DNR hosts hearing on proposed Callaway County CAFO

Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing Thursday night on a proposed confined animal feeding operation in Callaway County.

The operation, submitted by Eichelberger Farms from Wayland, Iowa, would house more than 10,000 pigs. Manure produced would go to landowners in Callaway County to fertilize crops.

Many people at the meeting raised concerns with the operation’s potential effect on the water quality. The manure would be spread on 1,459 acres of land in Callaway County, according to plans filed to DNR for the operation. Residents said the manure could run off from the surface into one of the many creeks the lands are near.

Engineers with The Pinnacle Group attended the meeting to represent the operation. John Everly, one of the engineers who designed the barns, said the plans abide by all state laws.

John Madras with the state’s Water Protection Program said the department would take the comments into consideration before deciding whether or not to offer a permit allowing the operation.