Jefferson County received applications for three new CAFOs to date this year. Notably in all
these cases, the new CAFOs are being built by existing CAFO owners who are expanding their businesses rather than new contract growers.
It’s also perplexing that the CAFO industry continues to expand in Iowa even though many farmers have euthanized their pigs because of the slaughterhouse slowdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of June, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported 170 new CAFOs throughout the state were proposed and are being built.
The three in Jefferson County are:
1. Jones Site: A 2480-head hog confinement proposed by Ryan Robertson, located on 110thSt., in Section 4 of Penn Township. Jones Site is approximately 1.5 miles west of the city of Pleasant Plain. The CAFO will generate 633,640 gallons of liquid feces and urine each year.
2. Jones Farm: The companion 2480-head CAFO owned by Bob Deutsch located on 110thSt., in Section 4 of Penn Township. Jones Farm is approximately 1.5 miles west of the city of Pleasant Plain. The CAFO will generate 633,640 gallons of liquid feces and urine each year.
Both CAFOs are in the Lake Darling watershed.
These are the CAFOs that are addressed in the LLC loophole article here.
3. Porter Bros. CAFO – Site 7: A 2480-head hog confinement was proposed by Nathan Porter at the southeast intersection of Ivy Avenue in Section 33 of Liberty Township, Libertyville, IA. The Porter Brothers Site 7 will be built by 5G Farms LLC. The CAFO will generate 770,040 gallons of liquid feces and urine each year. Letters were sent to neighbors within a two-mile radius.