density for broilers and turkeys. These guidelines vary greatly and are not based on scientific study in commercial conditions. By better understanding the interaction of grow out density, animal wellbeing and production measures in commercial conditions, objective maximum density recommendations can be developed.
The areas of focus for the research will include objective measures for determining broiler or turkey wellbeing in a commercial setting, the determination of the effect of density on broiler or turkey wellbeing in a commercial setting and the determination of the effect of density on production parameters in a commercial setting.
The deadline for pre-proposal submission is April 24, 2015. For more information, go to the USPOULTRY website and click on “Research” for complete instructions and deadlines.
The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative was created by the Boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation to address current issues facing the poultry industry. The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative operates alongside the current USPOULTRY research program and augments the great success of the existing program by focusing additional resources toward defined areas of research. 
USPOULTRY and its Foundation operate a comprehensive research program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $26 million dollars into the industry in the form of research grants, with the International Poultry Expo as the primary source for the funding. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.

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.

Science behind intensive livestock systems to come under spotlight

The latest science behind intensive livestock systems will be the focus of a workshop held as part of the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS)'s 2014 annual conference. Exploring the potential effects on animal health and welfare, speakers will discuss system design and the technology and techniques being made use of in large-scale systems.
As part of the conference's wider aim to examine the role of animal science and technology in global food production, the workshop also will identify areas where more work needs to be done to address concerns over how food is produced.
Planning for intensification
"In the face of growing world populations, diminishing resources and changing food demands, we have to look at alternative food production systems," says BSAS chief executive Mike Steele.
"Understandably, intensive production raises concerns for many, but it's important to look behind the emotive arguments to see if we have the technology to address those concerns, and if not what can science do to help overcome them.
"It is right that livestock production systems are properly scrutinized and if we decide large-scale scale systems are not for us, we need to think about where animal science and technology goes next to help us produce secure, sustainable food."
Aimed at farms, veterinarians, researchers and policymakers, key presentations over the two days will focus on how technology is helping in poultry, sheep and dairy production, as well as where science needs to develop to help farm businesses be profitable and productive in 2020.

National Pig Association warns against urbanization

Growing urbanization of the British countryside is threatening national food production, according to the National Pig Association. It is particularly concerned that even planning applications for traditional part-time pig units are now meeting with opposition.
Britain imports around 60 percent of its pork and pork products and this figure is expected to rise unless farmers invest in more efficient and environmentally-friendly buildings.
The National Pig Association has stated that they identified a growing trend for vegan groups and other single-interest lobby groups to become involved in planning applications, using misinformation to frighten local residents into opposing new and replacement pig farms.
"In the past, pig farmers who wanted to build a new pig unit, usually to replace inefficient old buildings, could work constructively with local residents to address any concerns they might have," said the association's general manager Dr. Zoe Davies.
"But now they are being targeted by aggressive single-issue organizations with no local connections. We have even heard of pig farmers who have received threatening phone calls and emails from the other side of the world, accusing them of being 'factory farmers', which they most certainly are not."
One of the problems, according to the association, is that since the attempt to build a United States-style "super dairy" at Nocton in Lincolnshire three years ago, vegan groups have pounced on all proposed livestock housing developments, describing them as "mega farms" and "factory farms."
There are no "mega" pig farms in Britain and no applications to build any, says the National Pig Associations. Most pig applications are for modest-sized pig units which will be part of a traditional mixed farm, where the pigs eat the grain grown on the farm and provide organic manure for the crops, in place of chemical fertilisers, according to the group.
Even applications for larger pig units which will operate as stand-alone businesses bear no comparison to the large pig units being constructed in the United States, says the association. The group says, Britain has a very small pig population, so the problem of local pig density does not arise.
The National Pig Association intends to produce a leaflet for planning authorities and local residents, putting the size of new developments in perspective.
The association will point out, for example, that a building for 1,500 finisher pigs falls far short of being a "mega farm," being a modest venture that will not provide a living income on its own, but will add a small extra income to a farm business that might otherwise struggle to be sustainable.
In contrast the average commercial finisher unit in the U.S. will have 12 or more such buildings.
In the States, the group points, most pigs are born on breeding units housing 5,000-10,000 sows - more than double even the largest breeding units in Britain and more than ten times the size of an average British breeding unit.
"I would urge all planning authorities to recognize that investment in farming is essential to keep the countryside alive," said association chairman Richard Longthorp.
"And people who live in villages but drive into towns and cities every day to work, should consider the needs of those who work in the rural economy and keep the countryside alive whilst they are away during the day.
"They should remember that pig farms employ a huge number of people indirectly, including hauliers, millers, meat plants, electricians, plumbers and builders," Longthorp said.
The association says that for many people, a modern pig unit makes a far better neighbor than, say, a new housing estate. New pig buildings are far more neighbor-friendly than the older buildings they replace, being quieter and usually screened. And smell is far less of a problem these days and with sensitive management can be eliminated altogether, said the association.

Conference studies large-scale intensive pig production

Large–scale intensive livestock production is a hotly debated topic for consumers as well as livestock producers. The Science behind Large-Scale Production conference covers the potential advantages or disadvantages of pig, poultry and dairy units, as well as important aspects that need to be considered when developing effective intensive production systems. Some of these include animal health and welfare, facility and system design as well as environmental management and compliance.
The conference will provide a range of evidence-based reviews of these areas, drawing on relevant industrial experience and views both from the UK and other countries when possible. It will also highlight where knowledge gaps still exist and novel solutions to old problems and concerns that have been solved through new technology. The Science behind Large-Scale Production conference will be held May 23-23 at the Roslin Institute in Easter Bush, Edinburgh. 

Chile pig farm leads to community health crisis, mass slaughtering

Poor conditions at a Chilean mega pig factory owned by Agrosuper have led to a community health crisis and resulted in the announced slaughtering of every pig on the farm, according to reports.
Residents of the nearby community have been complaining of detrimental health symptoms, such as severe headaches and stomach pains, since September 2011, due to biowaste coming from the plant. Fines from Chile's Health Authority have been unsuccessful in resolving the issue, and a recent protest riot shut down the factory and prevented workers from reaching the facility to care for the pigs, who began to die from neglect.
Chilean authorities have declared a health alert at the plant following the pigs' deaths, and Agrosuper has declared that rather than moving the pigs to a new location, it will slaughter them.

Are family farms really better?

Last week, I mentioned that U.S. consumers have some misconceptions about the chicken they eat, believing it to be full of additives of one form or another. Among those people who have raised those questions to me, there also seems to be the impression that family farms are good and “factory farms” are bad.
I really dislike the term “factory farm” – I believe it to be completely misleading, and I don’t like using it. It’s a term that the animal rights movement has succeeded in getting into the mainstream media, unfortunately.
The image of the family farm is one where a farmer has a small number of animals, all if which he knows by name, and he treats them like they are members of the family. Therefore, those animals must be healthier and much more humanely treated than they are on large commercial farms.
The popular image of the “factory farm,” on the other hand, is one where animals are just shoved through the system as quickly as possible, pumped full of chemicals, having no humane living conditions or treatment at all.
After all, wasn’t it a commercial pig farm in Mexico that started the H1N1 flu pandemic last year? Actually no, that farm had nothing to do with the outbreak. But we all watched U.S. reporters stand outside the gates of that operation and tell us how evil a place it was and how it had caused the flu pandemic.
The popular images of family and commercial farms have it wrong. ...Read the full blog on www.animalagnet.com.