Big Hogs Hurt Small Farmers

My husband and I worked two jobs each for twenty years to be able to buy a farm and raise cattle for our retirement income. About a year and a half after we bought our farm in St. Clair County, a hog factory moved in next door. The hogs were about 3/4 of a mile from us, but even at that distance, the stench and the flies were terrible. We couldn't stand to be outside to take care of the cattle. I once found my husband on the ground with his throat closed up, choking from the odor. We had to sell the herd that we had bought and that was the end of our retirement income. The hog factory put us, the small farmers, out of business.

Leslie Burgess