A ten-year study completed by Iowa State University underscores hog farming’s positive impact on local communities. The study found these hog operations have an economic impact on the region. Iowa Pork Producers Association President John Weber says this reaffirms what many producers already knew…
“These particular operations and livestock operations employ not only the high-quality people that run these operations but, I always often think of the electricians, the plumbers, the trucking industry, just all the local people that I use in my own industry. That does add value all the way through the local economy. Certainly, not only the value of the pigs, where they’re harvested at, you have those facilities that add economic value too that add economic value to, maybe not your hometown, but certainly to other communities.”
This research studied key factors regarding the effects large-scale agriculture has on the quality of life in small, rural communities. Weber says pork producers are providing social benefits to the area…
“Especially in today’s environment that we’re in here, since, let’s just say the last five to 10 years I think there’s been a huge improvement on the social side, with the relationship that these companies have, if it’s a large-scale integrator that’s in a community, they have good people, you know they want to put a good image on their operations in their local community, and I think that’s come so far and again, I think the study showed that, that the even the larger units, the larger units to have a very positive impact on rural life, and rural economic development at a variety of levels.”
The research considered variables such as trustworthiness, fairness, caring, citizenship, environmental trends, stewardship and co-existing relationships between small-town residents and large-scale pork producers.
|