ORISKA, N.D. (KFGO – NewsDakota) – The Barnes County Commission has approved plans by Pipestone Farms to build a new hog operation about 15 miles northwest of Oriska, just east of the Ashtabula wind farm site in Barnes County.
Pipestone Farms will now pursue the approval of several state permits for the project.
Marilyn Henderson’s family farm is located two miles east of the proposed site. She was disappointed with the commission’s decision to approve the conditional use permit.
“This is using current thought processes, it’s not looking towards the future. And what happens to our soil, our water, our air,” said Henderson.
Grady Karges farms north of Oriska. He talked about how this hog facility will benefit their family farming operation.
“We’re going to get the manure which is a valuable, nutrient resource for us. So we’ll be able to step away from synthetic fertilizers on a number of our acres,” Karges explained.
Liquid manure from the hog facility would be applied to fields in the fall as fertilizer for locally grown crops.
The operation could handle up to 7,717 swine. Three proposed buildings, a gestation barn, farrowing barn and gilt growing barn, and compost site would be used to house the animals.
The estimated local economic impact would be nearly $4 million annually, according to Pipestone management. The farm will employ 16 full-time jobs. Feed purchased locally would be approximately $2.4 million per year.
Additional public hearings will be held in the future as Pipestone Farms pursues the state permitting process.
Comments