A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 14, 2003
York Swine Operation Advances
(Continued from Page Ai)
hearing that included testimony
from more than 30 local residents
and farmers, Craig and Jennifer
Metzler found out they will be al
lowed to move ahead with their
plans to build two 2,200-unit hog
bams in Peach Bottom Town
ship.
At the end of the four-hour
meeting June 6, township super
visors announced that a draft or
dinance designed to limit hog fin
ishing operations to 750 head
would not apply to the Metzler’s
Summit
(Continued from Page A2l)
pening in Pennsylvania,” Brubaker said.
Brubaker said that a portion of the hog ma
nure from his operation is used to fertilize crops
on his 325-acre farm and the rest is given away
to neighboring fanners who are happy to have it.
“It’s providing a resource that’s used in the
area,” he said. “Neighbors as a rule are anxious
to get manure.
“We really see ourselves as sustainable,” said
Brubaker, who had his first facility for contract
hogs built in the early 19905. “It’s enabled our
three children to farm. After 10 years, we’re
pleased with it.”
Brubaker, who ran an independent farrowing
operation prior to the early 19905, said he has a
good relationship with his neighbors.
“I think we had more complaints when we
had 120 sows than we do now,” he said.
Caressa Crone is a hog producer from Dan
ville, Northumberland County. A family part
nership on tile 2,500-acre Pinehurst Acres farm
includes herliusband Richard and his parents.
The Crones manage two 2,200-head hog finish-
some of the imstruths
I’ve said of the mg sum
mit. iTm not quite mwhy we’re gettimall the
' ’s exciqp; (free-
ible role as farm
, Crone said,
aucers who want to
raise free-range hogs,'“l think there’s room for
both of us. We have to give consumers the
choice.” Crone said.
Managing the hogs for an outside corporate
owner income stability, according to
Crone. j,
“I wointt' pQf want.to own the pigs myself,”
she said. freed a guaranteed income.
“My pqftnfticpi m that my product is just as
good as (f|44**hg c ) J P OI k>” Crone added.
Also ori hand at the conference were Craig
Richard and his son Nate, ape 20. The Richards
run two 2,350-head hog finishing barns in Co
lumbia County and farm about 1,900 acres. Nate
is an agribusiness major at Penn State and said
he ho{>es to be able to return to a viable farming
operation.
One tool the Richards use to control odor
problems when spreading manure is a commer
cial odot-reducing applicator. According to-
Craig, the implement cuts odors by at least SO *
percent and improves nitrogen utilization. Thfc
applicator works by poking holes in the soil and
then blowing the manure into the holes. It can
also be used simply as a soil aerator.
Craig Richard said he doesn’t believe so
called sustainable farming methods will be able
to provide enough food to U.S. consumers.
“Sure, that might be a nice way to farm,” he
said. “But there’s no way sustainable ag is going
to feed this country.”
Representatives from the National Pork Pro
ducers Council (NPPC) at the summit expressed
similar views.
“I’m pleased that these producers have found
their niche,” said Barb Determan, former NPPC
president and independent hog farmer from
lowa. “I hate to see them tearing down other
parts of the industry.”
Determan’s family operation markets 3,000
hogs per year and makes use of risk manage
ment strategies such as forward contracting,
A new “environmental matrix” program in
lowa has made the permitting process tougher
and credits producers who employ the best man
agement practices, Determan said.
project because the Metzlers had
applied for a permit before the
proposed law to limit CAFOs
(concentrated animal feeding op
erations) was made public.
Supervisors also decided to
postpone voting on the ordi
nance, saying a number of its
provisions need to be reviewed
based on resident input.
Residents of Susquehanna
Trails, a nearby residential com
munity of some 1,000 homes,
have raised an outcry since learn
ing about a month ago of the
Metzlers’ plans to build the hog
houses. Gilbert
Malone, township
solicitor, drafted
the ordinance to
limit CAFOs and
advertised it to the
public on May 19.
The Metzlers
had begun plan
ning for the proj
ect after learning
in February that
they had been ap
proved by the
Farm Service
Agency (FSA) for
a low-interest loan
to help them buy
the farm through
the USDA’s
;rdal sorting Jjarrt
hog sqrtuipnid
;nn State; mey are
a that the
and help prevent
1 directly UNtie tii
; bam hold both the
stimulating the need
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Fi
Young Fanner Program.
The federal government has
owned the abandoned 90-acre
farm since 1999. The FSA put it
up for sale to qualified young
farmer applicants early this year.
To be eligible for the program,
young farmers must be purchas
ing a farm for the first time and
have farm management experi
ence.
Craig Metzler, 28, manages
100,000 broilers and a 300-400
steer feeding operation for Star
Rock Farms on a property less
than a mile from the FSA farm.
According to Metzler, he was
randomly chosen from a handful
of qualified applicants to receive
a loan of up $200,000 at S per
cent interest to purchase the
farm. The Metzler’s received the
balance of the financing through
People’s Bank.
“When we were chosen, obvi
ously we were pretty excited
about it,” Metzler said.
Possible options for adequate
cash flow included putting in a
450-cow dairy operation or a
4,400-hog setup. The Metzlers
chose hogs because of labor limit
ations and other drawbacks they
saw in the dairy plan.
A number of Susquehanna
Trail residents at the June 6
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V>,c
Craig Metzler at the site of the proposed hog barns.
Photos by Dave Letever
meeting opposed the hog opera
tion, saying they were worried
the two 226-by-82 foot hog barns
would cause odor problems and
reduce property values in their
neighborhood, located in a wood
ed area to the east, on the other
side of Rt. 851. The nearest
downwind residence stands about
1,000 feet away, according to
Randy Hoover, an engineer with
TeamAg agricultural consulting.
Hoover worked on manure
storage design and erosion mea
sures at the five-acre site. He said
the planning process is geared to
ward reducing odors and any
other environmental problems as
much as possible.
“I think (Metzler) has pretty
much located the bams the best
he can to be cost-effective,” Hoo
ver said.
Gases from the hog barns will
be released via exhaust fans on
the east side of the buildings. A
woodlot between the hog facilities
and Susquehanna Trails would
help filter out odors, according to
Hoover.
Some residents wondered if the
barns could be situated different
ly so that gases wouldn’t be re
leased in the direction of their
(Turn to Page A 23)
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