York Swine Operation
(Continued from Page A 22)
homes to the east.
Metzler said he would be will
ing to consider resituating the
barns if plans showed it to be fea
sible. He also said he is com
mitted to carrying out all possible
best management practices to
help eliminate odors.
The facilities are designed for
six to eight months of manure
storage in concrete pits under
neath the hog floors. Metzler said
he would need to spread manure
two or three times a year. Seven
ty percent of the manure will
need to be “exported” to other
farms, as required by the Penn
sylvania Nutrient Management
Act.
A natural ridge between the
hog site and the homes will be
built up higher, and Metzler said
he is willing to plant trees on top
of it to further buffer odors.
“Basically, I have told the
township that I will commit to
doing all the best management
practices that I can,” he said.
According to Gilbert Malone,
the 90-acre farm will allow for
adequate recharge of the ground
water supply to compensate for
the 12,000 gallons a day used by
the hogs.
SheUy Dehoff, a York County
iff
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resident and public liason with
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture and the Lancaster
County Conservation District, re
ported after the meeting on con
versations she had with local real
estate appraisers and lenders re
garding die effect of CAFOs on
property values.
“Overall, they seemed to indi
cate that there may be a brief
drop in property values, based on
the perception that there could be
problems stemming from the
CAPO,” Dchoff said, “although,
of the six appraisers 1 talked to,
no one would even comment on a
percentage or amount.
“They seemed to indicate that
as long as the CAFO is well
maintained and well-operated,
there will not be a long-term
problem from the operation, and
there will not be a long-term neg
ative effect on residential proper
ty values in the area surrounding
the CAFO.”
A number of fanners and other
supporters of the Metzler’s plans
spoke on the importance of large
scale livestock operations to the
future of agriculture in the town
ship.
“There seems to be many pow
ers destroying the good image of
the family farm,” said Bonnie
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Hushon, a dairy fanner in the
township. “What is a farm if it’s
not going to be a viable opera
tion?”
Dave Gcmmill, a farmer and
Peach Bottom Township resi
dent, also supported Metzler’s
plan to build the hog houses.
“What (Metzler) is preparing
to do, very few young men have
the opportunity to do,” Gemmill
said, noting that the average age
of U.S. farmers is 54 years.
Robert Scarborough, a Peach
Bottom Township resident and
an assistant to Pennsylvania Sen
ator Mike Waugh (R-28), defend
ed the Metzlers’ plans and asked
that the CAFO ordinance be
dropped.
“I’m concerned that the driv
ing movement behind this is a
national movement against pro
gressive agriculture,” he said.
According to Scarborough, oper
ations such as that proposed by
the Metzlers are needed to pro
vide food to the nation.
“I contend that we will remain
free as a country only so far as
we are able to feed ourselves,” he
said.
The proposed ordinance would
also limit dairy and beef opera
tions, capping mature dairy cow
numbers at 200 and cow/calf beef
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herds at 300.
Scott Cooper, a local dairyman
with a herd of 60 cows, said the
ordinance would put too much of
a squeeze on farming in the
township.
“For agriculture to remain via
ble, these numbers are not ac
ceptable,” he said.
None of the residents speaking
at the meeting said they had any
worries about odors from large
cow herds. Many of them ex
pressed support for farming in
general while also airing their
fears of having a hog CAFO near
their homes.
“I have a lot of respect for
farming,” said Donald Vaughan,
a township resident for eight
years. “But this (proposed hog
operation) is not just a farm
it’s a plant.”
Dave Stewart, chairman of the
board of supervisors and a farm
er himself, said he was originally
opposed to the hog bams, but is
now supportive of the Metzlers’
plans.
Stewart, along with other
township officials and several
residents, recently toured several
area hog CAFOs in a trip put on
by the York County Farm Bu
reau. Stewart said he was im
pressed with the low level of odor
he found on the sites.
“Everything has been getting
better over the years with odors
in pig farming,” Stewart said.
“It’s seems to me like every-
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 14, 2003-A23
Craig and Jennifer Metzler with sons
Benjamin, 3, and Jere, 3 months.
Scott Cooper, a dairy farmer in Peach
Bottom Township, spoke against the or
dinance that sets limits on livestock
numbers. In the background is Gilbert
Malone, Peach Bottom Township solici
tor.
Lancaster Farming
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body’s disgusted and the only
thing that stinks is pigs.”
Supervisor John Johnson sug
gested that CAFO issues be stud
ied further before voting on the
ordinance. Supervisors Stewart
and Joe Ailes agreed.
Several residents expressed the
wish for greater cooperation be
tween fanners and community
residents.
“We’ve wasted a lot of time
and emotion tonight,” resident
Sam McConnell told the board.
“Make an ordinance that allows
everybody to work together.”
Denise Cable, a Susquehanna
Trails resident, said that large
scale hog producers should be re
quired to do water testing, pay
manure shipping fees, and have
setbacks greater than 300 feet (as
proposed in the ordinance) with
consideration of prevailing
winds.
Penn State and other universi
ties are working to develop more
improved technologies to.handle
odors. These technologies are
part of the planning process be
fore any facilities are constructed.
“We honor the noble profes
sion of farming,” Cable said.
“Bottom line, we just want to
know if Mr. Metzler is going to be
a good neighbor. What kind of
middle ground can we come to?”
About 100 people attended the
meeting.
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