Photo by prarierivers.org

Industrial-sized hog farms are coming to Arkansas. The first is now operating near the Buffalo National River in Newton County. A Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) is a method of mass-producing meat by confining large numbers of animals to small spaces. The C&H Hog Farm located in Mt. Judea, Newton County, Ark., is contracted to international conglomerate Cargill, and is operating with a multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidized loan. It is located near Big Creek, which is one of the major tributaries of the Buffalo National River, which feeds into one of the South's best trout rivers, the White. 

The factory hog farm sits on top of one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the state in the Ozark Mountains. The 6,500 pigs will produce about 1.5 million gallons of manure per year. This along with the wash water results in over 2 million gallons of hog waste per year that will be spread over porous ground adjacent to Big Creek and across from the Mt. Judea public school.

T.U. Chapter 698 is watching this closely for impacts to the trophy trout fishing found in the White River.

An educational speaking tour on this issue is planned by the Waterkeeper Alliance, and will discuss impending health and economic issues, pollution of air and water, and the threat to the entire Buffalo National River watershed.

The schedule of the tour and list of speakers can be found at buffaloriveralliance.org