Graves County Fiscal Court members are moving toward all but banning commercial hog farm operations. The court's move Monday night reverses a 2014 decision to lift an existing ban.
Sixteen months was enough time for Colley farms to begin construction on their own large-scale pig farm. When neighbors Margaret Merida and Lillian Doughaday caught wind of the operation they notified their neighbors. They worked with Judge Executive Jesse Perry who initiated the first of three required readings for a new ordinance.
The Fiscal Court meeting was full of concerned residents. While the majority of those present presented worries of foul odor that might decrease property value and environmental risks like water contamination; others, like Barry Newsome, were mostly concerned about too much government regulation. ??“For the most part we are better off with the least amount of government interference we can have,” said Newsome. “Now with business I understand we have to have rules, but I thought there were rules already in place. That’s all that concerns me. They set the ordinance. Everyone will operate with it and that’s fine. I just don’t want big government telling me what I can do with property I own, up to a point.”
Neighbor Margaret Merida responded that lines are often blurred where one person’s freedom begins and another’s ends. Specifically, she mentioned having the freedom to walk outside her home and enjoy fresh air at the expense of a farmer's business.
New rules in the ordinance include provisions to prevent constructing new hog farms within 2500 ft from private homes and at least a million dollar insurance policy to cover water contamination or other environmental hazards.
Lillian Daughaday is pleased with the Judge’s quick response.
“I’ll be honest, I wish some of the setbacks could be farther, I really do, but I think maybe this is a good compromise or as good as we can get.” Daughaday said.
The ordinance is not retroactive, meaning the one hog farm under construction, the Colley’s, will be allowed to continue with their operation. The ordinance requires two more readings before taking effect.
