NPPA Nebraska Pork Producers Association : Makin’ Bacon, Just Not in My Backyard

Makin' Bacon, Just Not in My Backyard

Originally published on PorkSquare | By Jana Knupp

Hog production continues to increase in the Land of Lincoln. In west central Illinois where I reside, hog production has grown steadily over the past ten years. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that you have to drive at least one hour to find a Target, Best Buy, or Lowes store. However, you can't look in any direction without seeing corn, soybeans, or livestock.

Illinois is an ideal location for hog production. It has thousands of acres available, it has access to two rivers which are ideal for shipping product. Additionally, it is located in the heart of corn and soybean production meaning livestock feed is at the ready. If those weren't reasons enough, Illinois is seated ideally between the largely populated areas of Chicago, St. Louis, and Indiana.

Land + feed + transportation + market = winning combination for raising bacon.

Despite having many reasons to site hog farms in Illinois, there is still a great deal of controversy over it. People love to eat their pork products, but they don't want to see or smell it being raised. Pork is still in high demand across the globe, so it must be grown somewhere. People would not choose to reside in a big city and complain about noise and lights. Likewise, they shouldn't choose to reside in the country without be accepting of the occasional sites, smells, and sounds of growing food.

Illinois has the largest setback in the Midwest, if not the entire country. In order to site a hog building in Illinois, the building must not be located within one quarter mile from a residence or one half mile from a populated area. These distances increase as the number of livestock on the site increase. The setback for a hog building from a residence is only 600 feet and 400 feet in Iowa and Indiana respectively.

Nic Anderson, of the Illinois Livestock Development Group works with farmers to help them through the siting process. There are eight siting criteria that must be addressed ranging from manure management to traffic flow. As long as the farmer complies with or has the necessary plans in place for each of these criterion, the building is approved. However, this doesn't mean that neighbors will willingly accept it.

Nic stresses the importance of communicating with your neighbors. While we cannot say that the odor from the hogs will never carry, we can say that we are working to minimize the odor by using special fans, feed additives, tree lines, and only spreading manure when the wind is blowing at a certain speed or direction.

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Raising Hogs Efficiently and Sustainably

People also need to understand that there is more being done today to make sure that hogs are raised efficiently and sustainably. Years ago when hogs were raised outside, there was no nutrient management plan. No one made sure that the land wasn't getting too much phosphorus; it is easy to assume that the land received more manure than was necessary. Today, nutrient maps allow the farmer to determine where the manure should be spread. Also, with the addition of feed additives such as Phytase which increases the availability of phosphorus in the pig's diet, therefore reducing the output in the manure, the manure is more balanced.

Hog production is a vital component to the economy in Illinois. Farmers work each day to perfect their processes, fully admitting they aren't perfect yet. If you know of someone who is concerned about hog production, be certain you keep the lines of communication open, and if biosecurity allows, invite them over for a visit. Who knows, maybe they'll want to put up a barn of their own.

Jana Knupp is an instructor at the Western Illinois University School of Agriculture and a contributing blogger for the National Pork Board.