1. michaelmn | 03.04.09

I dont know what the bill was designed to do, but pig odor, which with a large pig farm can make the area for miles around unlivable is a problem.

2. RHarrisonScott | 03.04.09

Interesting parallel. In Bill Clinton’s court testimony he tried to redefine (of all words in the English language) the word “is.” President Obama is doing much the same thing in redefining what constitutes an “earnmark.” I understand that our language is evolving but the idea that one can simply cloud the truth redefining language to suit one’s political needs is insane. Welcome to Animal Farm where the rules changes from “All animal are equal” to “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.”

3. B.Alston | 03.04.09

If living in the area of a smelly pig farm makes life unlivable, why are you living there?

4. IAFemDem | 03.04.09

People who do not live in rural areas where huge agri-businesses establish factory farms would not relate to the pig odor study. While you poke fun at pig odor, it is a serious issue in rural Iowa. Say you have a beautiful rural home with hopes of selling it someday and using the proceeds to retire to a warmer climate. Then a 4000-head hog confinement moves next door, spewing its wretched odor from the manure holding tanks or from fields sprayed with liquid hog manure. Your property value drops, you can’t sell your home, and you are forced to inhale the toxic air which threatens your health. Many rural Iowans already know what the odor study will reveal. Hog confinements stink! We are against the study. Citizen action groups and some Iowa Legislators have tried unsuccessfully to pass bills with tighter restrictions on hog factories. They never get out of the Iowa Ag Committee headed by a woman whose sons have a 4000-head confinement in eastern Iowa. Just this week, Citizens for Community Improvement (a citizens action group) brought a complaint to the Iowa Ethics Committee citing that a conflict of interest exists with the Ag Committee Chair. The complaint was rejected, which was a travesty to thousands of rural Iowans. Farm Bureau lobbied heavily against a bill in 2006 that would have tightened regulations on confinements. In the opinion of many rural Iowans, Farm Bureau, whose policies benefit big agri-business, pushed the legislation in Iowa for the “odor study” as a means to further delay Iowa legislation regulating hog confinements. While the odor study is frivolous, the effects of the putrid hog stench raise serious issues in rural Iowa communities. Local residents are powerless to fight the big agri-businesses. Nebraska, Minnesota, and Missouri have enacted “local control” to give their rural communities a voice when confinements come to town, but Iowa Legislators have thus far rejected local control for its people.

5. onemaryland | 03.04.09

That’s the case with lots of things that sound stupid at first — and it turns out that they are dealing with a genuine problem that is making people’s lives miserable. On the other hand, some of them really are just stupid. Since the stimulus got ZERO Republican votes, I hope none of their earmarks are in there!

6. Lindsay in Ohio | 03.05.09

To IAFEMDEM: Your comments are right on, and the problem is that the issue with large confinements doesn’t just exist in Iowa, nor does it stop with swine manure. Factory Farms are sheltered under the corrupt umbrella of “agriculture”, and instead of being regulated for the industries that they are, they are poorly regulated and rules are rarely enforced. The problem with a $1.7 million investment to study hog manure effects is that those studies have already taken place through the University of Iowa, Duke University, the Pew Commission, the CDC, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and many, many more. No reputable research group states that large animal confinement buildings are safe for communities that live around them. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia levels contribute to neurological disorders, malfunction, and even death. Children and the immuno-compromised are especially vulnerable considering that hydrogen sulfide lies in low-lying plumes, and closed windows and doors are not enough to keep this deadly gas from leaking in.(Hence the reason why resale values on homes reduce by as much as 50%, thereby taking away the “right” to sell and move.) The answer doesn’t lie in yet another $1.7 million for studies. It lies in telling the all-powerful farm lobby that “Right to Farm” doesn’t apply to agricultural industry. This is discrimination at its best across the nation, but it is painfully apparent that our legislators refuse to “bite the hand that feeds them,” and in the meantime, the Farm Lobby resorts to fear mongering tactics. Regulating and enforcing these industries does not equate to food shortages and tainted food product. 10 minutes of quick research on factory farming will reveal to anyone the truth behind the great agricultural scam. If $1.7 million will restore the people’s right to life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness, it will have done its job. Unfortunately, it will serve as yet another costly example of the farm lobby and our legislators ignoring truth and failing to protect the people they serve.

7. IAFemDem | 03.10.09

Thank you Lindsay from Ohio for further explaining the factory farm/odor study issue. More of us on this side of the fence should be using the publicity the ‘odor study’ is receiving to raise awareness about the farm lobby, the difficulty of regulating powerful agri-businesses, and the health, environmental and economic problems brought to rural communities when a factory farm appears. (Contrary to what the agri-businesses would like you to think, the money does not stay in local communities.) A large hog confinement in Iowa (over 2500 hogs) must apply for a permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. This alerts the community. Factory farms of 2499 do not need a permit. They often spring up during the dark of the night with no advance warning, thereby taking small communities by surprise and leaving them defenseless.

8. Lois | 03.29.09

The only solution to the pig odor / manure management problem is location. In other words these farmers would have to be far enough away from their neighbors where this won’t have any ill effects on the community.

If our government wishes for these pig farmers to continue raising this livestock then they will have to provide the land…far enough away to prevent an offensive odors or health problems.

I personally sent Obama a letter about this pig odor study and told him if I was allowed a grant for just 1/6 of the cost on this pig odor study then I could build a 2000-2500 square foot home and this would stimulate the economy because I could hire carpenters, electrictions, plumbers, carpet layers, dry wall hangers, etc…and I’d have enough room for my family to stay when they come to visit from out of town or out of state. I told him we have lived in a 14 x 70 mobile home for nearly 30 years and if we could have afforded to build a home on our three acres of land then we would have by now.

This pig oder study is in this stimulus package…but how does this stimulate the economy? It simply doesn’t.

9. Barb W | 04.14.09

So what do you want to do about the 19 million to examine gas emissions from cow flatulence, this one stinks too.