I know several of your guys are rural dwellers like myself. I wanted to see if any of you had any experience with living near a CAFO and if so, how close. I have read nightmares about the smell, flies, groundwater contamination, etc. All of these have been articles written in opposition to CAFOs. Papers written at universities related to choosing sites and odor mitigation, etc don't portray such a bleak position. I am sure the truth is somewhere in between.
The reason I am asking is that the land (69 acres) my wife and I bought many years ago in the rural community where I grew up and planned to retire has a swine CAFO that is planned to be built ~1.25 miles east of the future house site (Fuck you Tosh Farms) and I just found out this past weekend that a chicken barn is going up ~1.5 miles due west (Fuck you Tyson).
Depending on the source you read, you can smell them 30 miles away, 6 miles away, a mile away or no more than 1,500 ft away.
Has anyone lived near or own a CAFO that could share their honest experience?
The land I bought is in a community that was first pioneered by my family nearly 200 years ago. It isn't something that I want to give up for our planned early retirement, but the horror stories I have been reading makes me wonder if I need to seek land elsewhere. I have ~5 years to decide.
Thanks