Martha Stevens is livestock farmer who lives and farms near Hatfield, Missouri. This article is part of an ongoing series by Martha Stevens - Straight Talk - commenting on the life and politics of farming in Missouri and the U.S. as a whole.

My brain is most definitely on overload. Five days in D.C. listening as state after state reported their CAFO stories; reading dozens of newsletters; taping over 12 hours of oral presentation; listening to government agency double-talk and gobble-de-gook, I feel somewhat like the proverbial dog chasing its own tail.

Now, to sort it all out and relay the highlights to you, my readers. Briefly, I will chronicle some individual states and life in CAFO-land. There is much similarity, as is to be expected when so many states have the same "father-company."

North Carolina: North Carolina is far ahead of most other states with mega CAFO problems, obviously because that is where it all began. A new organization, Farmers for Fairness (a misnomer if ever I saw one!) has emerged with its mega $$$ to promote the corporate hog factory and to attack anyone who opposes the oppressive growth of the biggest. Interestingly, this group was launched by less than ten members, all part of a millionaire’s club, and associated with mega hog factory operations like Murphy’s, Smithfield, Carroll’s, Prestage, Hog Slat, and mega hog man Senator Lauch Faircloth. Most, if not all, have been guilty of illegal discharge of hog waste into public waters, and one official has been jailed for falsifying wastewater discharge records. During just the first half of 1998, North Carolina Division of Water Quality listed 1074 violations and deficiencies in North Carolina hog factories. Property devaluation is evident as some county tax officials have lowered property values of neighbors to facilities by as much as 30%. So much for economic development.

Maryland: Attention focused on Maryland in 1997 with the discovery of pfisteria in the renowned Chesapeake Bay. The toxic microorganism was first discovered by a North Carolina State researcher in the Neuse River and its tributaries. Primary suspect: runoff from mega poultry/hog factories and associated industry. Maryland, too, is seeing the destruction of the independent producer as bigger and more intensive operations gain a foothold in the state.

Virginia: In Virginia, attempts to pass legislation requiring special use permits or outright ban on confined animal feeding operations of over 300 animals has met with heavy opposition. Although the bills were endorsed by the Virginia Association of Counties, the Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups fighting the influx of corporate hog factories, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has fought vigorously, and thus far succeeded in preventing any type of regulation of the runaway industry.

Missouri: Missouri, where politicians from the state house to the county courthouse have been wooed -- and wowed -- by corporate hog factory Public Relations offices and their big bucks, passed meaningless legislation in 1996 and continues to suffer the consequences. Premium Standard Farms, and their 80,000+ sows (1.6 million slaughter animals!) and which left investors, utility companies, and contractors holding the bag when they filed bankruptcy in 1996, apparently again got into financial difficulties resulting in a merger with Continental Grain, another mega hog producer in Missouri. Recurring spills into Missouri rivers and streams, over-application of waste to land, and numerous other infractions have resulted in a series of lawsuits. A jury recently awarded neighbors of Continental Grain $5.2 million in a nuisance suit; a citizens group, CLEAN, has filed suit against both companies alleging numerous violations; and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed suit against PSF as a habitual offender of Missouri laws, and against Continental Grain for failing to abide by a contract that provided $320,000 in Economic Development funds.

Oklahoma: The swine saga in Oklahoma began in 1997 when state and local governments put up mega bucks for Seaboard mega hog factory. Seaboard, reputed "King of corporate welfare" received, courtesy the Oklahoma legislature, $37.3 million for roads and bridges plus an additional $47 million in capital improvement funds to accommodate their truck convoys. They were exempted from paying $700,000 of their $1,118,000 local tax bill, then complained until they received an additional $193,000 exemption. In 1998, the company again appealed their tax bill and received additional exemptions. Ironically, reports Teena Gunter, Assistant Director of Oklahoma Water Quality Division, despite this substantial investment, the company has failed to operate in a manner required and approved by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

Get the picture? The story is the same wherever the mega facilities locate. It isn’t a matter of efficiency, technology, or consumer demand, it’s a matter of control; control of the politicians, state agencies, their neighbors, the markets, and ultimately, control of food production and distribution in this country. Coming soon: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Nevada.

Today’s quote: "Missouri doesn’t need this kind of slash and burn, boom and bust development. Our countryside shouldn’t be seen as a roulette table; we need to nurture family farmers instead of corporations who see the land as just a place to spread manure." -- Rhonda Perry, Missouri Rural Crisis Center

Published in In Motion Magazine - August 29, 1999

Originally written - June 29, 1999.

Also read other essays by Martha Stevens