The County of Flagstaff, about 150 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, has issued a permit to Taiwan Sugar to build a 7,200-sow, farrow-to-finish hog barn complex south of Hardisty, Alta.
But the barn must meet a long list of conditions, said the county’s development officer.
“We think if all the conditions are met it’s a safe operation,” said Del Bergum, who made the decision to issue the building permits.
“I made the final decision based on information received from consultants,” said Bergum.
There are eight pages of conditions attached to the permit, including detailed manure application and holding tank instructions.
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“We thought this was needed to meet the code of practice and protect our environment.”
Clarence Froese, a spokesperson for DGH Engineering, the company hired by Taiwan Sugar to help secure a building site, said they are pleased with the permit, despite the conditions.
“We need to have a detailed discussion with our clients over the weekend and next week to discuss the conditions,” said Froese, who believes the five barns would be an economic boon to the rural county. There are 4,015 people living in the countryside, and another 5,510 in the 10 towns and villages within the county.
One barn will be built eight kilometres south of Hardisty and the rest of the barns all meet the required minimum distance of 0.8 km from a residence.
Froese said the operation will generate 80,000 hogs a year, hire 50 people, and allow farmers to sell grain to the barn or take away free manure for fertilizer.
Access to free manure isn’t a drawing card for everyone in the county. The ink was barely dry on the permit, when members of the County of Flagstaff Family Farm Promotional Society said they would appeal the decision.
“Absolutely we will appeal,” said president Lori Goodrich, who has worked almost full time on the issue since Flagstaff was shortlisted last April as a possible home for the hogs.
Goodrich said society members are worried that manure from the hogs will affect their ground water and they are sickened by peoples’ reactions.
“It has ripped the community apart. It has pitted neighbor against neighbor,” said Goodrich. “It has ripped the heart out of our quiet community.”
Goodrich isn’t optimistic about an appeal win. Unlike the County of Forty Mile, which rejected Taiwan Sugar’s bid to build there, the company was forced to deal with several farmers to secure enough land for the barns and manure. In Flagstaff, most of the land is coming from one family.
Since the decision was announced there have been lots of calls offering support to help fight the appeal, she said.
“It’s great for us to know there’s that much support for us out in the community.”
