The Marhsall Democrat News recently ran a two-part profile on a Missouri farm famiy, Dennis & Chrissy Gessling, regarding controversy over their hog farm. The first part of the story, “Farmer at heart of CAFO Controversy Lives Dream of Raising Hogs,” and the second part, “Gesslings Weather Tumultuous CAFO Controversy” were both very informative and gave an inside look at the situation through the eyes of the farmer.
Dennis has been raising hogs all of his life, beginning in FFA, where he received the State FFA Degree. Gessling’s goal is to bring his wife back to the farm full time to work by his side, and in the future, his stepsons & son. He was going to make that dream a reality by expanding his hog farm so Chrissy could join him full time. But because of exsisting environmental rules by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), he couldn’t locate his new hog barns near his existing hog barns. He found a location which was approved by Missouri DNR, but it was two miles from the historic town of Arrow Rock.
Because of emotion based propaganda from non-agriculture groups, the people who visit Arrow Rock for events, and a few who live near the historic town, were led to believe there would be a horrible smell from the farm two miles away. (His exsisting barns are four miles from Arrow Rock). Because of this inaccurate information, Dennis & Chrissy received several threats, inculding death threats. Dennis said at one time, he was calling Chrissy every hour to make sure things were o.k.
As a result of the inaccurate information, a group called The Friends of Arrow Rock sued the DNR for permitting Gessling to build, and the Judge in the case ruled against DNR due to a missed deadline for paperwork by a day or two. (Gessling has not built the proposed buildings to date, & the permit is set to expire in September, which means a building can not be constructed with out a new permit). The judge also ruled that no new CAFO can be constructed within 15 miles of Arrow Rock or a state historic site or park.
This is a tremendous mistake for the future of agriculture in Missouri. Agriculture is our #1 industry, and the foundation of our state. This ruling not only prohibits Dennis from bringing his wife and kids home to the farm, it leads to serious implications for the future of Agriculture in Missouri. Farmers everywhere need to stand up for agriculture by going to your local media and telling your story. I can’t help but wonder if these stories had been told a year ago if the outcome wouldn’t have been different. It’s up to us to tell OUR STORY because as you can see, if we don’t, someone else will!