Iowans Ask Lawmakers To Consider Long Ignored Bill

Iowans have been taking a stance against Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) for years.

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Since 2017, bills have been introduced that would pause new CAFO construction. Diane Rosenberg, executive director of Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors says the bills have yet to be looked at by lawmakers.

They've never even received a public subcommittee meeting hearing, and House File 164 hasn't even been assigned to a subcommittee this session. Iowans, at the very least, deserve to be heard on this issue.

This year, Senate File 124 and House File 164 have been filed to pause the new construction of CAFOs.

According to the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, 63 percent of Iowans support having a factory farm moratorium. Rosenberg adds this is because of the impact the farms have on people’s quality of life.

They've gotten sick with environmental asthma or they've lost property value in their homes if they can even sell their homes, and it's because these CAFOs really have a terrible stench.

But what exactly is a CAFO?

According to the CDC, a CAFO is a livestock farm that is a type of “large-scale industrial agricultural facility that raises animals, usually at high-density, for the consumption of meat, eggs, or milk.”

Rosenberg spoke in a forum urging lawmakers to look into a moratorium.

Republican State Rep. Jeff Shipley, of Fairfield, who attended the forum did have concerns about supporting this type of legislation during an economic crisis. Other lawmakers, such as Republican State Rep. Helena Hayes, supported looking into the bill further.

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