DIS-Lancaster Fanning Saturday, July 1,1989
Swine
BY
DR. RICHARD BARCZEWSKI
Extension Agent
University of Delaware
The other day, I was reading
through a copy of the National
Hog Farmer and discovered an
article regarding nuisance suits. I
couldn’t help but feel sorry for
both sides. No, I’m not turning
into an anti-hog person. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
The fact is that hog producers
are threatened with law suits and
in some cases are actually shut
down because of odor problems.
On the other hand the people who
are subjected to the odors and file
the suits really don’t know any
thing about agriculture and can't
be totally blamed for their ignor
ance of rural life.
I can’t help but bonder what is
going to happen to Delmarva.
Recently, in traveling around the
peninsula, I’ve been amazed with
the large amount of development
that is ongoing. Unfortunately,
many of the individuals who are
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doing the building, or will eventu
ally purchase the homes are unfa
miliar with agriculture. They
don’t bother to check out the area
prior to purchasing a home in the
country and become surprised
when they get their first whiff of
hog odor.
Now you and IJiave become
accustomed to the smell of pig
and, due to regular acclimation,
have become desensitized to jt
Newcomers don’t get used to agri
cultural odors and for that reason
must be warned prior to purchas
ing their homes.
Real estate agents may not
bother to tell prospective buyers
that the home thay are considering
is located within nose-shot of a
hog or other livestock operation.
Then when the first load of man
ure is spread upon the ground,
tempers flair and phones ring.
How can you protect youself?
While there is no absolute way of
avoiding a nuisance complaint,
there are several things you can do
to help avoid a major problem.
E - - --- 3
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' Paapn
per 6.4 oz. package
makes one gallon
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First and foremost, avoid spread
ing manure during the evenings or
weekends and especially on holi
days. Why purposely cause a
problem by spreading manure
when your neighbors will be out
doors to smell the process?
Second, try at all costs to avoid
selling road frontage lots that will
only put possible complainers
within reach of your operation. It
really disturbs me to find out that
some farmers who are having
problems with nuisance com
plaints actually caused the prob
lems themselves by selling lots
near their operations or, worse yet,
by locating their operations near
their neighbors homes. Remem
ber, even your fellow farmers
might not like to be on the receiv
ing end of hog odors.
Third, when it comes to con
trolling odors and manure man
agement and storage, follow the
guidelines that are recommended
by your state Department of
Natural Resources and Coopera
tive Extension System.
Th, Wtolmn-
We may tend u, think that just
because we were in a location
first, we aie protected from law
suits. But, if we stretch the laws
and try to get away with not fol
lowing state regulations, it may
come back to haunt us.
It seems to me that it would be a
good idea if city folk who decide
to move to the country were told
of .any animal production units
that are in the area of their pros
pective home. As an additional
precaution, they might even want
to drive up to the farm and get a
close inspectioiM)f how the unit
smells so that they know what to
expect. If they still decide to
purchase the home and move into
the country, then they had fair
warning of real country living.
The same should hold true with
pesticide use. Since many homes
arc located along the road frontage
of farmland, those home owners
should be aware that pesticides are
routinely sprayed on agricultural
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Diameter Weight/ Thickness Lengths Price, F. 0.8.
Inches Lbs. Inches In Stock Quarryville
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64 1615 .167 (7 ga.) 12’- 0” $lOO to 150
64 2312 .167 (7 ga.) 17’-11” $l5O to 250
64 3010 .167 (7 ga.) 23’-10” $250 to 350
96 4723 .2*o (% ”) 16’- 0” $2OO
96 6075 .240 (Vi ”) 21’- 4” $3OO
96 7425 .240 (Vi ”) 26’- 8” $4OO
120 7700 .240 (V« ”) 20’- 3” $5OO
120 .240 (% ”) 24’- 8" $6OO
126 .240 (% ”) 20’- 4” $5OO
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land to combat weeds, insects and
disease organisms.
The end result of all this would
be that farmland would be deve
loped in tracts of whole farms
instead of roadside lots hapha
zardly located throughout the
countryside.
The farmland on Delmarva is
not inexhaustible. Plans need to be
made to insure that if the suburban
sprawl is to continue, it be done in
a way to minimize conflict
between the existing farmers and
the newcomers. Most farmers
don’t want to lose their right to
sell their property to developers.
Many are actually counting on
that as their source of retirement
income. We must however, see to
it that the future of those farmers
remaining on Delmarva be pro
tected against uninformed, sensi
tive city folk who may find that
country living ain’t all it’s cracked
up to be.
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