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Mega Farms: NW Ohio Journal Special Forum
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For many years, Northwest and West Central Ohio communities have witnessed increasing numbers of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's) cropping up in their back yards. Commonly called factory farms or mega farms, these CAFO's house thousands of animals in industrial - like facilities.
Currently, 77 CAFO's are located in Northwest and West Central Ohio, according to Bill Schwaderer, Public Information Officer of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Lifestock Environmental Permitting Program. To see the exact number of licensed CAFO's by county, click here for the attached pdf. Proposed CAFO's that are undergoing the licensing process are not yet licensed, so they will not be included in the count by county until that process is completed.
In the past eight months, five new CAFO's have been licensed in Wood (2), Mercer (1) Auglaize (1) and Paulding (1) counties. Plans for new CAFO's in Wood, Williams, Hancock, Hardin and Wyandot Counties are underway.
In light of the controversies surrounding the influx of large factory farms in Northwest and West Central Ohio, WBGU-PBS hosted a live, two-hour "Mega Farms: NW Ohio Journal Special Forum," that aired Thursday, May 3 from 8 - 10 p.m.
Topic areas included the economic and environmental impact, regulation, and possible resulting health risks regarding these large livestock farms. The final program segment focused on next steps for legislators, policy makers, regulators and citizens, who are for and against the growth of CAFO's in Ohio.
 "The purpose of the program is to provide viewers with balanced information
about large factory farms in our Northwest and West Central Ohio communities,"
says Pat Fitzgerald, WBGU-PBS General Manager. Special guest Marlene Harris-Taylor, Senior Communications Specialist at Owens Corning hosted this special NW Ohio Journal forum. Individuals are encouraged to voice their opinions on this subject on WBGU's online discussion.
To read more, see the guests, get the resources and view  on this click here.
To view the Oct. 30th public hearing about a potential factory farm click here. |
