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Indiana’s state legislature is taking a hard look at its livestock operations – something that has been going on nationally as activists step up pressure on the industry.

Indiana’s General Assembly is looking at a proposed bill that would ban large livestock farms from being built within a mile of schools, cities, towns and nursing homes. The bill also would require state environmental officials to inspect the state’s 2,200 large livestock farms at least once a year. The measure was introduced by Democratic Rep. Phillip Pflum who says there’s growing support for the bill.

Another bill, which eventually died in the Senate, tried to go even farther by proposing a three-year moratorium on the construction of new concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Allen Paul, told the media that CAFOs are a major issue in his district and that people have been complaining about falling property values and strong odors.

"There has been more criticism of farms nationwide. Activist groups are working hard at putting non-facts and fear out there," said Sandy Kuhn, OFBF’s director of commodity relations and executive director of the Ohio Livestock Coalition. "Large livestock farms are getting a bad rap."

Kuhn noted that large livestock farms, especially those in Ohio, undergo a rigorous permitting and regulation process. Currently Ohio has 162 CAFOs that are inspected twice a year by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

"These inspections are more of a preventative step, to make sure that they are doing things properly," she said.

Kuhn also said the claims of falling property values tend to be anecdotal and are sometimes based on emotion rather than fact.

"We recently had a farm that received a phone call from a neighbor who complained that their property values went up because the farm came to the area," she said.

Having legislation pass in Indiana, or any other state, that places restrictions on livestock operations is a dangerous precedent, Kuhn said.

"The danger is that they’ll start with schools and nursing homes and move on to residences," she said. "This is the first step in the activists’ goal of making it difficult for large livestock farms to locate anywhere."