NOTE: On Monday, Jan. 30, farmers and rural residents of Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township gathered at the headquarters of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). They expressed their outrage that the MPCA prioritized rubber-stamping a proposed factory hog farm above protecting their community. Life-long township resident David Post made the following statement during the press conference:

My name is David Post, and I live in Zumbrota Township. I was raised on my father’s family farm, and now I’m raising my own family down the street.

My youngest daughter has a rare genetic disorder known as CDKL5. Exposure or proximity to a factory hog farm, with high levels of hydrogen sulfide emissions, would greatly complicate her condition. Right now,
our rural community is strong and healthy, and I’m fighting to keep it that way.

We’re here today because our community is being threatened by a proposed factory hog farm. But this issue is wider than us. Across rural Minnesota, people are saying NO to factory farms.

We know that when a factory farm comes to town, it takes a toll on the local economy, pushes family farms out of business, and pollutes the air and water. The unbearable odors drive people from their homes, and the hydrogen sulfide emissions can cause serious health damage.

Despite these known impacts, the MPCA continues to rubber stamp factory farm permits. The MPCA always deems these industrial-sized feedlots safe, yet they continue to harm our rural communities. It is time for the MPCA to stop serving corporate agriculture and begin protecting the environment.

For more on this issue, see the Land Stewardship Project’s latest action alert.