Facility Siting: Building
Long-Term
Relationships That Work
(Continued from Pag# Al)
Wenger was careful to note
there are millions of issues re
garding siting and he said he
was no expert.
The methods used in the past
have been wrought with stub
bornness and ill- timed decisions
that have sometimes been kept
out of public consideration. The
resulting lawsuits and financial
problems prove that past think
ing “is not working,” said
Wenger. “We have to engage
the public, and we have to do
that honestly.”
The key is to separate the
quantifiable, engineered, per
mitted ideas and that
“mindset,” he said, from items
hard to quantify public reac
tion to a building going in on
farmland.
In what ways does the public
benefit? Wenger asked those at
the seminar. “It’s not that the
public is stupid,’’ he said. “It’s
not that they are even so much
ignorant. It’s just that they don’t
have a clue of what we’re doing.
They don’t have any idea of
what we’re talking about. They
don’t even know what these
farms look like, in many cases.’’
Wenger pointed to one case
where even a simple thing such
as farm tour for the community
decision-makers would have
done some good. Despite some
best efforts, the old ways of
thinking, however, remain.
“What we’re doing over and
over and over is creating win
/lose situations, we versus they,
we win, they lose, they win, we
lose, and does any of this sound
familiar at all?’’
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The public is angry, some
times, and that anger could be
identified three different ways.
It could be fear of ‘“we’re going
to do something that’s going to
harm you,”’ said Wenger. Or
‘“we’re doing something that’s
already harmed you,”’ he noted.
Or the public simply could be
angry about a principle of oppo
sition.
When everything is factored
in, one important point that
can’t be overlooked is the inher
ent risk.
“Why should anybody want
to take risk?” he said, looking
toward those attending the sem
inar. “I’m going to put a hog
barn next to you why do you
want to take the risk that it’s
going to stink? What am I going
to offer you?
“You like what you see, you
like your way of life. What’s
your incentive to take a risk?
You don’t like what it looks like.
You got a beautiful view here of
this field I’m going to put a
chicken house there, you can’t
see that anymore. I’m not going
to spread any manure except
twice a year you gonna trust
me? Never had a spill trust
me? Never had a fly problem
trust me? We ‘don’t operate that
way’ trust me?
“What do we promise these
people when we come into a
community? Why should they
even want us to come in? What
do we tell them? Jobs?” Wenger
pointed to the already low un
employment that exists, with
plenty of work for people who
want it. “What reason have we
OPEN HOUSE!
Before moving any ground, said Al Wenger of Wenger Feeds, Rheems, center, “talk to
nearby neighbors personally and early,” he told about three dozen poultry producers
and agri-industry representatives Monday afternoon. At left is Paul Patterson, Penn
State poultry professor and at right, John Schwartz, Lancaster County extension direc
tor. Photo by Andy Andrews
given them to accept us?” he
said.
In many cases, all the neigh
bors see is traffic, smell, dirty
water, loss of privacy, and other
things.
“Before we do anything,” said
Wenger, “we have to get out in
front of these things and be
proactive. Being reactive and
we’ve been in many cases
trying to fix things after we find
the community group is already
mad at us . . . more import
antly is to get out in front and
talk to the community and talk
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to the neighbors proactively and
talk about their concerns up
front and be honest with them.”
A business with a proposal for
a confinement facility has to
look further ahead. The business
plan has to have all the plans
completely drawn out, which in
cludes site plans, pictures, line
of site, winds, potential annoy
ances and how to deal with
them, proposed solutions, and
many tangible factors.
But going beyond that, even,
could be key. That includes in
stalling double- wide sets of ev-
w/DBL 8 Subway
Parlor & Hospital Area,
62”x210” Coverall
90” Dia.x 12” High Poured
Concrete Manure Storage
Directions:
Route 100 South of Bally at light at Longacre's
Dairy, turn onto Congo Niatic Road. Go 1 mile to
Church and turn right onto Niatic Road. Go 1 1/2
miles and turn left onto Hoffman Road. Follow to
farm.
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ergreens, industrial landscaping,
paving even the neighbor’s farm
lane possible solutions to po
tential, long- term concerns.
Wenger said the business has
to “think in terms of what value
you can bring to your neighbor
for you being there.”
And before you push even a
pound of dirt, Wenger said it
may be a good idea to get water
samples from neighbors’ wells.
Or even have the land and
neighborhood property assessed.
Get time to plead your case
(Turn to Pag* A3B)
44*x132*
Milking Center
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and
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PA