Farmer drops plans for big S. Ind. hog operation

SEYMOUR, Ind. (AP) - A southern Indiana farmer is dropping plans for a 4,000-hog operation, saying he's frustrated over ongoing opposition from nearby property owners.

Nathan Newkirk said he's withdrawing his request for permission to build the hog barn in a rural area northwest of Seymour that a Jackson County zoning board was to consider on Tuesday.

Some neighbors have changed their minds about his hog farm plan since he first talked with them about it in April, Newkirk told The Tribune of Seymour for a story Saturday.

"Some of their concerns were so far off of reality, I just couldn't answer them," he said. "I would sure like to put one there or on another piece of property, but I think you're going to run into the same problem."

Complaints from neighbors about possible odors and pollution led another Jackson County farmer in September to withdraw his zoning request for a similar hog farm, known as a confined animal feeding operation.

Many such large livestock operations have faced complaints around the state over manure runoffs and air and water pollution concerns.

Newkirk had planned to construct an 80-foot-by-412-foot building on land that he and his wife own with his parents in the area about midway between Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky. His family once raised hogs but gave it up in 2001 after market prices bottomed out.

"Everyone thinks they have the right to come out here and build a house, but I don't have the right to build a hog house," Newkirk said.