Wetzel residents oppose hog mega-farm

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

WETZEL — While the trend in agribusiness is big: mega-dairies and hog mega-farms, to name two such ventures seen in Van Wert County, the projects also produce mega-angry neighbors, at least in the beginning.

That was the case Monday evening when a large crowd of disgruntled area residents gathered at the Jackson Township House in Wetzel to speak out against a 2,400-hog mega-farm being built close to the hamlet as a partnership between landowner Ernie Welch and Cooper Farms.

Welch and several Cooper Farms representatives were at the meeting to provide information on the project, along with Jocelyn Henderson of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who provided information on how manure and other operations of the farm are to be handled.

Henderson, who serves 20 counties in northwest and west-central Ohio, gave those attending information on operations such as the one planned by Cooper Farms and Welch. She noted that, because the hog population would be under the 2,500-animal threshold for a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), state regulations would be less stringent than they would if the operation met CAFO requirements.

However, there are still a number of requirements the farm must meet in the area of manure-handling and other environmental areas. Henderson also noted there can be criminal penalties for farms that don’t meet the requirements.

“We have some teeth,” she said of ODNR’s ability to prosecutor offenders, although she added the Ohio Department of Agriculture has more and stricter penalties for violators.

Henderson also defended Cooper Farms, saying the company has “a good track record” when it comes to its management of its animal operations.

One of the people at the meeting did claim, though, that Cooper Farms settled a lawsuit out of court that involved management of an animal operation — something company officials did not deny.

Comments at the meeting ranged from a sense of betrayal to obscenity-laced diatribes aimed mostly at Welch for planning such a project while giving neighbors little or no advance notice. Most of those at the meeting apparently felt the project was motivated by greed, with little concern for the affects it would have on Welch’s neighbors.

Welch and Cooper Farms representatives downplayed the affects of the farm, noting they will do everything they can to minimize negative consequences of the hog farm.

“There is always a fear of the unknown,” Welch told the crowd. “A lot of those fears can be alleviated; we are good stewards, we are good neighbors.”

Welch, who has lived in the area since 1978, said he would be most affected by the farm, since he lives on the property, although area residents were not mollified, saying that was only fitting, since he was the one to benefit financially from the project.

Cooper Farms representatives said the company, which provides the hogs under a contract with Welch, would make sure the landowner meets Cooper Farms’ operational requirements.

Most of those who attended wanted the project stopped, especially since it is located so close to Wetzel, and to Zion Christian Union Church, as well as Wetzelland, where Wetzel Motorcycle Club holds a well-attended annual event.

One person felt the project showed a lack of respect for the Wetzel community and to the farm’s neighbors.

“Is that respectful? Is that how you treat your neighbors?” the man asked Welch and Cooper Farms reps.

Dan Edwards, a neighbor of Welch who said he has invested a significant amount in his home, was concerned that property values would be affected — something Cooper Farms representatives and Henderson said hasn’t happened elsewhere.

It was apparent, though, that the two-hour meeting, while being a chance for neighbors to express their frustration and unhappiness over the project, didn’t accomplish their goal of stopping the project.

Plans are to begin construction this spring on the 80-by-200 foot barn where the hogs will be housed.