Tom Austin, superintendent of Elwood Community Schools expressed his concerns that an expanded CAFO would mean a further devaluation of the tax base which has already given Elwood the highest school tax rate in the county.

“I'm not an expert on farming, but I do know a lot about school finance,” Austin said. “In my ongoing stewardship of the finances of our school corporation, I feel this operation will only lead to the further devaluation of our school tax base.

“This will further erode our ability to educate our kids.”

Michael and Carolyn Trimble of Elwood live near the Jarrett farm on County Road 700 West and have been some of the most vocal opponents of the expanded CAFO.

Michael Trimble spoke before the BZA about the traffic congestion and possible water pollution. The couple also joined Cathy Goins in drafting an anonymous letter to rally neighbors against the operation, signed “Concerned Neighbors.”

“We are asking the Madison County Commissioners to impose a moratorium that would prevent any more construction of confined animal feeding operations until studies are completed and rules and regulations are adopted after public hearings have been held,” the Trimbles wrote in a letter to The Herald Bulletin.

“Shouldn’t the main concern of the Madison County Commissioners, the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals be to maintain and improve the quality of life for all county residents?” asked Trimble in his letter.

Goins, who said she lives about one-third of a mile from the new hog barn, worries that state regulations are not as thorough as they should be.

“I’m concerned about who is going to regulate it,” Goins said. “IDEM protects us all, but I know from calling down there this week that there are only 15 inspectors in the entire state to inspect all the CAFOs, all the landfills, all the water treatment plants. I don’t think it makes sense.”

In a recent issue of Hoosier Farmer, Dan Villwock, president of the Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. wrote that the common image of rural America no longer exists.

“(That) image of a family farm is one where the farm family that is making their whole living from 250 acres of crops, 15 beef cows, 20 hogs and a big garden. Unfortunately, that farm doesn’t exist any more and hasn’t for some time,” Villwock wrote.

Traditional agriculture, he said, is a mature business, meaning the profit margins are extremely thin. Farmers must expand their volume or seek supplemental income.

“Pork producers a few years ago could make a fair living for their family with 1,000 market hogs,” Villwock wrote. “Today those same farmers need to sell 4,000 or more hogs per years to maintain an adequate standard of living for their families.”

THE SUPPORTERS

Kari Keller-Steele understands the concerns.