New permit issued for CAFO in Marshall County

PLYMOUTH - In an effort to make nice with his neighbors, Matt Laidig has applied and been issued a new building permit for an 8,000-head hog Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). Several neighbors near the location of Laidig's last proposed site at 14th and Gumwwod Roads were not happy with the distance at which the hog farm would be from their residences, so Laidig obtained more property and will place the new site farther from those neighbors.

"I'm farther away, that was the reason for this new permit," Laidig said.

Laidig's facility plans are to construct a hog operation with two wean-to-finish barns, each with concrete pits beneath the floors for manure storage. The application states the operation will have 1,200 nursery pigs and 6,800 finishers. The new permit was filed by M.D.S. Pork, LLC. Laidig has partnered with two local farmers in this new project, Steve Roberts and Dave Stults.   

"We chose a different site. This one will be located on 15th Road. The distance setback from road is about 2,200 feet," he added.

County ordinance states such facilities must be at least 1,320 feet from the nearest neighboring property line.

In response to how close Laidig is to his neighbors, he said, "The nearest is at the back - I'm about 100 feet from field next to me; think the nearest house is about a half-mile or more."

Prior to Laidig's county application, he filed an application with IDEM in July, which had to be approved prior to the county permit issuance.

Dan Burggen from the Solid Waste Permits section of IDEM said in a phone interview on last month that the new location will sit 2,297 feet back from the roadway while the previous site was only 900 feet from the road.

"We'll probably be starting to build here real soon," Laidig said.