State officials have approved a construction permit for a large-scale hog confinement in Adair County, but the County’s Board of Supervisors is appealing that decision. Dennis Faust of Dexter would live two miles east of the proposed seven-thousand-sow facility.Faust, a small-scale hog producer, is not necessarily opposed to all large-scale operations. Faust says there’s not a single person who lives within five miles of the proposed facility who want it there. Harlan businessman Gary Weihs has said his Adair County confinement will use the latest designs to store the manure, and apply it as fertilizer to surrounding farms. Potential neighbor Faust isn’t convinced.Faust says the building Weihs is putting up will hold more sows than he told the state he’d be raising, and Faust says that should have been a red flag to regulators.Weihs abandoned plans to build a similar facility near Elk Horn after local opposition.
