Preliminary talks begin on revising CAFO ordinance

Nodaway County Health Department Administrator Tom Patterson met with Nodaway County Associate Commissioner Chris Burns and Presiding Commissioner Bill Walker and Associate Commissioner Bob Stiens, not pictured, about revising the county’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations ordinance.

Nodaway County Commissioners met with Nodaway County Health Department Administrator Tom Patterson on June 18 to discuss the county’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) ordinance.

The current county ordinance places stricter regulations on large agricultural operations in the county than the state of Missouri requires. The topic has been an area of contention for many years. Some believe the state of Missouri’s laws are all that is needed and others believe the state laws are not strict enough.

The county commission would like to be an Ag Ready Certified County and some residents are concerned the strict CAFO ordinance hinders this achievement.

Local CAFO ordinances can be authorized by either the county commission, or as in the case of Nodaway County, the county health board.

Patterson stated he had met with local producers as well as Missouri Pork Association leaders to attempt to find some middle ground. He, too, wishes to see the county achieve an Ag Ready Certification and is willing to revise the ordinance to make it more feasible.

Patterson believes the local ordinance is necessary, listing concerns about the state policy. He also believes the local ordinance needs to remain more strict than the Missouri law, but suggested some of the wording could be changed and administrative pieces of the ordinance revised to lessen the demands on ag producers, such as revising the section requiring producers to acquire operation permits annually.

He stated the health board still believes there are enough health risks and concerns to warrant a stricter local ordinance, but he is willing to discuss and negotiate anything in the current policy in order to reach a compromise that works for both sides.

The commissioners will look over the current local ordinance as well as the state policy. Patterson invited them to attend a health board meeting in the future, which they accepted, stating they would also like to see some of the local producers and representatives from the Missouri Pork Association in attendance.