By JAIME ADAME ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Posted: March 12, 2014 at 6 a.m.
University of Arkansas researchers will use radar technology and work with outside experts to monitor any environmental effects of a large new hog farm on the “fairly pristine” Big Creek watershed, the group told a packed-house crowd Tuesday.

About 150 attended the information session, with several intent on asking prickly questions of researchers at the Fayetteville campus presentation. Some attendees asked how consultants were chosen for the project and questioned the intent of the Big Creek Research Team, whose work is being paid for with $340,000 in public funds approved by the state Legislature after a public outcry over the C&H Hog Farms site in Newton County.

The farm, described previously as a 6,500-pig operation, received approval from state environmental regulators in August 2012. Despite the farm’s state-approved waste management plans, critics last year began to voice concerns that manure from the Mount Judea farm might contaminate streams or other water sources. Big Creek is a tributary to the Buffalo National River, whose wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities draw tourists.

“We’re not a regulatory agency,” Andrew Sharpley, research team leader, told the crowd near the beginning of an approximately hour-long presentation filled with detailed charts and maps. “We are here doing this research and this monitoring as part of finding the science, and the science will dictate what goes from here.”

Sharpley, a soils and water quality professor, went on to emphasize how researchers over the past several months carefully decided where and how to take measurements. For example, laser technology driven around the fields near the farm help researchers precisely measure changes in elevation. This lets them know where to put stations measuring soil and water conditions, because “water’s going to go downhill,” he said.

Because researchers wanted to avoid disturbing private property and directly changing natural land features, radar provided a peek beneath the land’s surface. Sharpley said data from the radar generally confirmed karst characteristics, or patchy limestone areas where water flows more easily.

“It looks like nice, flat green pasture from when you’re standing there, but obviously below the surface it’s quite complicated,” Sharpley said.

The study involves taking detailed measurements in three fields, two of which will be spread with manure from C&H Hog Farms. One of the fields is near Big Creek, while the other is at a higher elevation away from the creek, with a different type of soil formation and more prominent karst characteristics. The third field was originally meant to be used for manure spreading, but a mistake involving maps submitted with the farm’s permit application now leaves the field as a place for researchers to gather baseline data.

Manure will also be spread on areas not being directly studied by the research team.

Before farm operations kick into high gear, researchers have been taking quality samples, some of which go back to October.

“The levels of nutrients that we see here are typical of these fairly pristine type of watersheds,” Sharpley said. He told the crowd that he believed the farm spread the first manure at the end of December. However, Sharpley said in an interview after the presentation that the manure spreading has yet to take place in the fields being closely monitored.

Water samples will be taken “from above and below the farm on Big Creek,” Sharpley said, adding that the group will also monitor other water sources like springs and ephemeral streams.

Officials with the United States Geological Survey will also assist with the research, Sharpley said.

In describing the origins of the project, Sharpley stressed the amicable relationship between farm operators and state agriculturalagents.

“The first thing was that the owner of that farm went over to our county extension agent over in Newton County and asked for help,” Sharpley said.

Also under study are manure treatments at the farm to more easily export it as a resource to other farmers.

“Obviously, we won’t solve this, we’re not that naive. But we hope we will provide some science to go a little further on this pathway to get sustainability,” Sharpley said.

However, some in the crowd expressed displeasure with all or part of the research team’s efforts during a 25 minute question-and-answer session.

One topic of criticism came after Sharpley said some consultants will come from outside the state. Someone asked whether anyone associated with Cargill - the ultimate buyer of the farm’s pigs - will be a project consultant, but Sharpley said the people involved will eventually all be named publiclyand that they are affiliated with universities.

Sharpley said Cargill met with researchers early on. However, he stressed that the team made its decisions on the study independently.

“I chose to not consider what they suggested because I didn’t think it was sound science,” Sharpley said.

Organic farmer Dane Schumacher expressed concern about the researchers’ talk about studying farm sustainability solutions.

“That seems different than a group independent and unbiased to find how this hog farm might contaminate the river,” Schumacher said.

Sharpley replied that three-quarters of the research effort involves “assessing water quality impact.”

Researchers said they have funding for one year of study, agreeing with a questioner that funding to extend the study over more time will be needed to best assess any environmental impacts of the farm.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 03/12/2014