Imagine a state that works with a community to shut down a large CAFO, then establish a permanent moratorium in a valued watershed.
Crazy pipe dream?
This actually happened in Arkansas in the Buffalo National River watershed. On Thursday, October 16, you’ll hear the whole story during the JFAN Annual Meeting, “STOP THE CAFOS: How the Buffalo National River Did It (And how Iowa could do better),” beginning at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Gordon Watkins, cofounder and president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, will unfold the inspiring story of how the community came together to oppose C&H Hogs, a 6,500-head hog factory farm permitted in 2012. C&H Hogs was built in the watershed of the country’s first national river. Its 2.5 million gallons of manure per year threatened the recreational opportunities and aesthetics of this valued resource.
The community’s perseverance over a 12-year period drew a wide range of allies working to protect the scenic 135-mile Buffalo National River, a major tourist destination and economic driver in Newton County, Arkansas, where C&H Hogs was located.
Watkins will describe how this coalition came together and, through legal actions, public publicity advocacy, public education, and other means, how it pushed Governor Hutchinson’s administration to close the CAFO and enact a temporary moratorium in 2019. Its continued efforts resulted in Governor Sanders’s administration recently declaring the moratorium permanent.
And then we have Iowa. Could something like that ever happen here?
It could, if water quality advocate Dr. Chris Jones had his way. During the meeting, he will provide an overview of why it’s so difficult getting the Iowa state legislators to properly regulate CAFOs and protect water quality.
But Jones recently developed a comprehensive vision for a progressive food and farm policy that could start to heal the land and better protect water quality and the health of Iowans. He’ll share this vision, providing a roadmap of how we can improve the state’s circumstances.
Coming out of a summer in which Iowa’s poor water quality received national attention, Jones’s policy recommendations come at an opportune time. Could Iowans pair that vision with the kind of grit that made Arkansans’ advocacy so successful?
About the Speakers
Since 1973, Gordon Watkins has lived in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, where he and his wife, Susan, operate an organic farm and a tourism business catering to visitors to the Buf-falo National River.
In 2013, Gordon helped cofound the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (BRWA), a nonprofit created in response to the construction of C&H Hogs.
Dr. Chris Jones is a retired research engineer from the University of Iowa and former manager of the Iowa Water Quality Information System, which provides real-time monitoring and reporting of water quality data throughout the state.
Jones is the author of The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality, writes a popular Substack column, and frequently speaks about Iowa’s water issues throughout the state.
The JFAN Annual Meeting is free; a $5 freewill donation helps JFAN protect Jefferson County’s quality of life. Registration is required: JFAN Meeting.