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The approval of plans for a 4,500 cow dairy in Hardin County recently reheated debates over the impact large livestock operations have on Ohio’s environment, economy and small-scale farmers.

In April, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) issued final permits for the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), which will be Ohio’s largest dairy farm.

Environmental groups and a farm organization friendly to them have said they support a moratorium on CAFOs in the state. But according to Rocky Black, OFBF director of legislative affairs, ending growth in Ohio’s livestock industry doesn’t make sense.

"It wouldn’t accomplish anything because the regulations that are necessary for the operation of these facilities are already on the books," he said.

Black said OFBF is pushing for more money for the Livestock Environmental Permitting Program so ODA officials will have more resources to enforce regulations. OFBF has also met with legislators in recent weeks to bring them up to speed on ODA requirements for CAFOs.

"You’re looking at some of the strictest rules in the country," said David White, executive director of the Ohio Livestock Coalition.

White noted that livestock farms of all sizes must meet stringent environmental requirements.

"While every farm may not be permitted, all operations are regulated," he said.

Opponents have attempted to brand CAFOs as industrial facilities, a move recently struck down by a federal appeals court that ruled large livestock farms should be regulated as agriculture.

Cecilia Conway, spokesperson for Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, said that all of the operating CAFOs the company has assisted are family owned.

"They want to have something to pass down to their sons and daughters," she said. "They’re very committed to being good neighbors and good stewards of the land."

According to Conway, small-scale dairy producers say large operations help build the dairy infrastructure in remote areas, resulting in better access and lower bills paid to veterinarians, custom farmers and other services.

White said the livestock industry provides Ohio with 38,000 jobs and $7.89 billion in economic growth from farm to table. He said that with increasing global competition, U.S. farming operations have had to expand to provide consumers with a safe, abundant and inexpensive source of food.

"It’s about the only way to be a full-time livestock farmer," White said. "The other way is to get into a niche which requires an enormous amount of specialized management."

Conway said she believes there is room for farms of all sizes in Ohio, depending on how much each family feels comfortable with or wants to manage. She said farmers should speak out in support of farmers, because animal agriculture is being threatened by misinformation.

"We really need to speak louder," she said.

Caption: Dairy cows feed at an Ohio concentrated animal feeding operation on a warm day in April.