Neighbor Relations Help Protect Producers From Lawsuits ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Fanning Staff MOUNT JOY (Lancaster Co.) —Pork producers in an odor prob lem lawsuit: you can be a winner by improving the operation to take into consideration the concerns of neighbors or be an outlaw and face potentially damaging fines that could put your livelihood in jeopardy. Greg Andrews, attorney and coordinator of the National Pork Producers Council Environmental Law Education Network, spoke to 80 producers and industry rep resentatives about his experience with lawsuits as a result of farm odors and other problems. Andrews, staff attorney with Drake University Ag Law Center, spoke to producers about the nega tive effects of ignoring manage ment techniques and policy that could end in damaging litigation. He spoke on Wednesday at the Three directors were elected to serve three-year terms on the LanChester Council. They are Scott Bailey, farrow unit manager, Reinholds (not available tor photo); Nelson Beam, farrow-to-finlsh producer In Elverson, right; and Kurt Good, Good’s Buying Station, Denver. Excellent Opportunity For Steady Income In Swine Production HI / Why consider a swine operation?? - Steady cash flow - 5 year renewable contracts - Opportunity for long term growth - Nutrient management for manure control Hostetter Management can provide information for construction of the facility and coordinate financing. We will instruct you in the management of the barn and offer steady cash flow throughout the 4 month growing period to run the operation. No need for you to finance the growing! If you are a farmer interested in supplementing your income, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible. Let us put our 40 years combined experience to work getting you started in this expanding market. Hostetter Management Company 1 Garvin Road Denver, PA 17517 717-336-3171 • 717-367-3903 jj annual LanChester Pork Council 39th Annual Meeting and Pork Production Forum at the Country Table Restaurant in Mount Joy. Andrews provided some chill ing facts about what producers in other parts of the country endured as a result of nuisance suits and other litigation: • In lowa, a producer with a 600-hcad swine finishing opera tion (using an earthen waste stor age basin) faced a lawsuit from a residential development about a half mile north of his operation. He contested the lawsuit and ‘ Tost big time,” said Andrews. The litiga tion costs soared to $45,000, according to Andrews, and the case has been appealed • In Indiana, a veterinarian claimed that odors from a pork facility allegedly caused health problems for his 14-vear-old daughter. The facility is about a mile from the home. Fortunately, Hostetter Management Company is a swine production management group with finishing contracts available within 100 miles of Harrisburg through Wenger Feeds. We are looking for farmers interested in exploring the option of constructing and operating 2100 head finishing facilities to grow feeder pigs for market. The feeder pigs are readily available through our existing 1400 head sow units. the attorney destroyed the doctor’s testimony because there is “no evidence that odors from that far away cause health problems,” said Andrews. Legal fees have soared to more than $lOO,OOO. • A swine producer in lowa fail ed to carefully inspect and ensure that a tile line was properly capped and sealed. The tile line was under a manure storage area. The line' opened up, spilling I.S million gal lons of wastewater into the south fork of the lowa River, creating $6,000 worth of fish kill. • In one case in North Carolina, a turkey and hog producer decided to expand his operation at the same time a developer was erecting houses nearby. Homeowners from the new dwellings sued the pro ducer for odor problems. So far, $60,000 worth of court costs have piled up as a result of the lawsuit There are many more cases that are being filed regularly. The point is, according to the Drake University lawyer, many of these lawsuits could have been prevented if the operations would simply involve the public and take steps to ensure that management works together to create a safe environment In too many cases, according to Andrews, producers believe they Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 23, 1995-A25 ireg . n «, ;mey„ Pork Producers Council Environmental Law Education Net work, left, spoke to 80 producers and Industry representa tives about his experience with lawsuits as a result offarm odors and other problems. Dr. Robert Graybill, right, was at the meeting to help conduct quality assurance seminars for producers. are the “outlaw” and don’t have to From the beginning, producers conform. They are like the Jesse s h ffl) i