(Missourinet) – The Cooper County Health Board in mid-Missouri has passed an ordinance regulating livestock manure. The ordinance – pared back significantly from its first draft – requires a nutrient management plan from anyone applying manure.
Cooper County farmer Dean Gibson opposed the ordinance, because, he tells Brownfield, it makes it difficult to use what he considers a valuable resource.
Susan Williams, who lives about a mile from a proposed concentrated animal feeding operation, pushed to have the ordinance passed because of her concerns about how waste from the facility would be handled.
The lone ‘no’ vote came from board member Susan Felton – who says state regulation of nutrient application is adequate.
The ordinance divided county residents, some of whom want greater regulation of CAFOs, while others feel that restrictions beyond state laws will discourage agricultural economic development. The ordinance takes effect immediately.