March 31, 2000 / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
For years farmers and small-town business owners have speculated about the economic impact of large hog operations on their communities, but a study released Thursday attempts to clear up some of the myths.
Results of the six-state study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln dispels beliefs that large hog farms hamper retail sales, lower incomes, increase poverty and drive some hog producers out of business.
However, the same study indicates that populations dropped and property taxes were higher in counties that have large swine operations.
"It's a mixed picture," said John Allen, a sociologist with the NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources who supervised the study.
The study explored the effects of pork production in 36 counties in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina over 15 years from 1977 to 1992. Counties with stable pork production were compared with counties with expanded production. Large-scale operations were those with 1,000 head or more.
The survey indicated that retail sales remained competitive, per-capita incomes increased and poverty decreased quicker in those counties with large hog farms.
"There were a lot of myths going around that if you had a hog confinement facility, it was either going to add to the local economy or it was going to destroy the local economy," Allen said.
The study indicated that the number of large-scale operations is growing and the number of those with fewer than 500 head is falling.
It also showed that as hog inventories rose, the number of farm jobs lost in a county fell at a slower rate in counties with large-scale hog operations.
The study did not address the reasons for its findings or how towns were affected.
"I can tell you now what the county trends are, but I can't tell you what it does to each individual community," Allen said. "That's the next question that needs to be addressed."
Swine operations in Iowa, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska expanded rapidly during the 1980s. During the 1990s, mega hog farms moved in and continue to expand, Allen said.
Nebraska had the smallest decrease in hog operations between 1988 and 1996, with a 36 percent decline. A Nebraska law restricts corporate farming or ranching to family farm corporations.:
