Large hog facility proposed in Davison County

• Hog sign

A sign is displayed Friday morning at the corner of 396th Avenue and 264th Street at a proposed site for a hog feeding operation 10 miles south of Mount Vernon. (Chris Huber/Republic)

Talk about it

More...

• Correction: Hog farm story

Lyle Reimnitz is worried that prospects for a quiet retirement on his property in southwest Davison County could be evaporating.

Investors doing business as Jackrabbit Family Farms are proposing the construction of a swine production facility south of Reimnitz’s home. A check of county records Friday showed the land is currently owned by Doris and Russell Metzger.

Reimnitz said he and other landowners were invited by Jackrabbit Family Farms to a March 16 meeting at the Travel Plaza in Corsica to determine if there is interest in using the manure generated by the facility. Reimnitz said the operation was presented as a 5,000-sow production unit, and he was offended that the operation was being treated as a done deal.

“If folks want to use the manure, I don’t have a problem,” he said, “but if you want this thing in my backyard, I’ve got a problem. I don’t want to have to deal with this for the rest of my life.”

On Tuesday, the Davison County Planning and Zoning Commission will consider an application from Jackrabbit Family Farms for a conditional use permit to operate the 3,088 “animal unit” swine production facility in Baker Township, at the corner of 264th Street and 396th Avenue.

According to the county zoning code, one animal unit is equal to 2.13 swine in a production unit, or 10 nursery swine less than 55 pounds.

The meeting will begin at 1:15 p.m. at the Davison County Courthouse, 200 E. Fourth Ave., Mitchell. The conditional-use application is listed as the last item on a full agenda.

Dave Truesdell, who owns land north of the proposed operation, said he’s worried about the dust and odor that might emanate from the hog facility. Truesdell and Reimnitz said not all area landowners received information about the proposed hog operation.

County Zoning Administrator Dan Sudrla said the necessary notifications were sent.

“I’ve had people living as far as four miles away complaining that they haven’t been notified,” Sudrla said.

According to him, county law only requires his office to notify landowners whose property is adjacent to the proposed project, and he did so. The property has also been posted with a notice of the April 3 meeting.

Jackrabbit Family Farms is affiliated with the Pipestone System, which manages hog confinement operations for private owners. Bluestem Family Farms, a hog operation in Beulah Township in Davison County owned by a group of farmer investors, is operated by Pipestone. Sudrla said his office has received no complaints about that existing operation.

Jackrabbit Family Farms’ conditional use application was signed by Willie Langholz, a Pipestone employee, Sudrla said.

Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tom Greenway said he owns a small share in the Bluestem operation but has no affiliation with Jackrabbit Family Farms.

Pipestone officials could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Tags: jackrabbit family farms, news, updates, agriculture, livestock, hogs, county, local, davison, zoning, swine