OTTUMWA, IOWA -- The Wapello County Supervisors met Tuesday evening for a public notice hearing for one man’s hog confinement building that’s being added to his operation.
The farmer’s name is Richard Warren and he’s been farming for more than 30 years.
A neighbor who lives one mile away attended the meeting to discuss his concerns with the supervisors. He’s concerned that the smell from the 4,300 hogs will negatively affect the value of his home and quality of life.
Warren felt that his livelihood was being questioned by others.
“My family's been there for 150 years and that's our livelihood and that's what we've done all through the generations and then all of a sudden it's not a good thing. It kind of makes you go like 'what' so it's just one of those things we deal with in today's society. They focus on the negative instead of the positive,” said Warren.
Warren’s two sons would be the sixth generation in his family to farm the land.
“We have an aging population here in Iowa and farmers are getting older and there's a lot less kids coming into the business but it makes it a good operation to start them out and to grow. I think it's a good thing,” said Warren.
Warren said that there’s been no indication from the DNR that there would be any problem with his building. For now, he just has to wait until he receives the final paper work from the DNR.
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