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.

Greetings: An alarming trend sweeping this country has our family farmers fighting for survival while some state regulatory agencies and officials grovel at the feet of corporate polluters. The danger of contamination of the waters, both ground and surface, staggers the imagination. Continuing the saga of the CAFO, I will focus on five more states suffering from CAFO overload.

Iowa: My neighbor to the north; small wonder I am concerned with their massive hog factory growth. It’s a well known fact that liquid, be it water of hog feces/urine -- travels downhill, toward Missouri! Iowa farmland is loaded with drainage systems that draw liquids downward, toward the state’s shallow aquifers. Studies currently taking place indicate substantial amounts of ammonia and nitrite in much of that underground water supply. Given the fact that there are numerous large CAFO’s in the vicinity of those drainage systems that have all too often spilled/dumped/over-applied their waste, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine the likely source of much of that contamination. Adding to the CAFO problem, are the numerous slaughter houses across the state that contribute their own brand of pollution. As is so often the case, any attempt at regulating the industry is effectively squashed by a state government viewed by many as being controlled by the Farm Bureau and the National Pork Producers Council, both of which are defenders of mega hog factories.

Nevada: Not all CAFO’s are hog factories. They can also be poultry, cattle feedlots, and dairy enterprises. Such is the case in Nevada where Rockview Farms, Inc., a California corporation that owns and operates the Ponderosa Dairy in Amargosa, was sentenced for violating the Clean Water Act and for making false statements. The company illegally discharged 1.7 million gallons of dairy waste water (urine and feces!) when a cesspool valve was left open for two days. The waste traveled about eight miles across the desert and into the river.

Kansas: As community after community in Kansas votes "NO" to mega hog factories, companies like Seaboard and Murphy’s seek to convince county and city officials of the great economic benefit -- ignoring the detrimental effect of such operations on the residents. Riding to the rescue of such megas is the Kansas Pork Producers Council and (who else?) the National Pork Producers Council which charge that health regulations are being enacted by Harvey County to prohibit hog production, not regulate it. Not so, say county officials who indicate the battle has just begun. They are determined to protect the health of their community and the purity of their aquifer even if they have to fight the state legislature to do it.

Arkansas: In Arkansas, Tyson is viewed by some as king of pollution. Accused of dumping hog waste at their site, environmental advocacy groups charge that actions of the company and failure of the state to enforce proper disposal is proof that self-inspection is ineffective at best. In one instance a tanker truck was videoed dumping waste down a steep hill at a hog facility. An estimated 10 to 30 partial loads of liquid manure and urine were dumped in a 30 day period. A Tyson spokesman did not deny the dumping -- just the amount. Incredibly, no citation was issued.

In Rock County, Nebraska, county commissioners voted unanimously to prevent construction of hog facilities near a trout stream and resort area and several homes. The commissioners, in denying the construction, also outlined three pages of reasons why the facility should not be built. The site was located at the eastern edge of the Sand Hills, a unique geologic environment composed of blow sand that is said to originate from the Ice Age. Underlying the area is Ogalala Aquifer, with its saturation point reaching all the way to the surface. Evidence of this is clear in the groundwater pools creating marshlands and wetland habitat. Nebraska is just getting heavily into the CAFO fight since attempts to remove their protection via their anti-corporate farm law, one of the most effective in the country, surfaced last year.

I could continue with these stories in the weeks to come, but to do so would be repetitive. It’s a story of intimidation, false promises, and pollution beyond belief; of an out of control industry without morals, without ethics, without heart. A story of corporate greed; political corruption; of farm families at risk. A story of inexcusable deeds against our fellow man.

Today’s Quote: "Our way of life is gone; I’m pretty bitter right now."--Charlie Peniston, former hog farmer, Chillicothe, Missouri.

Published in In Motion Magazine - August 29, 1999

Originally written - July 16, 1999.

Also read other essays by Martha Stevens