County board approves expansion of hog facility

Published 10:20 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously gave the green light for an Alden-area farmer to construct a new barn that can house 2,500 pigs southeast of Alden.

The expansion by John Perschbacher is expected to double his hog finishing facility at 20507 670th Ave. from 2,400 swine to 5,000. Plans call for a new 2,350-square-foot facility, including a new total confinement barn and livestock watering well.

It has been previously estimated the expansion would push the number of pigs Perschbacher oversees from 16,500 to 19,000 in the area.

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The project required federal, state and county permits.

Following the meeting, board chairman Chris Shoff noted the important role agriculture has played in Freeborn County.

“It went through the meticulous process of planning and zoning, so it complies with that,” he said.

Following the meeting, Perschbacher said he is “happy” commissioners approved his request, noting he began the process in 2014.

“It’s going to be about as state-of-the-art as you can get nowadays,” he said.

Perschbacher noted he expects some odor to be emitted from the site, as is expected from a hog operation. He expects construction on the facility to start this spring and be done by August.

In other action, commissioners:

Approved a filing with the Minnesota Court of Appeals indicating it received the Planning Commission’s report and considered it before voting to approve a permit for Uniti Tower LLC to construct a wireless communications tower in rural Glenville. American Tower LLC appealed the granting of the permit to the Court of Appeals saying the board’s decision was not adequately supported by the record.

“The Planning Commission has a detailed report on the permit that explains how it meets the legal standards established by our zoning ordinance,” said Freeborn County Attorney David Walker. “The board relied on that report in making its findings and approving the permit in the first place.”

Authorized out-of-state travel for information technologies staff to attend the Esri User Conference July 7-12 in San Diego.

Authorized out-of-state travel for the highway engineer to attend the annual national Association of County Engineers Conference April 14-18 in Wichita, Kansas.

Approved the request by Robert Kokot for the siting of a grain storage support structure.

Approved the request by Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting for the site of a 150-foot radio communications tower.

Set a workshop for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 29 in the Freeborn Room.

Appointed Julie Bernau and Robin Schmidt to three-year terms to the Freeborn County Extension Advisory Board beginning Wednesday and lasting through Jan. 1, 2022.

About Sam Wilmes

Sam Wilmes covers crime, courts and government for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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