Should states use an 'odor tool' to keep farms away?
How smelly is a hog farm or a feed lot? That's a question the North Dakota Department of Agriculture plans to answer with a computer-generated model to help guide where livestock operations can be located.
Senate Bill 2174 establishes the Agriculture Department's odor modeling tool as the way to determine how often smells from a farm will be a problem in nearby areas.
The discussion comes as two large dairy farms are planned for the Red River Valley and as North Dakota tries to catch up to neighboring states on animal agriculture.
The model will use data such as the number and type of animal, terrain, odor-reducing practices, wind and other weather conditions to determine how far away from the animals that odor may be noticeable.
Ag groups testifying on the bill on Jan. 23 in front of the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee were mostly supportive of the plan as a way to make it clear where livestock operations can and can't be established.
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Feeding livestock is seen by groups that grow corn and soybeans as a way to develop local markets for their crops.
The odor tool is being developed by South Dakota State University. South Dakota, which has leapt ahead of North Dakota in animal agriculture, uses a similar tool.
The bill would limit the ability of counties and townships to establish setbacks — how close a livestock operation can be to a residence — setting maximum distances depending on the size of the operation or the odor model.
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Larry Syverson, executive director of the North Dakota Township Officers Association, said the group generally supports the bill but is disappointed that it doesn't include a way for townships to collect fees for additional road use associated with large livestock operations.
The barns and other ag-related facilities are exempt from property taxes under North Dakota law, meaning there is no extra tax revenue to the township or county.
The bill comes out of work done by a task force that studied zoning ordinances for animal agriculture.
Sam Wagner of the Dakota Resource Council testified against the bill.
'It feels like these standards are too industry friendly,' Wagner said.
He added that the task force was too weighted toward ag groups and lacked input from health and environmental groups. Wagner also said the bill strips away township rights.
Among the others testifying against the bill was Erik Olson, a resident of Abercrombie Township near Wahpeton. The township is the site of one of two large dairy farms planned for North Dakota by Riverview Dairy of Morris, Minnesota.
'This seems as a way for these mega dairies to reduce setback distances,' Olson said. 'Townships should have the allowance to regulate and assure the people that we are protected and not forced out by any mega animal feeding operations.'
The committee did not take action on the bill.
Deputy editor Jeff Beach is based in the Fargo area. North Dakota Monitor is part of States Newsroom, the nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Should US states use an 'odor tool' to keep livestock, farms away?
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