NWAonline

Owners seek second hog farm permit

by Emily Walkenhorst

Co-owners of a Newton County hog farm have resubmitted their application to build a hog farm in Franklin County.

Philip Campbell and Jason Henson, who co-own C&H Hog Farms with Richard Campbell, withdrew the application late last year after the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality asked for more information, saying they needed more time. They stated that they would resubmit the application, which they did on Feb. 21.

The farm, which would be called Coon Tree Farm after the road its located on near Denning, would have up to 10,374 hogs: 1,248 gilts of an average weight of 150 pounds; 4,728 gestation sows of an average 425 pounds, 840 lactating sows of an average 400 pounds; 576 nursery pigs of an average 30 pounds, 2,400 hot nursery pigs of an average 12 pounds, 576 gilt development pigs of an average 325 pounds and six boars of an average 450 pounds.

It would have two pits for hog manure with a storage capacity of a year, and manure would be land applied as fertilizer.

The barns and pits would be built up several feet to remove them from the flood hazard zone they are located in, according to the application.

The application is for a permit under Regulation 5, which, if approved, would be permanent.

The proposal has faced local opposition from residents, business owners and politicians, including state Rep. Sarah Capp, R-Ozark, concerned about nearby waters and the possible smell.

NW News on 03/17/2019